J. Brown Yoga Talks

John Friend , founder of Anusara Yoga and Bowspring , talks with J about the history of Anusara Yoga, its collapse, and the aftermath. They discuss the reason for having John on now, 60's generation of free love, consciousness expansion, business backgrounds in the 80's, studying with Iyengar and Gurumayi, founding Anusara in 97, standardization, the scandal and collapse, wicca and tantra, ethical...

David Singleton is a long-time listener and friend of the show and he joins J to talk about relationship to our environment and ourselves. They discuss finding yoga during his wife's illness and passing, discovering the podcast and following along with J's journey, deep love of the outdoors, motorcycles, becoming a fire ranger, operating vineyards, big agriculture, healthy soil, regenerative farmi...

Elisa Malinverni returns to touch base with J about making pragmatic choices in the face of a collapsing industry. They discuss the contraction of 2025, part-time work in communications, transitioning and schedules, backlashes from physical practice, warrior 2 and triangle, yin repertoire, longer holds and repetition, unfounded claims, business coaching for teachers, feeling bitter about advertisi...

J takes a moment to check in with listeners and reflect on the closing of his yoga center, the state of his professional career, and his plans for the future. He discusses the factors that led to letting go of his commercial space and moving his weekly classes into his living room, sober assessments and hard truths regarding personal brands and business marketing, contradictions between career pur...

Todd Norian , author of Tantra Yoga: Journey to Unbreakable Wholeness , returns to talk with J about the impact of different philosophical viewpoints on living in the word and what it means to be liberated. They discuss renunciation, misdeeds of the gurus, kundalini awakening and psychotic breaks, the collapse of Kripalu ashram and Anusara, authentic tantra, ethical codes and power, non-local cons...

Christopher Wallis , author of Tantra Illuminated and creator of Tantra Illuminated Online and the Tantra 112 app , returns to talk with J about the defining characteristics and sources for authentic tantra, They discuss origin narratives, lineage and initiation, institutionalized gatekeeping, divine revelation, practice joined to a coherent view, renunciation and integration, Vedanta, Hatha Yoga,...

Amy Landry , author of The Ocean of Yoga , talks with J about honoring the history, philosophies, and purpose behind yogic inquiry. They discuss the impulse towards deeper study, grasping historical context and ancient origins, discerning the vedas, asceticism and tantra, classical Hatha Yoga, energy bodies and subtle anatomy, pranayama and mind control, inaccurate claims and systematization, alig...

Lizzie Lasater returns to the show to talk with J about using AI technology and creating social media campaigns. They discuss the rumor that her mom is retiring, showing up consistently, being declarative vs provocative, doing Savasana wrong, a legacy of patriarchal rules, collaborating with language models, popularity and outrage, longer holds and her controversial yin yoga post, AI anatomy chat...

Chris Preist , co-director of Bristol Zen Dojo and author of Zen Streams , returns to talks with J about the intersection of zen and yoga. They discuss spiritual practice vs performance, learning rules through experience, connection between sound and spirit, feeling with intention, textual meanings, learning objectives, professionalization and marketing, actualizing non-duality, understanding empt...

Rachel Morarjee , former journalist and friend of the show, talks with J about the arc of gen-xer perspectives on yoga and the world. They discuss receiving shaktiput, the early yoga scene in china, external gurus and choosing teachers, expressions of authority, developing a personal practice, transcending ego, chanting, death of retail, spirituality and faith, battle for souls, meeting challenges...

Bernie Clark , author of PRANA: One breath, many worlds , talks with J about his new book exploring philosophy, physiology, and the energetic axis of the yoga experience. They discuss stories imagining pre-vedic to Vedic tim es, shamans and yogis, evolution of societies, tribal ritual and institutional gods, reincarnation, relationship with the divine, role of prana in tantra, Desikachar and Desca...

Joanne Spence , author of Trauma-Informed Yoga: A Toolbox for Therapists and founder of Yoga in Schools , talks with J about the origins of trauma-informed care and the relationship between yoga and faith. They discuss coming to yoga through life challenges, exploring different approaches, breath focus, early paths into yoga therapy, working at a psychiatric hospital, trusting in lived experience,...

Leslie Howard and Richard Rosen , co-authors of SAVASANA - Between Breath and Death , talk with J about the importance of practicing final relaxation. They discuss the shortening of savasana over the years, death doulas and cafe's, the dissolution of self, the moment of death, guided meditation, asana and pranayama, reincarnation, falling asleep, alignment, using props and minimizing distraction,...

David Procyshyn , founder of doyogawithme.com and author of a Freedom from Anxiety newsletter , talks with J about the current state of the online yoga space and different ways to think about marketing. They discuss the ebb and flow of online sales, loyalty and word of mouth, knowing your audience, saturation and competition, paying for advertising, affiliates, Facebook, discounts and promotions,...

Jim Bennitt , co-founder of Tejas Yoga and founder of Yoga for Grapplers , talks with J about the trajectory and evolution of Gen-x yoga careers. They discuss the yoga wave that started in the early nineties, old-school classroom dynamics, finding community, appeal of Jiu-Jitsu, cult aspects across different modalities, discernment of alignment, opening a center in the golden years, functional mov...

Sharon Molloy is a close personal friend of J and she joins the show to talk about their shared journey through yoga into faith. They discuss coming together around non-achievement, getting off on esoterica, discovering mystical realms, discerning materialism, making sense of lies and injustice, transhumanism, proof of the soul, evil, biblical prophecy, believing vs following, holy alignment and b...

Adam Rumack , co-founder of Open Circle , talks with J about subtle changes to the inner life of yoga communities and beyond. They discuss third series Ashtanga, taking over a Mysore room, nature-based rights of passage work, high demand communities, authorization, purity myths, underlying reality of natural order, hero journeys, perennial wisdom and power vacuums, vulnerability and responsibility...

Once again, J offers his annual year end reflection on where things stand going into the new year. He discusses the grief of learning that a family member has terminal cancer and the mixture of love and sadness that the holiday season entailed, the difficult realization that he will likely need to close his yoga center, contributing factors and underlying economics, online algorithms, trade organi...

Danny Mintz is a listener of the show who reached out to J about the origins of yoga postures and it lead to this conversation about depictions of practice and the inner workings of being a teacher. They discuss whether modern yoga is 5000 years old or 500 years old, finding good teachers, Alison West, different stages of life, studio closures, finding your edge, Anusara, Jivamukti, personal pract...

Donna Farhi returns to talk with J about conscious pedagogic models that foster independence and moving towards grounded sensitivity. They discuss homesteading and the contrast between natural and digital worlds, recovering from a fractured pelvis, meaning of pedagogy, baking bread, horizontal communication, checks and balances, contraction in the industry, being relevant to the times, ground rule...

Kim Hopkins , executive director of the Shanthi Project , talks with J about the not-for-profit work of providing yoga and mindfulness education to children and adults. They discuss different phases of the organization and where things were when Kim took over in 2023, working at Sony Music, revenue structures and fund development plans, substituting the term yoga for mindfulness, importance of dat...

Neil Taylor joins the show to follow up with J on the ongoing conversation about mindfulness education. They discuss Neil's entrance into practice, the importance of solitude, quality of presence, Thich Nhat Hang, the Satipattana Sutta, the end of suffering, inner bliss and demons, ignorance and true nature, cessation, self and no-self, levels of awareness, distinguishing between mindfulness and m...

Karin Lynn Carlson , founder of Return Yoga and author of the substack Gristle and Bone , returns to touch base with J on the reckoning going on in the yoga profession. They discuss starting online platforms before it was a thing, 200hr teacher training model and the false promise of a career, marketing conundrums, living paycheck to paycheck, effects of the pandemic on in person spaces, AI, relyi...

Cassie McKamey is a listener of the show whose email to J led to this conversation about coming to yoga on the internet through a lens of christian faith. They discuss growing up in a church community in Kansas, youth pastors and questioning authority, following rules vs inquiring within, learning yoga on YouTube, personal relationship to God, being responsible for what you teach, following Jesus,...

Sarah Powers , co-founder of the Insight Yoga Institute , talks with J about integrating Yoga, Tao, and Mindfulness. They discuss the progression of yoga into a physical orientation to wellness instead of deeper inquiries, cliche of yoga profession, earlier days at Yogaworks, Paul Griley, different camps within Yin Yoga, differentiating Iyengar method, energy bodies, negotiating terms to honor all...