J. Brown Yoga Talks

Jordan Ashley , PhD, founder of Souljourn Yoga , talks with J about the ethics of running retreats and teacher trainings in the Global South. They discuss seeing through the eyes of different cultures, the darker side of voluntourism and orphanage tourism, the NY Yoga scene circa 2016, becoming disenchanted with the yoga industrial complex, teen girls, working with locals, savior-ship mentality, h...

Sage Rountree , coauthor of Yoga Off the Mat: A Practical Guide to the Wisdom of Yoga , talks with J about exploring the deeper aspects of yoga in ways that are accessible and useful. They discuss knowing when to walk away from long held classes, pre/post pandemic numbers and membership models, representations of asana, reverse classrooms and co-creative learning, retirement, parenting, filtering...

Rebecca Sebastian , host of the Working in Yoga Podcast and founder of Inside Yoga Magazine , returns to talk with J about challenges and possibilities for yoga professionals. They discuss data that confirms an industry contraction, getting lumped in with pilates, pivoting away from owning centers, transferrable skills, trade organizations, ethics around credentialing, value of spreadsheets, decen...

Chad Herst , author of The Performance Trap: The Ache No Success Will Ever Fix , talks with J about departing from deeply ingrained patterns and the nature of embodiment. They discuss coming to yoga through grief, going to Mysore in the early 90's, witnessing abuse, injuries, pressure to be successful, aftermath of fallen gurus, boom and bust of the industry, radical transparency, prana and apana,...

Leslie Kaminoff , co-author of Yoga Anatomy, returns to talk with J about his recent blog post on the impact of AI on creators and beyond. They discuss intellectual property theft, industrialized systems of deception, targeting of vulnerable populations, chair yoga, copyright violations, appropriate use of technology, individual sense of integrity, relating to language models, agential medical car...

Joe Simek , co-owner of Dragonfly Yoga , returns to talk with J about his inquiries into religion and the nature of non-duality. They discuss aspects of Quakerism and community-led worship, questions of good and evil, value systems, understanding the divine, the point of nonduality, personal relationship with God, everything as a blessing, drawing lines, devotion to the goddess, suffering and orie...

Paul JJ Alix , founder of Yoga for All , returns to talk with J about the future of his yoga business and the nature of karma. They discuss pricing for home studios, revenue streams and projected profits, people with money and those without, giving stuff away and valuing your work, karma, Ayn Rand, a mature vision of God, relationship to the divine, Desikachar and yoga sutras, teachings of Jesus,...

Will Revak , co-founder of Orawellness , talks with J about the oral microbiome and dental self-empowerment. They discuss common dental issues, periodontal disease myths, hidden lies in toothpaste labels, crystal nature of teeth, decay and enamel loss, choosing a dentist, statistics and outcomes, fluoride vs hydroxyapatite, mindful brushing, naturally sourced xylitol, the importance of saliva, nav...

Troy Hadeed , founder of Beyond Yoga and author of My Name Is Love: We're Not All That Different , talks with J about coming to know the love of God. They discuss Bob Marley and Jesus, interpretations and denominations, moving away from the church, connecting to Christ, yoga in Trinidad, Sean Corn, breath practice as prayer, divine agency, collective consciousness, questioning orthodoxy, slippery...

Grace Gessel , once founder of the Trauma-Conscious Yoga Method now offering faith-centered counseling at Through Faith Therapy , talks with J about leaving yoga and becoming a follower of Christ. They discuss religious trauma, being a public voice, questioning narratives around social justice and anti-racism, identity politics, church hypocrisy and exploitation, getting to the end of yourself, br...

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...