J. Brown Yoga Talks

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...

Edward Clark and Laurie A, Greene , co-authors of Yoga and the Body: The Future of Modern Yoga in the Studio and Beyond , talk with J about interrogating assumptions from within and without yoga traditions. They discuss the ancient origins of yoga, perspectives in theater arts, distinguishing asana and vinyasa, meaning making, reasons for having a body, trauma, emotions, postural attitudes, evolvi...

Adam Keen , host of the Keen on Yoga Podcast , returns to the show to revisit a conversation they started years ago about the role of teachers and teachings. They discuss recent scandals in the Ashtanga community, teaching styles and somatic dominance, origins of Ashtanga, tradition and market competition, implications of the "active series," homogenization of Mysore rooms, adjustments, hip replac...

Anna Taylor , author of Weaving Mindfulness & Compassion into Yoga Teaching , talks with J about the intersection of mindfulness education and yoga. They discuss being curious about why yoga works, noticing the impact of practice, mindfulness not thoughts, doing and being, attention training, involvement of the heart, equipping people to listen, effort vs observation, failure and feeling taken car...

Chris Cochrane is a listener of the show who joins to talk with J about her unique background and perspective on science and yoga. They discuss working for NASA analyzing semiconductor crystals grown on the space station, scientists and engineers who are into yoga, micro-gravity and crystal structures, distortions in the atomic order, connection between science and spirit, water witches, probabili...

On the occasion of the 10-year anniversary and 500th episode of the show, J reflects on the state of the yoga profession and industry. He discusses the progression from blog writing to podcasting and his latest post entitled "What I've Learned About Where We Are," the effects of the pandemic on attendance patterns and the role of teachers, myths about marketing and expertise, cravings for connecti...

Lora Markova and Katharine Scalora , founders of Earth & Aerial Yoga in Hudson MA, talk with J about the advantages of owning an aerial yoga studio. They discuss Lora's previous career in media and Katharine's background, providing immediate gratification, logistical realities, how Covid killed their traditional classes, prop-specific discipline, remaining grounded in yogic principles, injuries, c...

Pamela Weber , co-founder of NATA Yoga in Paris, talks with J about the uncertain future that independent centers face and the determination that keeps them going. They discuss her life as an academic and moving to Paris, teacher training before 200hr certification, minimalist teaching styles, giving up tenure for yoga, the subversive nature of opening a center, glory times before COVID, managing...

Kelli Hansel and Shawn Lindsay , owners of Indigo Yoga in Caldwell NJ, talk to J about taking over a studio and reaching for more than just being OK. They discuss the yoga scene in the rural Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky, learning from DVD's and correspondence courses, finding teachers on Instagram, not starting from scratch, adapting to changing habits, filling existing classes vs adding more...

Josh Thomas and Geoffrey Dugue , hosts of the Love for the Unseen God Podcast , talk with J about opening to transformational grace and a personal relationship with Jesus. They discuss observed experience as a basis for truth, nonduality and a creator, discerning man-made religion, comparing unitarian and trinitarian views, emptiness and being born again, worldviews of connection, Genesis I and II...

Kevin Flynn , one of the founders of Christians Practicing Yoga , talks with J about the intersection between Yoga and Christ . They discuss the history of the show and how it has led to this topic, benedictine monks, living faith in an embodied fashion, christian ashrams, Patanjali, communion vs union, liberating Christ from Christianity, ways to follow Jesus, demons and the battle for souls, bei...

Britta Van Dun , founder of Intuitive Health & Healing , is an old friend of J's and they talk about attuning to the subtle and healing with soul through acupuncture. They discuss exploring healing modalities in the early aughts, intersection of chinese medicine and yoga, consciousness, links between physical and energy bodies, actuality of needles, vehicles of intention, movement of meridians, re...

Chara Caruthers returns to talks with J about the therapeutic value of psychedelics and the questions their use raises. They discuss ineffable experiences, connections between meditation and psychedelics, transpersonal psychology, abuses in plant medicine, preparation, bad trips, ontological shock, effects of intention, intervention vs practice, machine elves, research and legalization, personal/p...

Lauri Nemetz , author of The Myofascial System in Form and Movement , talks with J about interpretations of anatomy and thinking in different ways about the human body. They discuss visual rhetoric and memorization, dance movement therapy, fascial lines and/or systems, dissecting embalmed vs unembalmed tissue, benefits of gentle shearing, Body Worlds art exhibit, ethics and morality, interfacing w...

Jeff Bailey , author of Mobility for Life: Healthy Joints, Strong Bones, and a Peaceful Mind with AVITA YOGA® , talks with J about interrupting patterns of pain and letting love be a guide. They discuss growing up with a veterinarian father, connections between Rolfing and A Course in Miracles, labral tears and joint compression, undue fear of hyperextension, yogic alignment and body organization,...

Kari Harendorf , co-founder of Better Yoga , talks with J about reviving old models with new eyes. They discuss the East Village NYC scene in the early aughts, her dog Charlie, longevity of boutique studios, teaching anatomy for Rodney Yee and Colleen Saidman Yee, Kripalu going from ashram to for-profit, the moment when the world fell apart, getting the hang of zoom yoga, Ayurveda schooling, downs...