Keen on Yoga Podcast

Paul, a Master of breath-mind-body, scholar & entrepreneur, talks to Adam about his life of yoga. Paul has devoted the last three decades to developing expertise in the breath-mind-body lifestyle. He has received a PhD from one of the leading universities in the US, covering both the tradition and science of yoga and breath practices. He has been uniquely acknowledged in the Yoga tradition by "Mas...

Rod Stryker is a world-renowned meditation teacher, yoga educator, and thought leader. One of the world's leading yoga and meditation teachers, Rod Stryker, has dedicated the last 40 years of his life to improving the lives of others through his teaching, lectures, writing, leadership, and service.  Rod is the founder of  ParaYoga® , and the author of two books—his first,  The Four Desires: Creati...

Dr Mikel (Mik) Burley is an Associate Professor of Religion and Philosophy Philosophy of religion; religious ethics; comparative and cross-cultural philosophy and religion; South Asian religious and philosophical traditions (esp. Hindu and Buddhist). BA (Essex) MA (Nottingham) PhD, MA (Leeds) PhD (Bristol) Research Interests Philosophy of religion Religious ethics Comparative and cross-cultural ph...

Dr Stacie CC Graham (pronoun: she) is a management consultant, executive coach, founder, speaker and writer. Finding herself often as the only person of colour at yoga retreats led Stacie to create her to create her holistic wellness brand, OYA: Body-Mind-Spirit Retreats. OYA is dedicated to underrepresented communities typically underserved by the mainstream wellness industry. OYA Retreats create...

Andrew Eppler has been practicing Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga for over 3 decades and is the director of Ashtanga Yoga Studio where he offers a variety of courses, classes and trainings both online and in person. He has grown up with the practice and witnessed its evolution into world culture first hand. Andrew has spent many years studying the philosophy of the Nathamuni Sampradaya tradition that Sri Kr...

Luke Jordan is a Certified Teacher in the Ashtanga Yoga tradition and holds a Masters in Indian Religions. He is a writer, story-teller, vedic-chanter, sanskritist and consummate student of yogic and spiritual culture. Always feeling that there was something more to life, Luke first began formal study of Eastern mysticism in the 1990s while at University and plunged headlong into the practice of A...

Norman E. Sjoman is the author of the 1996 book The Yoga Tradition of the Mysore Palace. The book contains an English translation of the yoga section of Sritattvanidhi, a 19th-century treatise by the Maharaja of Mysore. It contributes an original view on the history and development of the teaching traditions behind modern asanas. According to Sjoman, a majority of the tradition of teaching yoga as...

Sravana Borkataky-Varma is a historian, educator, and social entrepreneur. As a historian, she studies Indian religions focusing on esoteric rituals and gender, particularly in Hinduism (Śākta Tantra). As an educator, she is currently a lecturer at Harvard Divinity School and at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington. In the past she has taught at the University of Houston, the University of...

Jason Birch (DPhil, Oxon) is a senior research fellow for the 'Light on Hatha Yoga' project, hosted at SOAS University of London and the University of Marburg. Jason is also a visiting researcher on the Suśruta Project at the University of Alberta. He is well known for his important paper on the meaning of haṭha in early Haṭhayoga, which has reshaped our understanding of the origins of this term b...

Daniel presents ancient texts for modern times. He is the author of The Truth of Yoga, a comprehensive guide to the history of practice. His approach combines scholarly knowledge with humour and insight, making yoga philosophy accessible and relevant to practitioners today. Daniel teaches courses online , at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, around the UK and internationally. He also offers pri...

Kate O'Donnell is the author of three Ayurvedic Cookbooks, including The Everyday Ayurveda Guide to Self-Care , The Everyday Ayurveda Cookbook: A Seasonal Guide to Eating and Living Well and Everyday Ayurvedic Cooking for a Calm, Clear Mind: 100 Sattvic Recipes. She is a nationally certified Ayurvedic Practitioner and the founder of the Ayurvedic Living Institute . An authorized Ashtanga yoga inst...

Gregor is the international author of eight textbooks covering all eight limbs of yoga. He is a mystic and a profuse blog writer covering topics on yoga and beyond. He travels the globe educating with passion, humour, insight and wisdom. Gregor Maehle began his practice of Raja Yoga in 1978 and added Hatha Yoga a few years later. In the mid-1980s he commenced annual travels to India, where he stud...

This is the second time Adam has hosted Richard Freeman and Mary Taylor on the Keen on Yoga Podcast.  In this episode they focus the discussion on the Bhagavad Gita.  Richard & Mary have been studying and practicing yoga since the early 1970s and were some of the very first students to discover the Ashtanga yoga method. Together they co-founded the Yoga Workshop in Boulder, Colorado, have produced...

Deepika Mehta has been on the forefront of Yoga, fitness and wellness in India since 2001. She is a Level 2 Authorised Ashtanga Yoga Teacher and a mom to her daugther Devi Tara. Because Deepika used Yoga to heal herself from an accident she had several years ago, she believes deeply in the power of the healing process of the practice. Deepika is known for her motivational and inspirational style o...

Andrea Pennington is an integrative medicine doctor, acupuncturist, TEDx speaker and author of several books including I Love You, Me! and The Orgasm Prescription for Women. She specializes in self-love, mindfulness and authentic self-expression. She is nationally recognized as an expert in meditation, resilience and positive psychology with multiple appearances on Oprah, Dr. Oz, CNN, The Today Sh...

Govinda Kai has studied and dedicated himself to martial arts, meditative disciplines and yoga for over 20 years. At the age of 30, Govinda discovered the practice of Ashtanga vinyasa yoga and immediately fell in love with the practice. He is one of the select individuals in the world who are certified to teach the Ashtanga Yoga Method by its founder, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois. In 1995, Govinda made hi...

The journey started in the late 60's, Krishna Das met spiritual seeker Ram Dass. He traveled across the country with Ram Dass as his student. And was captivated by the stories of his recent trip to India where he had met the legendary guru Neem Karoli Baba, known to most as Maharaj-ji.  Finally, following his heart, in August 1970, Krishna Das left behind his dreams of being a rock star and made h...

From the very young age of 13, Doug Swenson began his study of yoga in 1964. He has studied and practiced with many amazing teachers including Ernest Wood, the highly respected British Yoga Master, theosophist, and Sanskrit scholar. Doug's other mentors include Pattabhi Jois, Ramanand Patel, BKS Iyengar and Swami Satchidananda. Many of Doug's students have become highly celebrated teachers, includ...

The Dalai Lama befriended Bob in 1964, ordained him as a Buddhist monk, then later forgave him for returning to lay life. Bob Thurman is known in the academic circles as Professor Robert A.F. Thurman. He is a talented popularizer of the Buddha's teachings.  In addition, Bob is the first Westerner Tibetan Buddhist monk ordained by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, He is a charismatic speaker and author...

Tara has been a dedicated practitioner of yoga for over 18 years. She has been blessed to practice with some of the most dedicated ashtanga teachers in the world. Studying with Johnny Smith, Tim Miller (completing both his primary and intermediate series trainings), R. Sharath Jois & R. Saraswathi Jois. She has apprenticed with only certified teachers (6 years) with R. Saraswathi Jois for 4 of tho...

Yan Ong tested at the top 2% of worlds IQ at the age of 16. Joining the Mensa Society, sparked an interest to discover the purpose of intellect. She sought out to gain knowledge through university degrees in science graduating with honours in Biotechnology from the world's 5th ranked university. In attempt to balance both left and right brain function took a second university course in the arts. ...

Ross Stambaugh is an Ashtanga yoga teacher who is Authorized Level 2 by Saraswati Jois. He has made many annual trips to India to continue his studies and has assisted Saraswati on multiple occasions. Ross seeks to preserve the traditional Ashtanga method by maintaining a daily practice and teaching his students with the same integrity and patience that was taught to him by his teachers.  Ross tea...

The "Yoga Doc" - Dr. Ronald Steiner is the founder of the AYI method. This method links traditional Ashtanga Yoga with innovative Yogatherapy. Body and mind connect with each other and together create a harmonious balance. Ronald is a sports physician, researcher with focus on prevention and rehabilitation as well as one of the most well-known practitioners of Ashtanga Yoga. Ronald Steiner is one...

Stephen W. Porges, Ph. D. is the author of The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-regulation (Norton, 2011). In 1994 he proposed the Polyvagal Theory, a theory that links the evolution of the mammalian autonomic nervous system to social behavior.  This emphasizes the importance of physiological state in the expression of behavioral pro...

David Jackson a Master Instructor with the Oxygen Advantage and a breathwork coach. He is a former professional rugby player, accredited UKSCA Strength & Conditioning coach, NASM performance enhancement & corrective exercise specialist. His mission is to make breathwork a normal part of our everyday lives. David retrained his own breathing after a brain injury in 2013 forced him to retire from pro...