Podmasana: Spirituality, Awareness & Enlightenment

Joe McClernon walked into Yoga Patch at 49 seeking stretching tips for his osteoarthritis. He found The Heart of Yoga by TKV Desikachar and realized: "This is exactly what I had needed for a long time. Perhaps all my life." In 2013, he created Slow Flow with Joe for students who felt intimidated by yoga. Then June 2019: stage four prostate cancer. Gleason 10. Doctors gave him 1.5-5 years. His firs...

Parveen Chopra has spent nearly three decades at the intersection of journalism and spirituality. In 1996, he founded Life Positive—India's first body-mind-spirit magazine—chronicling the nation's awakening to wellness. After immigrating to America in 2008, he edited interfaith publications and contributed to major platforms. In 2022, post-COVID, he launched A Lotus in the Mud, a nonprofit wellnes...

Parveen Chopra has spent nearly three decades at the intersection of journalism and spirituality. In this Podmasana Preview, Chopra shares his views of interfaith dialogue in America taking into consideration current political developments and tensions. Full episode releases next Wednesday. Topics Wellness journalism, spirituality media, Life Positive magazine, A Lotus in the Mud, transcendental m...

Gina Clingerman discovered yoga through borrowed VHS tapes, never imagining it would save her life. Entering her 200-hour training while navigating profound depression, she sought steadier ground—not a teaching career. Over 12 years, she's evolved from using power flow to escape trauma to embracing slower, trauma-informed practices that invite compassion over judgment. With backgrounds in English...

In this episode of My Mindful Moment, Dr. Vijay Jayade shares how a 13th-century Marathi poem by Sri Swami Swarupanandaji inspired his meditation practice. Through the Soham mantra and Jnaneshwar Maharaj's definition of the Self as "uninterrupted sublime joy," he describes merging with Atman and experiencing bliss—his moment of mindfulness rooted in ancient Indian wisdom. Topics: meditation practi...

Brendon asks Gina about how a yoga practice can help to navigate modern life's challenges. Full episode releases January 7, 2026. About Podmasana: Podmasana explores the evolution and history of ancient mindfulness, spiritual practices, and wisdom traditions, fostering learning, self-discovery, and collective growth through researched history, expert interviews, and personal narratives. Our vision...

Dr. Raj Kumar Mani, distinguished pulmonologist and critical care pioneer, discovered profound spiritual dimensions after devastating early losses—his father at 14, his mother at 23. In that grief, "a sense of an immense presence descended on me." This awakening transformed how he practiced medicine, leading pioneering work in non-invasive ventilation, sleep medicine, and India's landmark right-to...

Dr. Raj Kumar Mani shares his thoughts and experiences with Brendon about the common threads throughout various societies and spiritual traditions. Full episode releases December 24, 2025. Topics:  Spiritual awakening, grief and transformation, pulmonology, critical care medicine, yoga practice, contemplative medicine, poetry and spirituality, end-of-life care, right to die, living wills, non-inva...

Dr. Vijay Jayade, retired orthodontist and devoted student of the Bhagavad Gita, has spent decades making ancient wisdom accessible to modern readers. After watching generations lose connection to the Gita's teachings while struggling with anxiety, depression, and desperate competition, he took a radical approach—reorganizing the entire text by topic rather than verse order, writing "as a common m...

Subscribe or follow My Mindful Moment to get ad-free episodes of that show in your podcast feed. October 10th, 2025. Brendon Orr walks his 16-year-old dog Amelia through a golden sunlit meadow. But Amelia stops—perhaps the first time in her life she clearly doesn't wish to walk. Three deer appear in the tall grass, watching peacefully. Brendon locks eyes with one deer. A profound moment of stillne...

You know those moments when enlightenment, insight, and wisdom find us? When the universe speaks to us during periods of adversity, joy, or stillness and we feel more aware, mindful, and present having listened to it? What if we took the time to record those moments and share them with others? This is the inspiration behind Podmasana’s sibling podcast, My Mindful Moment where you are invited to li...

Dr. Vijay Jayade and Brendon discuss The Bhagavad Gita's path to modern happiness. About Podmasana: Podmasana explores the evolution and history of ancient mindfulness, spiritual practices, and wisdom traditions, fostering learning, self-discovery, and collective growth through researched history, expert interviews, and personal narratives. Our vision is to create a global community of spiritually...

Everything starts with a thought. But what if those thoughts are the architects of your reality, the silent sculptors of your destiny? Pete Allman, psychotherapist with over 25 years of experience, joins us to explore his book "Thoughts: The Power of Your Mind"—a unique alphabetical journey through wisdom from Aristotle to Gary Zukav. Each chapter pairs a provocative quote with practical insights...

In this Podmasana Preview episode, Brendon asks Pete about the wisdom of Yoda from Star Wars as it pertains to the concept of 'beginner's mind' and how that concept can be applied to our lives. The full episode airs next Wednesday for the public three days earlier for Podmasana+ members. About Podmasana: Podmasana explores the evolution and history of ancient mindfulness, spiritual practices, and...

In a world increasingly driven by data and metrics, how do we reconnect with the deeper spiritual dimensions of human experience? Ron Frost, professor emeritus of geology at the University of Wyoming and practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism, bridges the worlds of scientific understanding and spiritual insight in this profound conversation. Ron shares the transformative spiritual experience he had at a...

Why spirituality matters now more than ever. Thank you for being here. This introduction episode welcomes you to Podmasana—a space dedicated to exploring the landscape of human spirituality through authentic conversations with teachers, scholars, practitioners, and seekers. In This Episode: Discover what Podmasana is and why it exists Learn about our mission to explore ancient mindfulness, spiritu...