J. Brown Yoga Talks

Andrew Eppler, director of Ashtanga Yoga Studio and visionary behind the Mysore Yoga Traditions Film and Conference, talks with J about BNS Iyengar and the Mysore Yoga Traditions. They discuss how Andrew discovered BNS Iyengar, stepping with the right or left foot, influence of western teachers, distinguishing vinyasas, origins of Patabi Jois sequences,  Nathamuni Sampradaya, illusion or reality, God and Self-realization, learning from elders, Krishnamachrya leaving Mysore, and a love of yoga that transcends culture and social class.   To subscribe and support the show… GET PREMIUM.   Check out J's other podcast… J. BROWN YOGA THOUGHTS.    

Anoop Kumar, MD, founder of Health Revolution, talks with J about the primacy of consciousness and its implications on allopathic medicine. They discuss Anoop's early exposure to nondual philosophy, becoming an emergency physician, definitions of consciousness, the "recognition" problem, multidirectional healing, measuring outcomes, inverting primary and complimentary care, Atman and Brahman, the three minds of experience, and creating bridges of understanding with insights into the fundamental nature of the cosmos.   To subscribe and support the show… GET PREMIUM.   Check out J's other podcast… J. BROWN YOGA THOUGHTS.    

David Procyshyn, founder of doyogawithme.com, talks with J about the evolution of online yoga and maintaining values in the digital landscape. They discuss the origins of the doyogawithme platform, giving everything away for free and switching from donations to subscriptions, being values-oriented and the stirha/sukha of business, understanding the user experience, advantages and disadvantages of social media, growing your reach and making money, trending online, conscious consumerism, and being human in a technological realm. For 2-months of unlimited access at doyogawithme go to: https://www.doyogawithme.com/yogi/register/j-brown-yoga Promo code: jbrown   To subscribe and support the show… GET PREMIUM.   Check out J's other podcast… J. BROWN YOGA THOUGHTS.    

Frank Jude Boccio, host of Pobsa’s Dharma Lounge Podcast, returns to continue a conversation with J about materialism, naturalism, and the great mysteries of life. They discuss definitions of religious and spiritual, rejection of anything supernatural in favor of awe, the relationship between God and religion, Frank's spiritual background, forms of grace and worship, the magic of matter, evil actions and moral codes, and coming together around universal principles and common humanity to honor diversity of religious life.   To subscribe and support the show… GET PREMIUM.   Check out J's other podcast… J. BROWN YOGA THOUGHTS.    

Ranju Roy and Dave Charlton, coauthors of Embodying the Yoga Sutra: Support, Direction, Space, return to talk with J about the role yoga plays in fulfilling our innate religious impulse. They discuss their childhood exposures to religion, the third and forth chapters of Patanjali's Yoga Sutra, Ishavara Pranidhana, the evolution of TKV Desikachar's teaching on devotion, prayer and the question of a creator, challenging post-enlightenment viewpoints, chanting and emotions, and coming to humble terms with our place in an unknowable universe.   To subscribe and support the show… GET PREMIUM.   Check out J's other podcast… J. BROWN YOGA THOUGHTS.    

Ron Baker, author of Bright Lights, Big Empty: A Journey of Profound Awakening, talks with J about soul awakenings and the journey to Self. They discuss a mutual connection and convergences, signposts in Ron's early childhood, meeting his friend Robert and the experience of receiving communication from the Arch Angel Gabriel, questions of biblical prophecy, pathways of initiation, receiving guidance and cultivating intention, bioenergetic healing and nine nurturing needs, and learning to love and value life.   To subscribe and support the show… GET PREMIUM.   Check out J's other podcast… J. BROWN YOGA THOUGHTS.    

Beth Shaw, founder of YogaFit and author of Healing Trauma With Yoga & Mind-Body Techniques, talks with J about the role she played in bringing yoga into the mainstream. They discuss the genesis of YogaFit and starting a multi-million dollar business out of her trunk, developing a style of practice that was appealing to gym culture, getting flak from the yoga world, spiritual interventions and inclusive language, credentialing and yoga therapy, social media, and having the courage of your convictions to offer something transformational.   To subscribe and support the show… GET PREMIUM.   Check out J's other podcast… J. BROWN YOGA THOUGHTS.    

Concetta Troskie, creator of Mindfully Embodied, is an old friend of J's and they reunite to talk about their respective journeys of healing and spirit. They discuss the thriving art and yoga scene in Brooklyn in the early aughts, being supported as young teachers, searching for answers and almost becoming a nun before choosing to live in the world, getting sick with a brain tumor and losing everything that defined her, EMDR and Ketamine assisted therapy, recovering souls, and cultivating a differential reverence rooted in love and humility.   To subscribe and support the show… GET PREMIUM.   Check out J's other podcast… J. BROWN YOGA THOUGHTS.    

Annabelle Brown, J's youngest daughter, returns to talk about how she has been managing her mental health and the process of healing our traumas. They discuss what it felt like when she started to have OCD, being unable to communicate because of compulsions, the moment that it seemingly turned for her and what motivated it, her therapist and how being able to talk about what is happening helps, the evolution of her relationship with her sister, a brief cameo from Mom, and appreciating the innocence and wisdom of a sensitive child.   To subscribe and support the show… GET PREMIUM.   Check out J's other podcast… J. BROWN YOGA THOUGHTS.    

Ron Brent talks with J about time spent with Yogi Bhajan and Muktananda. They discuss his awakening experience, a brief stint in Scientology, stumbling upon Yogi Bhajan on Melrose Ave, actual sources of Kundalini Yoga, spontaneous kriyas vs a technology of practice, discovering Muktananda, seeing Yogi Bhajan admonished by his guru Virsa Singh, questioning ethics and morals, guru and disciple traditions, transmission and shaktipat initiation, and understanding how formlessness expresses itself through the forms of our culture.   To subscribe and support the show… GET PREMIUM.   Check out J's other podcast… J. BROWN YOGA THOUGHTS.    

Daniel Simpson, from the Ancient Futures Podcast, guest hosts to ask J about the evolution of J. Brown Yoga Talks and the entwinement of his personal growth with the creative process of producing a weekly show. They discuss the original motivations behind starting the podcast, the process by which episodes are generated, how J's family feels about his "radical transparency," stoking controversy and learning better of it, cultural appropriation, coming to God, and the spirit of friendship and inquiry that fuels J's passion for facilitating conversation.   To subscribe and support the show… GET PREMIUM.   Check out J's other podcast… J. BROWN YOGA THOUGHTS.    

Joshua Schrei, host of The Emerald Podcast, returns to talk with J about our place in this alive world. They discuss the context in which yoga arises, implications of an animistic worldview in modern times, dictates of the western scientific tradition, fuzzy boundaries and the animacy of inanimate objects, entertwinement of subjective and objective reality, dualistic nonduality, an expanded vision of personhood, existence as a continuum, evil entities and a creator spirit, musical interelationality, and ceding agency to the theater of stone and time.   To subscribe and support the show… GET PREMIUM.   Check out J's other podcast… J. BROWN YOGA THOUGHTS.    

You are listening to the free version of J. Brown Yoga Talks. To hear the rest of our conversation, please subscribe to podcast premium at: https://www.jbrownyoga.com/premium.   R. Sriram, coauthor of Natya Yoga: Peace Passion Pain Mapping Emotions, reunites with J to talk about the deeper questions of purpose and meaning in yoga. They discuss his understanding of T Krishnamacharya's and TKV Desikachar's view on God, the effects of connecting to source, humility and faith, Vedic chanting with J Krishnamurti, academic bonafides and diverging from Vyasa's commentary on Patañjali’s Yogasūtras, limitations of science and potential of human spirit, and respecting the personal artistic nature of the divine.  

You are listening to the free version of J. Brown Yoga Talks. To hear the rest of our conversation, please subscribe to podcast premium at: https://www.jbrownyoga.com/premium.   Gill Lloyd, former teacher trainer for the British Wheel of Yoga and former chair of both Viniyoga Britain and KHYF-UK, talks with J about her life in yoga and the influence of TKV Desikachar. They discuss her first class in the mid eighties, Vinyasa Krama in principle and practice, stories of watching Desikachar teach, the importance of chanting and heart-to-heart connection, watching "Sir's" health decline and the scandal with his son, religiosity, personal practice and educating teachers, and learning the art of living peacefully in this world.  

You are listening to the free version of J. Brown Yoga Talks. To hear the rest of our conversation, please subscribe to podcast premium at: https://www.jbrownyoga.com/premium.   Hari-kirtana das returns to revisit questions of nonduality and the relationship between an individual sole and a supreme being. They discuss reimagining our definitions of God and religion, divine and ecological person-hood, simultaneous immanence and transcendence, conforming to highest truths vs shaping truth to our desires, the difference between speaking personal truths and the voice of God coming through, freedom within the prison of material life, evil, and the benefit of relying on something greater than yourself.  

You are listening to the free version of J. Brown Yoga Talks. To hear the rest of our conversation, please subscribe to podcast premium at: https://www.jbrownyoga.com/premium.   Jessamyn Stanley, co-founder of The Underbelly and author of Yoke: My Yoga of Self-Acceptance, talks with J about body acceptance and challenging preconceived notions. They discuss her entry into yoga and why she started posting her practice on Instagram, how she landed a Gatorade commercial, The Yoga Journal cover controversy, the difference between fat and body positivity, navigating "tokenism,” naked yoga on only fans, Shibari (Japanese Rope Bondage), and the value of starting uncomfortable conversations that foster growth.  

You are listening to the free version of J. Brown Yoga Talks. To hear the rest of our conversation, please subscribe to podcast premium at: https://www.jbrownyoga.com/premium.   Andrew Tanner returns unbound to talk with J about his experience of escaping a yoga cult and shaping the yoga industry. They discuss the life changing moment with his father that led to his commitment to Dahn Yoga, the history and philosophies of Korean Taoist traditions, what went wrong and why he left, scaling the business side, working for Kripalu and Yoga Alliance, what happened with the standards review project, problems with the status quo, and meeting the challenge of our times by keeping soul in the game.  

You are listening to the free version of J. Brown Yoga Talks. To hear the rest of our conversation, please subscribe to podcast premium at: https://www.jbrownyoga.com/premium.   Bashira Muhammad, owner of Zoom Out Mycology, is an old friend of J's and they talk about her work in mycology. They discuss the fact that Bashira was the youngest person to do J's teacher training over a decade ago, the qualities in her that lent to yogic inquiry at a young age and led to her interest in mycology, her time farming through a fire season, some of the ins and outs of fungi and applications for mushrooms, science and spirit of mycelium, the recent farm bill, and the benefits of learning about the interrelationship of all beings and ecosystems.  

You are listening to the free version of J. Brown Yoga Talks. To hear the rest of our conversation, please subscribe to podcast premium at: https://www.jbrownyoga.com/premium.   Lisa Miller, Ph.D., author of The Awakened Brain: The New Science of Spirituality and Our Quest for an Inspired Life, talks with J about a belief in God and the neuroscience showing its benefits. They discuss the passing of J's mother, forms of knowing, empirical evidence for innate spirituality, post-traumatic spiritual growth, spirituality associated with cortical thickness in the regions of perception and a lessening of anxiety and depression, neural seeds of awareness, and being open to receive the intelligent and loving force that is your birthright.  

You are listening to the free version of J. Brown Yoga Talks. To hear the rest of our conversation, please subscribe to podcast premium at: https://www.jbrownyoga.com/premium.   Kamini Desai, founder of I AM Education and Yogeshwari of the Lakulish Lineage, talks with J about her journey to becoming a lineage holding and the principles of divinity her teachings encompass. They discuss the history of Kripalu Yoga, growing up at the ashram and rebelling against the family tradition, learning from the experience of scandal around her father, Yoga Nidra and energetic practices, impermanence and infinite consciousness, and the deeper layers of stillness that reveal our essential wholeness.