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.
Dave and Stacy Dockins, creators of the Yoga Project™ studios, talk with J about closing their yoga centers and living in a van. They discuss what happened when the pandemic hit and letting go of owning and operating three yoga studios after fifteen years, deciding to buy and renovate a van, the benefits of online teaching and training, day-to-day of being on the road including showers and finding places to sleep, and the profound philosophical impact of breaking from conventional life. This episode is sponsored by Moonclerk.
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.
Divya Kohli, author of Finding Peace in Difficult Times: grounding techniques for inner calm, talks with J about taking a stance and simple ways to pull us through. They discuss Divya's time as a journalist, counter-narratives and bridging divides, navigating difficult conversations, surrender as a practice, insecurity vs uncertainty, grounding in the moment, insomnia, chasing cures and experiential awareness, self-soothing through touch and other practices, and how we can stay sane and steady in an increasingly fast, complex and stimulated 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.
Kate Herrera Jenkins, owner or Kiva Hot Yoga in Birmingham, AL, founder of Native Strength Revolution and Stripper Soul, talks with J about building bridges and connecting to spirit. They discuss her time as a dancer in NY and discovering her purpose, her faith in Jesus, Cochiti Pueblo heritage, her Grandma Julie, hot yoga and kivas, christianity and native american connection to the spirit world, and healing indigenous communities through relationship and personal empowerment. This episode is sponsored by Moonclerk.
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.
Jennifer Kurdyla, coauthor of Root and Nourish with Abbey Rodriguez, talks with J about developing a reverent and nurturing relationship with food. They discuss the many hats that Jennifer has worn including her work as an editor, her experience of coming to yoga and greater awareness around food, Ayurveda and western herbalism, seasonal eating, kitchari, gut-brain connection, the rule of threes and lying with your left side down, why "you are what you digest," Ojas, and learning to engage food respectfully as a sacred act of existence.
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.
Jay B. Marcus and Christopher S. Clark, coauthors with Robert Keith Wallace of The Coherence Effect, talk with J about the healing effect of making the mind and body function in a more orderly or coherent way. They discuss entropy and the second law of thermodynamics, homeostasis systems, Transcendental Meditation and brain wave function, Ayurveda, western medicine, science behind sacred sounds, and changing society by enhancing and spreading inner coherence. This episode is sponsored by Moonclerk.
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.
Alison West, founder of Yoga Union and one of J's primary teachers, joins the show for the first time to talk about their shared past and the what they see going forward. They discuss Alison's former career as an art historian, her transition to yoga, when they met in the early nineties and her first teacher training, when grassroots organizing stopped NY state from regulating teacher training, back care and scoliosis, using dowels and rope walls, and the tenderness and inspiration shared through yoga inquiry. This episode is sponsored by Moonclerk.
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.
Kari Hohne, author of Decoding the Night Sky: Ancient Babylonian Astrology and The Mythology of Sleep: The Waking Power of Dreams, talks with J about oracles and the field of interconnectivity underlying reality. They discuss Kari's early interest in dreams, studying physics and ancient systems to make sense of her experiences, interpreting the symbols of the mind and creating a dream dictionary, Tao te Ching and I Ching, convergence and synchronicity, and the expansiveness of trusting life is benign. This episode is sponsored by Moonclerk.
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.
Norman Blair returns to the show to assess the current state of the yoga teaching profession and encourage creative ways of moving forward. They discuss the impact of the pandemic on yoga teachers and centers, online teaching and getting back together in person, pay equity for yoga teachers and the formation of a yoga teacher union in the UK, the benefits of keeping things small and cooperative, poetry and regulation of the nervous system, and daring to think creatively about our future. This episode is sponsored by Moonclerk.
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.
Kelly Kamm was recommended to J by a listener and it lead to this talk about the NY yoga scene, mythology, and the current state of play. They discuss the atmosphere of learning in earlier times, opening and closing a yoga center, misgivings of vinyasa yoga, seeking deeper connection to the invisible forces of magic and spirit, hindu mythology and fringe dwelling goddesses, leaning into the uncomfortable void, coming to grips with incorrect assumptions, and fusing the sacred and the everyday. This episode is sponsored by Karmasoft.
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.
Jessie Nieusma (he/him/his) answered J's call to join him for a discussion to dispel misinformation and humanize trans people. They discuss the realities of trans kids, the importance of ensuring that trans people receive the care they need, myths about sports and bathrooms, scare tactics used to discriminate, statistics behind what the trans community endures, spectrum’s along both gender and sex, different ways that people work to move the needle towards equality, and getting to know each other across our differences.
Resources:
Regarding the words transexual versus transgender.
Dr Rachel Mckinnon (aka Veronica Ivy) on trans people in sports.
Chair in Transgender Studies through the University of Victoria in Canada.
History of Transgender people.
Podcasts:
Nancy
Queery
LGBTQ&A
The Laverne Cox Show
Documentaries:
Disclosure on Netflix
Real Boy on Prime
The Death and Life of Marsha P Johnson on Netflix
Trans in Trumpland on Prime and Topic TV
Man Made on Prime
Historical Films:
The Lavender Scare
Stonewall Uprising
Screaming Queens
The Times of Harvey Milk
When We Rise
TV:
Pose on FX
Tales of the City on Netflix
Sense 8 on Netflix
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.
Kathryn Anne Flynn, author of Teach Kind, Clear Yoga, talks with J about yoga methodology and pedagogy. They discuss the influence of yoga in Kathryn's childhood, some of the roots behind teaching yoga for the general population, magic, Madame Blavatsky and the Theosophical Society, the "ceptions" and exploratory practice, pigeon pose, mobility and stability vs strength and flexibility, strategies for making practice fit needs, forever student mindset, and daring to be simple. This episode is sponsored by Karmasoft.
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.
PLEASE NOTE: This episodes contains opinions that some find harmful to the trans community. For an opposing view, please listen to EP 265 - Jessie Nieusma - "Trans, Gender and Sex Education"
Katchie Ananda, J's first yoga teacher, returns to the show to talk about gender spectrum and biological sex. They discuss how Katchie ended up becoming active and writing about the issue, the cancel campaign waged against her in response, what it means to change a persons sex with puberty blockers or surgical interventions, whether intersex people prove that sex is assigned rather than observed, woman’s liberation and individual expression, Big Pharma in trans medicine, and every persons right to be whoever they want to be,
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.
Gregor Maele, author of How to Find Your Life's Divine Purpose, talks with J about belief systems and realizing a purposeful life. They discuss pros and cons of experiencing the entirety of everything at once, perceptual filters and the process of enculturation that cut us off from sacred knowledge, infinite human capacity for bullshitting ourselves, how we know what we know and how we know if were wrong, the happy side effect of feeling freer from a fear of death, and individual and collective purpose in finding peace with nature.
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.
Rachel Feinberg, old friend and Iyengar yoga teacher, talks with J about what's been happening since they last spoke 14 years ago. They discuss Rachel's lack of online presence and how she has managed to keep it local, fond memories of the old days and grassroots practice, the role of alignment in Iyengar yoga, her experience teaching at IYAGNY, having your own space vs teaching at a center, weathering the pandemic, and the subtle exchange between teachers and students that communicates yoga. This episode is sponsored by Karmasoft.
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.
Madhava Setty, MD, author of WOKE. An Anesthesiologist’s View and The Conspirituality Podcast: Clear Signal or More Noise?, talks with J about asking questions and challenging official narratives. They discuss his early career in the Aerospace and Defense Industries, his transition to studying medicine and what he learned from observing people under Anastasia, questions around the pandemic and vaccines, the official story of 9/11 WTC7, institutions of power, and the radical implications of interconnectedness.
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.
Sheena Sood, PhD, Philly-based healer, writer, educator, and activist scholar of South Asian descent, talks with J about the painful history of caste and politicizing yoga towards healing justice. They discuss Sheena’s writing on Spectacles of Compassion, Decolonizing Yoga, Collective Healing, as well as some of the current politics behind the protests in India, International Yoga Day and the Modi government, and the radical possibility for a liberatory yoga of true compassion, solidarity and equity. This episode is sponsored by Karmasoft.
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.
Valerie Hauser, Director of the Office of Native American Affairs at the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, talks with J about her work protecting indigenous culture. They discuss the role she plays advising the US government, understanding land-based spirituality and Traditional Knowledge, working through bureaucracy, the disheartening reality of how many people just don’t care, burnout and demoralization over the last four years, and the continued fortitude to fight for what is right and embody justice and equality for everyone.
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.
Kiko Ellsworth, Emmy Award-Winning Actor, Men’s Evolution Coach, and Self Defense Expert, talks with J about discovering a spiritual life and the work men need to do for a better world. They discuss the process of abandoning egoic pursuits to find a deeper sense of self, the allure of celebrity, finding practices and ideas that help in confronting our demons, learning to better serve our partners with humility and grace, choosing to be a force of love and connection, and the unstoppable power of coming together with shared purpose.
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.
Gil Hedley, Ph.D., author, Director of Somanautics Workshops and producer of the The Integral Anatomy Series, talks with J about the substance and meaning of existence in a human body. They discuss theology and ethics, the models with which we view our bodies, denial of the feminine and releasing dogmas, “the fuzz” and “perifascia,” understanding interconnectedness of all things by observing it within our own systems, and fully embodying the majesty and grace that imbues our cells. This episode is sponsored by Karmasoft.
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.
Todd Mclaughlin, oo-founder and director of Native Yoga Center and host of the Native Yoga Toddcast, talks with J about current events and pressing matters. After appearing on Todd’s show, J felt like it captured the spirit of what he loves about podcasting and decided to re-release it on Yoga Talks as a fun switch. They discuss the storming of the US Capital and politics, the exposing of fake gurus and processing the fallout, surviving the pandemic and dealing with stark realities, and finding hope through conversation and connection.
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.
Daniel Simpson, former foreign correspondent and author of The Truth of Yoga: A Comprehensive Guide to Yoga’s History, Texts, Philosophy, and Practices, talks with J about exposing truth in both journalism and yoga. They discuss Daniels experience of writing for the NY Times after 9/11, why he decided to leave behind a career in journalism and pursue yoga scholarship, what we actually know about the origins of yoga, and making clear distinctions between what texts say and what we choose to do with them. This episode is sponsored by Karmasoft.
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.
Lucy Karnani, coauthor of Connecting: Conscious Communication for Yoga Teachers and Therapists, talks with J about utilizing tools for understanding connection and communication. Lucy and J have been interacting for some time and this was an opportunity for them to connect and discuss her background in facilitating effective communication, the importance of values and motivations, levels of listening, conditions for change, and the link between our experience of practice and being able to share it with others in a way that is helpful.
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.
Krishna Das, best-selling western chant artist of all time, talks with J about what a real guru is and the practice of chanting. They discuss KD’s experience of Neem Karoli Baba and the role of a guru, his early beginnings of leading kirtan in NYC, singing to clean out the dark places, overcoming the pitfalls that come from becoming more interesting to others, doing things for the right reasons and understanding deeper love, and entering into heart spaces to experience the interconnectedness of all. This episode is sponsored by Karmasoft.
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.
Trina Altman, author of Yoga Deconstructed®: Movement Science Principles for Teaching, returns to the show to touch base with J on expanding movement diets and meeting goals. They catch up on whats been happening since they last spoke and how they have been navigating the pandemic, discuss the evolution of yoga teaching, Trina’s views on utilizing movement and working with people on an individual level, what we are doing when we develop strength, and the deeper inquiry into ourselves that transcends labels or categories.
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 Rosenstock, host of the Touching Into Presence Podcast, talks with J about Rolfing and other forms of mind/body therapies. They discuss the history of the Rolfing modality, what goes into being “rolfed,” Andrew’s viewpoint on different aspects of both technique and philosophy, parallels between structural integration and yoga therapy, Rolf movement, gait analysis, holism in assessment and application, what can actually be done to a structure and why, and the somatic exploration at the heart of facilitating awareness and health.