J. Brown Yoga Talks

Cristina Kuhn returns to talk with J about the one big thing they didn’t discuss last time they got together, her MS. After their last podcast, they went out to dinner and Cristina mentioned her condition and agreed to come back on. They finally found an opportunity to make good on it. She shares what it was liked to be diagnosed, conventional and alternative treatments, the emotional impact, and the resolve to carry on with life. They also touch base on how business is going at her center in VA.

Cyndi Lee, founder of the influential OM Yoga center, was someone who set the stage for people like J. After running in the same circles for years, they finally get a chance to meet. They talk about Cyndi’s personal journey into yoga and Tibetan Buddhism, yoga coming into the mainstream, the story of how OM Yoga came into existence and why it had to close. Both Cyndi and J share openly about what it is to make your practice into a profession and the rapid change in the yoga industry.

J talks with Joey Slater-Milligan, background vocalist from the band Wheatus. Joey graduated from J’s teacher training program a while back and they take some time to learn about each other outside of the practice space. Joey shares her journey from a small village in England to playing arena-sized shows with a band she started out selling t-shirts for. They also discuss why she decided to do a yoga teacher training, dealing with the loss of parents, , and her new young adult sci-fi novel ‘PSY’.

ason Crandell has always been on J’s radar as someone of his generation who managed to break through into the mainstream. They talk about early days of Yoga Journal cruises, what it takes to launch a yoga career, the invent of yoga teacher training, social media literacy, realities and issues facing current yoga business models, raising the educational bar and holding teacher trainers accountable. They also discuss drug and alcohol addiction in loved ones, and the ins and outs of online video.

J returns the favor and brings on Wendy Reese, host of The Whole Being Zone Podcast. They talk about the horrors of having crappy internet service, what the yoga scene is like in a town of five hundred people, the journey from fitness to wholeness, dealing with mental illness, learning to love yourself, the practicality of psychic power, and how to build community. They also discuss her new book Alchemy of Yoga: Living Yoga Off the Ma.

ulie Buckner and J had been emailing back and forth for months, but only when the final word came down that she was definitely closing her yoga center did they sit down and talk about the state of affairs. They discuss the hard realities facing independent yoga centers vs standardized and scaled models, what it means to be successful but not profitable, real estate markets and sustainability, and even get into a bit of national politics. More than anything, they share in support and inspiration.

Eddie Stern, esteemed Ashtanga Yoga teacher, invites J to The Brooklyn Yoga Club to talk about the old days and current incarnations of his yoga and teaching. They discuss his early practice, formative times in the NY yoga scene, the entrance of Patabhi Jois into the US, the birth of “vinyasa” as a hybrid style, bringing yoga into schools, and whether or not Ashtanga Yoga is injurious. The conversation also brings them together around punk rock, hip-hop, yoga, and being true to who you are and what you

Serendipity brings Sam Chase, author of Yoga and the Pursuit of Happiness, and J together in this intimate back and forth about the parallels in both their early beginnings and current life situations. They discuss the lonely aspects of being a yoga teacher, Sam’s dual yoga personality, vinyasa yoga’s identity crisis, the evolution of Kripalu Yoga, and the origins and purpose behind Yoga to the People. They also touch on the back-end of owning a studio and the challenges inherent.

Michael Lee, founder of Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy, talks with J about the origins of Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy and its defining characteristics. They discuss creating safe containers for practice, identifying what’s going on in your body and in your life based on both experience and psychological principles, the thin line between yoga and yoga therapy, changes in the professional yoga landscape, and being true to who you are. They also share together in the many tribulations and that a life can presen

Hareesh (Christopher) Wallis has a B.A. in Religion and Classics from the University of Rochester, an M.A. in Sanskrit from U.C. Berkeley, an M.Phil. in Classical Indian Religions from Oxford, and a Ph.D. on the traditions of Śaiva Tantra from Berkeley. He talks with J about the art and science of translating Sanskrit, the influence of Tantra on modern yoga, non-duality, Abhinava Gupta, and how the removal of conceptual overlays and integration of transcendence reveals inherent wonder and awe in life.

J sits down with Jennilyn Carson, long time friend, editor in chief of Yogadork, founder of Cycledork and TASCbar. They rode the wave of yoga into the mainstream together and reminisce over some of the sign posts and stories that marked the way. The conversation also covers Jennilyn’s interests in woman’s cycles, cats, social justice, and the ever-changing “cluster-f***” of yoga culture and news. The two commune on the silver linings, and J explains why he decided this would be the year anniversary

J talks with Pamela Tanner Boll, award winning producer and director of the documentary films A Small Good Thing and Who Does She Think She Is? They discuss her earlier work and formative times in life that shaped the themes running through her movies, including the pressing issues addressed in her recent work that spoke to J deeply and inspired their conversation. They touch on the difference between holding space vs fighting for it, and the importance of being curious, not furious.

Judith Hanson Lasater is a seminal figure in the yoga world. She talks with J about the earliest times for independent yoga teachers, her experience with BKS Iyengar, reasons for withdrawal from the Iyengar organization, and the inspiration behind what she teaches now. They discuss the appropriateness and intention with which we practice, the privilege of teaching and holding a sacred circle of safety, understanding psychological projection, and mirroring back the inherent wisdom of the student.

Kerry Porter joins J to discuss some of the comment threads they have participated in together as mutual members of a Facebook group, and the implications they share with broader issues in our politics. They talk about the decolonizing of language and culture, listening to the voices of injustice, the marketplace of exploitation, appropriated yoga, and how we might begin to stop perpetuating oppressive power imbalances through reparatory justice instead of essentially telling people to “go eat a turd pie.

Diane Bruni was the first Ashtanga yoga teacher in Canada. She stopped by J’s yoga class in Brooklyn and they sat down afterwards to talk about her story of yoga’s entrance into the mainstream, yoga injuries, and the new directions that are being forged. Diane shares openly about her early and unconventional instruction in Iyengar method, controversial exit from the Ashtanga community, cancer diagnosis and healing, and the movement research she is exploring now. They discuss the Slow Yoga Revolution.