Colin Dunsmuir - "TKV Desikachar and Relationship"

Colin Dunsmuir - "TKV Desikachar and Relationship"

Colin Dunsmuir, founder of True Yoga and author of How to Find Stillness Within, talks with J about the teachings of TKV Desikachar and the nature of yoga transmission. They discuss Colin's decision to forgo authorization in Ashtanga and become a yoga therapist, the training process, distinguishing characteristics of an individualized approach, Desikachar's unique example, and understanding the stages to deeper spiritual truths and awareness.

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Hamish Hendry - "Enduring Early Morning Mysore Self-Practice"

Hamish Hendry - "Enduring Early Morning Mysore Self-Practice"

Hamish Hendry, owner of Astanga Yoga London and publisher of Pushpam Magazine, talks with J about tirelessly teaching a daily Mysore program in London for over 25 years. They discuss the purpose of chanting, avoiding dogma, finding Ashtanga Vinyasa in the late eighties, becoming authorized and how it has changed, evolving as a teacher and staying in line with your beliefs, and the humbly remaining true to a commitment to service.

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Lisa Petersen - "Presence and a New Sense of Self"

Lisa Petersen - "Presence and a New Sense of Self"

Lisa Petersen, somatics innovator and yoga teacher, talks with J about the cross pollination of somatic movement modalities and traditional yoga. They discuss her training at Vivekenanda Kendra, defining a felt inner sense experience, Body Mind Centering and Hanna Somatics, pandiculation instead of stretching, deliberately simplified spaces, form and finding newness, radiating fluidic pathways, and discovering divinity.

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John Stirk - "Living at the End of Exhalation"

John Stirk - "Living at the End of Exhalation"

John Stirk, author of Deeper Still, talks with J about the non-material aspects of yoga and the importance of noticing. They discuss the influences of R.D.Laing, J. Krishnamurti, and Vanda Scaravelli, sensation and awareness, the value of not knowing, the field of shared energy, that which lays beyond fear and expresses our capacity for love, understanding nothing in particular, unconditioned wisdom, and trusting in our own experience.

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Year End Check In with J - “Zoloft, MRI’s, and Divine Spirit”

Year End Check In with J - “Zoloft, MRI’s, and Divine Spirit”

J takes a moment to break from his usual format to reflect on the challenges of the last year and share some of his biggest takeaways. He talks about his daughters mental health struggles and the medical care she has received, conclusions on the results of his MRI and persistent hip pain, scientific lenses in the alternative health sphere, knowing when to part ways from existing protocols, and embracing the role of spirit in yoga and healing.

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Richard Rosen - "Who Was I Then? Who Am I Now?"

Richard Rosen - "Who Was I Then? Who Am I Now?"

Richard Rosen, author of Yoga by the Numbers: The Sacred and Symbolic in Yoga Philosophy and Practice, talks with J about keeping yoga vibrant despite life's challenges. They discuss Richard's friendship with Rodney Yee, the Piedmont Yoga Center, Iyengar method in the early days, the appropriate use of pranayama, Yogi Ramacharaka, living with Parkinson's Disease, children's poetry for adults, and the intuitive process of a rewarding life.

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Elisa Malinverni - "Stories of Hope and Self-Healing"

Elisa Malinverni - "Stories of Hope and Self-Healing"

Elisa Malinverni, author of Yoga for Recovering Addicts: Stories of Hope and Ways of Self-Healing, returns to talk about overcoming addictions. They discuss the ways media and society distort information about addiction, the open drug scene in Berne in the eighties, opposing positions on what addiction is, when yoga becomes addictive, psychedelics and states of consciousness, and the role of prayer and spirit in overcoming challenges.

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Adam Bucko - "Prayer, God, and Engaged Contemplation"

Adam Bucko - "Prayer, God, and Engaged Contemplation"

Adam Bucko, author of Let Your Heartbreak Be Your Guide: Lessons in Engaged Contemplation, talks with J about prayer and divine grace. They discuss Adam’s childhood in Poland during the totalitarian regime, a life-defining experience in India, working with homeless youth, occupy wall street and social change, monasticism, falling apart that leads to a calling, being in a state of receptivity, and transforming into more loving people.

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Bernie Clark - "Your Body, Your Yoga Trilogy"

Bernie Clark - "Your Body, Your Yoga Trilogy"

Bernie Clark, author of the Your Body, Your Yoga Trilogy, talks with J about the completion of the third and final volume on the upper body and the larger picture of biomechanics and yoga. They discuss functional vs ascetic approaches to the body, stressing tissues, what air line pilot cockpits tell us, anti-fragility and stability, asymmetries and proportions, nocebo, the value of x-rays or MRI, and understanding that each person is unique.

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Rick Olderman - "Systems Thinking Approach to Chronic Pain"

Rick Olderman - "Systems Thinking Approach to Chronic Pain"

Rick Olderman, author and creator of the Fixing You® Method at Home Course and for Health Professionals, talks with J about his systems thinking approach to addressing pain. They discuss the limitations of traditional physical therapy education, incorporating Anatomy Trains and Hanna Somatics, biomechanics and common patterns of dysfunction, J's body and right anterior femoral glide syndrome, and creating bridges to function.

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Esther Gokhale - "Primal Posture and The Gokhale Method"

Esther Gokhale - "Primal Posture and The Gokhale Method"

Esther Gokhale, founder of the Gokhale Method, talks with J about alleviating pain through anthropologically informed postural work. They discuss the imprints of her childhood in India, her studies in biochemistry, the Aplomb Institute in Paris, the crippling back pain that led to her lifelong crusade, indigenous cultures and J-shaped spines, the use of wearable technology, butt muscles and gait, and learning to turn knowledge into postural habits.

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Jonni Pollard - "Vedic Meditation and Subtle Dimensions"

Jonni Pollard - "Vedic Meditation and Subtle Dimensions"

Jonni Pollard, cofounder of 1 Giant Mind and author of The Golden Sequence, talks with J about Vedic Meditation and the universal nature of our existence. They discuss Bija mantras, creating a movement around social coherence, scaling group meditation, a meeting with the Dalai Lama that changed everything, the split within science, guru function, prying open subtle dimensions, and the instinct to nurture a sense of belonging.

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Tanis Fishman - "What Do You Trust?"

Tanis Fishman - "What Do You Trust?"

Tanis Fishman, founder of the School of Sankulpa, talks with J about experiencing unity consciousness. They discuss surrender and awakening moments including a bad car accident Tanis was in at age 19, her travels and time at the Bihar School of Yoga, feeling beyond our mental impression storehouse, touching pure frequencies, prayer as communion with higher consciousness, and being witnessed upon the humble path.

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James Swanwick - "Blue Light, Alcohol, and Circadian Rhythms"

James Swanwick - "Blue Light, Alcohol, and Circadian Rhythms"

James Swanwick, co-founder of Swanwick Sleep, talks with J about wearing blue light blockers and eliminating alcohol consumption for better health. They discuss the positive effects James observed when he stopped drinking, how it lead to producing glasses with orange lenses, the evolution from natural to artificial lighting, the ill effects of blue light on melatonin release, and creating habits that help optimize performance and well being.

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Sam Wilde - "Connection, Liberation, and The Great Mother"

Sam Wilde - "Connection, Liberation, and The Great Mother"

Sam Wilde, founder of The Sacred Order of the Great Mother and host of the Fertile Feminist Podcast, talks with J about a connection they made years ago and nurturing a felt sense of The Great Mother. They discuss a formative conversation they happened into together two decades back, Sam's experience of not fitting into the yoga world, her work as a minister, feminist liberation theology, and being a midwife to the spirit of mothering.

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Laurel Beversdorf - "Grace, Purpose, and Resistance Bands"

Laurel Beversdorf - "Grace, Purpose, and Resistance Bands"

Laurel Beversdorf, creator of Yoga with Resistance Bands Teacher Training and host of the Movement Logic Podcast, talks with J about the integration of resistance bands and other implements into the deeper aspects of yoga. They discuss the way persistent pain shapes practice, conditioning and the value of strength training, the demonization of yoga poses, the fallacy of certifications, definition of training, and subtle elements of discovery.

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Eric Shaw - "A Comprehensive Yoga Timeline"

Eric Shaw - "A Comprehensive Yoga Timeline"

Eric Shaw, author of Sacred Thread: A Comprehensive Yoga Timeline: 2000 Events that Shaped Yoga History, talks with J about the arc of yoga and its relationship to culture from ancient times to modern day. They discuss Eric's early efforts to translate yoga scholarship into common vernacular, life on the yoga circuit, the infamous Facebook post, bifurcation at odds with unitary philosophy, and anchoring ourselves in transparency and truth.

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Catherine Annis - "Evolution of Yoga Teacher Training"

Catherine Annis - "Evolution of Yoga Teacher Training"

Catherine Annis, core teacher for Intelligent Yoga Teacher Training, talks with J about Scaravelli-inspired yoga and the evolution of yoga teacher training. They discuss her start as a dancer, discovering her primary teacher, moving into a space of ease rather than seeking out challenge, structure and the use of form, meeting people where they are, defining parameters for training teachers, and having courage to share authentic experience.

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Libby Hinsley - "Yoga and Hypermobility Syndromes"

Libby Hinsley - "Yoga and Hypermobility Syndromes"

Libby Hinsley, author of Yoga for Bendy People, talks with J about the prevalence and education gap regarding hypermobility syndromes. They discuss the lack of understanding and confusion around diagnosing Hypermibility Spectrum Disorder, varied issues that overly lax collagen can present, the benefit of slower and simpler movements, appropriate strength training, and the role of yoga in addressing pain and easing suffering.

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Nikki Costello - "Reimagining the Classroom"

Nikki Costello - "Reimagining the Classroom"

Nikki Costello talks with J about the changing dynamics between yoga teachers, students, and institutions. They discuss their parallel trajectory of practice over the last thirty years, Nikki's evolution and identity as an Iyengar lineage holder, the pedagogy of liberation, dogma and co-creation, facilitating inquiry, discernment of students, the problem with scaling yoga teacher training, and reimagining the classroom to embody healing.

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