Noah Mazé - "Downturns and Ambiguities in Yoga Profession"

Tim Kelleher, founder of Back Bay Yoga Union (formerly Boston Yoga Union,) talks with J about the trials and tribulations of being a yoga center owner then and now. They discuss being naive when the pandemic hit, legal action and predatory capitalism, a life threatening struggle with substance abuse and feeling safe in your body, collaboration, attendance patterns and irregularity of schedules, lack of full-time yoga teachers, faith in something bigger, cultivating contentment, and the soul encouragement of connecting with others.   To subscribe and support the show… GET PREMIUM. Say thank you - buy J a coffee. Check out J's other podcast… J. BROWN YOGA THOUGHTS.    

David Swenson, author of Only Dead Fish Go With The Flow, talks with J about his new memoir and the evolution of styles and systems. They discuss doing yoga from a book, leaving home at a young age and moving to California, emergence of vinyasa, beliefs about gurus, Patabhi Jois, thirst for knowledge, the Hari Krishna Movement, spiritual communities and going under cover to make money, abbreviated forms, origins of flow, retirement, ego gratification and humble service, proof being in the person, and the value of lightheartedness in practice and life.   To subscribe and support the show… GET PREMIUM. Say thank you - buy J a coffee. Check out J's other podcast… J. BROWN YOGA THOUGHTS.    

Jahnavi (Claire) Missingham talks with J about living a life and having a profession in yoga. They discuss being raised by a devout Sufi and going by different names, NY from 1997-2005, music in classes, Sean Corn, Jivamukti training at Omega Institute, Peter Rizzo, teachers being placed on pedestals, HOME Wellness opening up in London, Kundalini yoga with Guru Jagat, Yogaglo, DVD's and Yoga Journal, intellectual property and protecting integrity, utilizing technology, devotion and Hinduism, and finding our way back to who we really are inside.   To subscribe and support the show… GET PREMIUM. Say thank you - buy J a coffee. Check out J's other podcast… J. BROWN YOGA THOUGHTS.    

Andrew Tanner, founder of the Berkshire Yoga Festival and the American Yoga Council, talks with J live from the Berkshire Yoga Festival 2025 about the launch of his new project to advance the profession of yoga teaching. They discuss the long history of standards and trade organizations, core values of AYC, retirement funds, standards and a new system, proficiency-based education, incentive structures and career paths, differentiation, public benefit corporations, technology and growth, and focusing on helping yoga teachers make a living.   To subscribe and support the show… GET PREMIUM. Say thank you - buy J a coffee. Check out J's other podcast… J. BROWN YOGA THOUGHTS.    

Reika Shucart, host of the Full-Time Yoga Teacher Podcast, talks with J about what has become of studio culture and the realities of the profession in 2025. They discuss the differences between Japanese and American cultures, international development and volunteer tourism, teaching 28-30 classes/week, benefiting from online training, earning more money and ethical conflicts, mirrors, vegetarianism, less yoga specific offerings, lifestyle and identity, ashtanga active series, and getting outside the box to witness and inspire students.   To subscribe and support the show… GET PREMIUM. Say thank you - buy J a coffee. Check out J's other podcast… J. BROWN YOGA THOUGHTS.    

Paul Bramadat, Director of the Centre for Studies in Religion and Society at University of Victoria and author of Yogalands: In Search of Practice on the Mat and in the World, talks with J about letting your body settle the score and the anthropology of yoga. They discuss transformation and academic dispassion, experience vs intellectual reasoning, religious studies and small p politics, the response from academic circles to being a yoga teacher, healing properties of practice, coping with the world better, and connection to what animates your curiosity.   To subscribe and support the show… GET PREMIUM. Say thank you - buy J a coffee. Check out J's other podcast… J. BROWN YOGA THOUGHTS.    

Reggie Hubbard, founder of Active Peace Yoga, talks with J about recovering from a stroke and praying instead of protesting. They discuss his background in politics, the impact of 9/11, realities of a broken system, working for Bernie Sanders, navigating dark nights of the soul, collective liberation, coming into community, political neutrality as a privilege, having a stroke, turning to sound for healing, listening to your intuition, addressing dis-regulation with deep spiritual resonance, and gratitude for every little miracle.   To subscribe and support the show… GET PREMIUM. Say thank you - buy J a coffee. Check out J's other podcast… J. BROWN YOGA THOUGHTS.  

Aimee Echo, founder of Community Yoga Club/Ashtanga Yoga Long Beach, talks with J about the carrying on of tradition and the evolution of practice. They discuss parallel scenes in 90's LA and NY, sub culture of Mysore rooms, Patabhi Jois touring the US, studying with Sharath and Shruthi, authorization agreements and certification, Jois Yoga, aftermath of Sharath's death, a new "active" series, hands on adjustments, comparing Ashtanga and Desikachar, listening, and casting a shorter net to invite more serious inquiry and practice.   To subscribe and support the show… GET PREMIUM. Say thank you - buy J a coffee. Check out J's other podcast… J. BROWN YOGA THOUGHTS.    

Abby Hoffmann, founder of Yantra Studio, talks with J about their formative years and opening another yoga center again after they both swore they never would. They discuss ashtanga rooms in the late 90's, classes getting sweaty, being asked to teach before TT’s existed, moving out of the city, bringing yoga to dance training, emergence of rock star teachers, freer approaches to asana, taking a gig at hot studio chain, advantages to the boutique fitness model, learning business skills, patterns of attendance, and being rooted in your community.   To subscribe and support the show… GET PREMIUM. Say thank you - buy J a coffee. Check out J's other podcast… J. BROWN YOGA THOUGHTS.    

Roberta McGinley, once owner of Tadasana Yoga Studio in Wappingers Falls NY, talks with J about owning centers and finding places to teach. They discuss when Roberta hosted J for a workshop in 2018, different styles and discerning hot, upscaling spaces with showers, moving from space to space, adult spiritual summer camps, unexpected life turns, people still using the Bikram brand, puppy yoga workshops and vin yin classes, ins and outs of hot 26, having your heart touched by yoga, and being with other people in shared intention.   To subscribe and support the show… GET PREMIUM. Say thank you - buy J a coffee. Check out J's other podcast… J. BROWN YOGA THOUGHTS.