Norman Blair - "Is Everything Political Including Yoga?"

Melissa Scagliarini, founder of Satya Yoga Studio, talks with J about teaching, having a center, and a local call to the divine. They discuss experiencing in person classes in remote New Hampshire, reasons for teacher training, health food stores, teaching opportunities and boom times for yoga centers, learning from India, deeper aspects of practice, changing terms for commercial leases, navigating pandemic policies, balancing work and family, physical demands of teaching, worrying about money, and recognizing what is important.   To subscribe and support the show… GET PREMIUM.   Check out J's other podcast… J. BROWN YOGA THOUGHTS.    

Norman Blair, author of Brightening Our Inner Skies: Yin and Yoga, talks with J about the appropriateness of teachers advocating for causes and campaigns. They discuss the state of the yoga industry since they last spoke, recognizing privilege and counting blessings, whether politics should be in yoga classes, Egalitarian yoga, war and genocide, having an impact on society, antisemitism and Zionism, critical thinking, propaganda, capitalism and mindfulness, and avoiding the distractions that keep us from what is most needed to be well.   To subscribe and support the show… GET PREMIUM.   Check out J's other podcast… J. BROWN YOGA THOUGHTS.    

Jenny Gladding, author of Self-Leadership Vs Self-Mastery: The Key to Leading with Clarity, Courage, and Heart, talks with J about healthy internal families and unburdening ourselves. They discuss the pitfall of mastery, feeling vs thinking through, free-spirited yoga, the usefulness of mirrors, Zen and the art of archery, who is in control, maps and territory, anthropomorphizing divinity, the parts of us that feel stuck and wounded, finding language and containers to communicate what we do, and developing a process for multi-dimensional healing.   To subscribe and support the show… GET PREMIUM.   Check out J's other podcast… J. BROWN YOGA THOUGHTS.    

She Coombes, a long-time teacher and practitioner, talks with J about living your yoga and what happens when lives get changed. They discuss seeking an alternative lifestyle in 1970's London, when yoga clothes were underwear, meditation with Maharaja, The Friends of Yoga, being blown away by the simple approach of TKV Desikachar, adaptation and modifications, stages of life, yoga becoming business oriented, sources of wisdom and transformation, and remaining resilient by consistently showing up with intention and heart.   To subscribe and support the show… GET PREMIUM.   Check out J's other podcast… J. BROWN YOGA THOUGHTS.    

Nrithya Jagannathan, director of Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram (KYM) Institute of Yoga Studies, talks with J about the legacy of T Krishnamacharya and TKV Desikachar. They discuss Nrithya's early role as an editor and copywriter at the KYM, the historical context and significance of T Krishnamacharya,  asana and Swedish calisthenics, tradition and adaptation, the contribution of TKV Desikachar, distinguishing between yoga and yoga therapy, meditation, reclaiming humanity, and bringing about transformation for spiritual growth.     J. Brown Yoga Teacher Training… NEW GROUP STARTS ONLINE in OCT - REGISTER NOW!.   To subscribe and support the show… GET PREMIUM.   Check out J's other podcast… J. BROWN YOGA THOUGHTS.  

Brian Dana Akers, author of The Yoga Manifesto, talks with J about the intrinsically free and historically egalitarian nature of yoga. They discuss the appeal of little orange books, the yoga scene in Kalamazoo, his Great-Great-Great-Grandfather's infamous speech to Abraham Lincoln, his fathers ministry and activism, studying and translating Sanskrit, training with Swami Vishnudevananda, grassroots word of mouth phenomena, science and religion, money, possible scenarios for the future, and why yoga matters now more than ever.     J. Brown Yoga Teacher Training… NEW GROUP STARTS ONLINE in OCT - REGISTER NOW!.   To subscribe and support the show… GET PREMIUM.   Check out J's other podcast… J. BROWN YOGA THOUGHTS.  

Bobbi Misiti, founder of BeFit Body & Mind, talks with J about the course that yoga profession and industry has taken over the years. They discuss committing to ashtanga vinyasa practice with Beryl Bender Birch, 600 person classes, seeing the good and bad of the yoga scene, Nancy Gilgoff and Manju Jois, forward bending with a rounded spine, learning 2nd series, hard adjustments, Patabhi Jois and losing faith, Mysore-style, shelf life of centers, the internal aspects, and the beauty of unique people coming together to create a community.   J. Brown Yoga Teacher Training… NEW GROUP STARTS ONLINE in OCT - REGISTER NOW!.   To subscribe and support the show… GET PREMIUM.   Check out J's other podcast… J. BROWN YOGA THOUGHTS.  

Nischala Joy Devi and Kamala Rose, cohosts of the podcast and forthcoming book: A Woman’s Gita: A Contemporary Version of the Bhagavad Gita by and for Western Women, talk with J about translating ancient wisdom texts from a woman's perspective. They discuss Kamala's punk rock background and choosing a monastic life, how they came together around the Gita, perspectives on historical depictions, ethics of war, divine revelation, prejudice against woman, and coming from your heart to bring forth the elegance and truth of Yoga.   J. Brown Yoga Teacher Training… NEW GROUP STARTS ONLINE in OCT - REGISTER NOW!.   To subscribe and support the show… GET PREMIUM.   Check out J's other podcast… J. BROWN YOGA THOUGHTS.  

Manu Molina, founder of Yoga Biz Mentor, talks with J about marketing yoga classes and retreats. They discuss creating platforms before the pandemic, impacts of everything going online, working for yoga centers, transitioning roles and mentoring others, monetization and content, the fine line between sleazy techniques and fair trade, overpromising and scarcity mindset, the ickiness of selling yourself, effectively communicating the value of what you offer, how to come up with pricing, organizing retreats, and having soul in the game.   J. Brown Yoga Teacher Training… NEW GROUP STARTS ONLINE in OCT - REGISTER NOW!.   To subscribe and support the show… GET PREMIUM.   Check out J's other podcast… J. BROWN YOGA THOUGHTS.

Sheela and Ravi Shankar, co-founders of Yoga Nidhi, talk with J about TKV Desikachar and the transformative power of yoga. They discuss the history of their relationship and how Ravi discovered TKV Desikachar, Sheela's religious upbringing, how she got to meet Desikachar and the different contexts she observed his teaching, chanting as meditation or prayer, whether God is fundamental to yoga, defining Ishvara Pranidana, OM, Satva dominance in the mind, characteristics of a yogi, and the greater purpose behind practice.   To subscribe and support the show… GET PREMIUM.   Check out J's other podcast… J. BROWN YOGA THOUGHTS.