Richard Freeman was the person J most wanted to speak with when starting the podcast and his dream is finally realized in this conversation celebrating the 100th episode. They discuss what yoga was like in the late 60’s, how Richard came to study with BKS Iyengar and Pattabhi Jois, universal threads that run through contemplative traditions, trends that have emerged, and the importance of remaining curious about the nature of reality.

Amina Naru, board member and project manager at the Yoga Service Council, owner of Posh Yoga, talks with J about her work bringing yoga into juvenile detention centers and prisons, and the new Best Practices for Yoga in the Criminal Justice System. They discuss her spiritual name, some of the trials and tribulations that have shaped her journey into yoga, creating community, and the profound gift of shared acceptance and purpose. 

Tiffany Cruikshank, founder of Yoga Medicine, joins J for a discussion about her early challenges and roots into yoga and holistic healing modalities, and the process of developing her work. Their conversation includes a consideration of changing paradigms, how she incorporates or separates her yoga with her work in sports medicine and orthopedics, her experience of navigating the yoga industry, and fusing eastern and western medicine.

J met Maria Kirsten, founder of Yoga for Grown Ups, through mutual contacts in Japan and they kind of hit it off after discovering they share many common experiences and viewpoints in yoga. In this conversation, they compare notes on teaching and discuss a range of topics including the importance of self-directed mentorship, fostering gradual progressions and relationships over time, and asking the big questions on where it’s all going.

Rexx Anthony, founder of Rogue Ashtanga, wrote a blog post entitled "A Cautionary Tale on Operating Yoga Studios" that caught J’s attention and spurred this conversation. They talk about Rexx’s early adoption of Ashtanga Yoga and how the system has changed over the years. They also discuss the trends and tribulations of managing a yoga center and the personal and professional factors that make up a life in the grassroots yoga world.

Seane Corn, creator of 'Off the Mat, Into the World', joins J for a lively and wide-ranging discussion on coming into adulthood as teachers alongside yoga going mainstream. Seane talks about the early days of NY Yoga, her migration west, “yoga celebrity,” and political activism. The conversation also examines sexual misconduct in the yoga world, and the light, shadows and people that have shaped her inspirational teaching.

Or Shahar, from freedomyoga.info, is a podcast listener with a booker who got a bit lucky and caught J in a moment that led to this candid and unexpected conversation about family, cultural divides, and the universality of yoga. Or shares her process of healing depression and trauma, making a life for herself in Berlin, and the challenge of meeting people where they are while still holding true to principles that explore the depth of practice.

Barbara Benagh, legendary indy yoga teacher, joins J to trace the history and evolution of yoga from the 70’s until the present day. They discuss her early adoption of Iyengar yoga, her progression into a more somatic approach, the teachers and influences that have inspired her along the way, her relationship to and feeling about the ascendance of yoga as business and the celebrity of teachers, and how she ended up charting her own course.

Justine Mastin, creator of YogaQuest, talks with J about bringing yoga to the geek community. They discuss what it means to be a geek, the process of embracing her inner nerd through yoga, and how she came to create a narrative-based practice that gives permission for people to be who they are even when it doesn't fit what other people think is normal. Justine provides an example of bringing yoga with whimsy to unconventional spaces.

Anneke Lucas, founder of Liberation Prison Yoga, returns to talk with J about her thoughts on the resurgence of the #metoo movement, the politics of power addiction, and the larger implications for the yoga world. They discuss the public reckoning that men are being confronted with, the prevalence of pedophilia and conspiracies that cover it up, enabling in the ashtanga tradition, the criminal justice system, and what it means to be liberated.

Jill Miller, creator of Yoga Tune Up® and The Roll Model Method®, talks with J eight days after receiving hip replacement surgery. They discuss their parallel journeys, Jill’s decision to go under the knife, what its been like since, the blowback she got online, and why J is both grateful and freaked out by her example. The conversation also touches on issues surrounding injuries in yoga, and the challenge of being able to evolve and grow.

Alexis Marback and Caitlin Lanier, members of The Breathe Network, talk with J about the evolving world of trauma-informed yoga. They discuss the expansion of trauma sensitivity in the wake of yoga scandals, whether increased training is warranted, pitfalls in labeling and standardizing individual experience, Flip Chips, and how the current landscape is changing the dynamics and context. They also tackle addressing power dynamics.

Sadie Nardini, founder of Core Strength Vinyasa and The Yoga Shred, host of Rock Your Yoga and cast member of Yoga Girls, talks with J about her early beginnings and emergence as a social media yoga icon. Sadie discusses her childhood struggle with a neurological disorder, the fierce determination that helped her be strong, and the unintended consequences that forced her to change. They also discuss her persona as the “black sheep” of yoga.

Lucas Rockwood, founder of Yoga Teachers College and YOGABODY Naturals, host of Yoga Talk Show, is a fellow podcaster and expat who wrote a scathing piece about doTerra that got J’s attention. They have a lively discussion about leaving the NY scene to stake a claim in the international markets, his evolution from accidental teacher to retreat center owner, starting a supplements company, and creating an online presence.

Matthew Taylor, past president of the board of directors of International Association of Yoga Therapists, chair of their business development community, and leader in business and clinical skills development for Yoga therapists, talks with J about the origins and future of yoga as a respected therapy. They discuss Matthew’s background in integrative rehabilitation, his evolution, the creation of standards, and new developments in the field.

Kimberly Wilson, founder of Tranquil Space and host of the Tranquility du Jour Podcast, sold two of the most popular yoga center locations in the DC area to Yogaworks right about the same time that J sold his center in Brooklyn. They talk about the arc of yoga in the mainstream, the process of growing a yoga center and related businesses, and what it means to let go and move on to new horizons when the time comes.

J sits down with Roody Senecal, creator of Karmasoft Online, to talk about how he went from manufacturing metal doors to becoming a yoga teacher, owning a yoga center, and developing the software that J ran his center with for seven out of ten years he had it. They discuss Roody’s childhood in Haiti, his relationship to his wife, training with Bikram Choudhury, and how he fosters a successful yoga center and business.

Jillian Pransky, author of Deep Listening, talks with J about her journey in overcoming anxiety and finding a slow, gentle approach to body and life. They discuss her childhood and early exposure to meditation, giving up a “real” job in publishing to pursue a yoga career, the influences that have shaped her work and led to a focus on restorative yoga, and her new book. The conversation also touches on finding a healthy work/life balance.

Vanessa Kudrat Weinberg, founder of Body Mind Gifts, is an old friend of J’s from their early college years who showed up to one of his final classes in Brooklyn after not seeing each other in over fifteen years. They reconnect and reminisce on the old days at NYU, talk about Vanessa’s studies with Yogi Bhajan, the early days of the internet, and the ways in which wellness and yoga have gone mainstream and become professions.

Trina Altman, creator of Yoga Deconstructed® and Pilates Deconstructed®, talks with J about her viewpoint on the limitations of the physical side of yoga for fitness and health. They discuss life events and influences that have led to the combination of modalities and techniques informing her teaching and approach to yoga and embodied movement. J learns about the differences between Yoga and Pilates, and having a wider movement diet.