Julie Smerdon, founder of Shri Yoga, talks with J about the golden times for the yoga profession and the challenges it now faces. They discuss Julie's early formative health challenges, her transition from fitness to yoga, moving from the US to Australia, opening a center and building a community, having to close during the pandemic, pros and cons of doing teacher trainings, and finding out if it’s possible to make a living teaching without a center?

Kristine Kaoverii Weber, founder of Subtle® Yoga, talks with J about the subtle nuances of embracing a practice and life of yoga. They discuss Kristine's early years on "walkabout," going against the grain, neuroscience as a lens, implicate order and the crisis of misperception, moving to New Zealand, mystical realms, listening for divine messages, and bridging the seeming chasms that keep us bound and resistant to love.

Dave and Stacy Dockins, creators of the Yoga Project™ studios, talk with J about closing their yoga centers and living in a van. They discuss what happened when the pandemic hit and letting go of owning and operating three yoga studios, deciding to live in a van, the benefits of online teaching, day-to-day of being on the road including showers and places to sleep, and the profound philosophical impact of breaking from conventional life.

Divya Kohli, author of Finding Peace in Difficult Times: grounding techniques for inner calm, talks with J about taking a stance and simple ways to pull us through. They discuss Divya's time as a journalist, counter-narratives and navigating difficult conversations, surrender as a practice, insecurity vs uncertainty, chasing cures and experiential awareness, and how we can stay sane and steady in an increasingly fast, complex and stimulated world.

Kate Herrera Jenkins, owner or Kiva Hot Yoga in Birmingham, AL, founder of Native Strength Revolution and Stripper Soul, talks with J about building bridges and connecting to spirit. They discuss her time as a dancer in NY and discovering her purpose, her faith in Jesus, Cochiti Pueblo heritage, her Grandma Julie, hot yoga and kivas, christianity and native american connection to the spirit world, and healing indigenous communities..

Jennifer Kurdyla, coauthor of Root and Nourish, talks with J about developing a reverent and nurturing relationship with food. They discuss the many hats that Jennifer has worn including her work as an editor, her experience of coming to yoga and awareness around food, seasonal eating, kitchari, gut-brain connection, the rule of threes and lying with your left side down, Ojas, and learning to engage food respectfully as a sacred act of existence.

Jay B. Marcus and Christopher S. Clark, coauthors with Robert Keith Wallace of The Coherence Effect, talk with J about the healing effect of making the mind and body function in a more coherent way. They discuss entropy and the second law of thermodynamics, homeostasis, Transcendental Meditation and brain wave function, Ayurveda, western medicine, science behind sacred sounds, and changing society by spreading inner coherence.

Alison West, founder of Yoga Union and one of J's primary teachers, joins the show for the first time to talk about their shared past and the what they see going forward. They discuss Alison's former career as an art historian, her transition to yoga, when they met in the early nineties, when grassroots organizing saved NY state from regulation, back care and scoliosis, and the tenderness and inspiration shared through yoga inquiry.

Kari Hohne, author of Decoding the Night Sky: Ancient Babylonian Astrology and The Mythology of Sleep: The Waking Power of Dreams, talks with J about oracles and the field of interconnectivity underlying reality. They discuss Kari's early interest in dreams, studying physics and ancient systems, interpreting symbols of the mind, creating a dream dictionary, Tao te Ching and I Ching, synchronicity, and the expansiveness of trusting life is benign.

Norman Blair returns to the show to assess the current state of the yoga teaching profession and encourage creative ways of moving forward. They discuss the impact of the pandemic on teachers and centers, online teaching and getting back together in person, pay equity for yoga teachers and the formation of a yoga teacher union, the benefits of keeping things small and cooperative, and daring to think creatively about our future.

Kelly Kamm was recommended to J by a listener and it lead to this talk about the NY yoga scene, mythology, and the current state of play. They discuss earlier times, opening and closing a yoga center, misgivings of vinyasa yoga, seeking deeper connection to the invisible forces of magic and spirit, hindu mythology and fringe dwelling goddesses, leaning into the uncomfortable, incorrect assumptions, and fusing the sacred and the everyday.

Jessie Nieusma (he/him/his) answered J's call to join him for a discussion to dispel misinformation and humanize trans people. They discuss the realities of trans kids, the importance of ensuring that trans people receive the care they need, myths about sports and bathrooms, scare tactics and statistics, spectrum’s along both gender and sex, different ways to move the needle towards equality, and getting to know each other across our differences.

Kathryn Anne Flynn, author of Teach Kind, Clear Yoga, talks with J about yoga methodology and pedagogy. They discuss the influence of yoga in Kathryn's childhood, teaching yoga for the general population, magic, Madame Blavatsky and the Theosophical Society, the "ceptions" and exploratory practice, pigeon pose, mobility and stability vs strength and flexibility, strategies for making practice fit needs, and daring to be simple.

Katchie Ananda, J's first yoga teacher, returns to the show to talk about gender spectrum and biological sex. They discuss how Katchie ended up becoming active and writing about the issue, the cancel campaign waged against her in response, whether intersex people prove that sex is assigned rather than observed, woman’s liberation and individual expression, Big Pharma in trans medicine, and every persons right to be whoever they want,

Gregor Maele, author of How to Find Your Life's Divine Purpose, talks with J about belief systems and realizing a purposeful life. They discuss pros and cons of experiencing the entirety of everything at once, perceptual filters and the process of enculturation, infinite human capacity for bullshitting, how we know what we know and how we know if were wrong, feeling freer from a fear of death, and collective purpose in finding peace with nature.

Rachel Feinberg, old friend and Iyengar yoga teacher, talks with J about what's been happening since they last spoke 14 years ago. They discuss Rachel's lack of online presence and how she has managed to keep it local, the role of alignment in Iyengar yoga, teaching at IYAGNY, having your own space vs teaching at a center, weathering the pandemic, and the subtle exchange between teachers and students that communicates yoga.

Madhava Setty, MD, author of WOKE. An Anesthesiologist’s View and The Conspirituality Podcast: Clear Signal or More Noise?, talks with J about challenging official narratives. They discuss his early career in the Aerospace and Defense Industries, his transition to studying medicine and observing people under Anastasia, questions around the pandemic, the official story of 9/11 WTC7, and the radical implications of interconnectedness.

Sheena Sood, PhD, Philly-based healer, writer, educator, and activist scholar of South Asian descent, talks with J about the painful history of caste and politicizing yoga towards healing justice. They discuss Sheena’s writing on Spectacles of Compassion, Decolonizing Yoga, Collective Healing, as well as some of the current politics behind the protests in India, International Yoga Day, the Modhi government, and the radical possibility for a liberatory yoga.

Valerie Hauser, Director of the Office of Native American Affairs at the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, talks with J about her work protecting indigenous culture. They discuss the role she plays advising the US government, understanding land-based spirituality and Traditional Knowledge, the disheartening reality of how many people just don’t care, and the continued fortitude to fight for what is right and embody justice.

Kiko Ellsworth, Emmy Award-Winning Actor, Men’s Evolution Coach, and Self Defense Expert, talks with J about discovering a spiritual life and the work men need to do for a better world. They discuss the process of abandoning egoic pursuits to find a deeper sense of self, the allure of celebrity, learning to better serve our partners with humility, choosing to be a force of love, and the unstoppable power of coming together with shared purpose.