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.

Sukadev Bretz, founder of Yoga Vidya, talks with J about going from being a disciple of Swami Vishnudevananda to founding a democratically run non-profit spiritual Yoga organization. They discuss what it was like to become a disciple and take vows, when institutions become more about rules than people, choosing to leave and creating something with community rights and safeguards, and allowing ourselves to be guided by the Divine.

Jeff Carreira, author of The Path of Spiritual Breakthrough: From Awakening to Cosmic Awareness, talks with J about the process of awakening into deeper awareness of our spiritual existence. They discuss the realization that there is more to reality than the sum total of everything we’ve been told exists, how we make meaning, organic growth, disappointment of a spiritual path, and embracing a field of infinite possibility as the new paradigm.

Robin Rose Bennett, author of Healing Magic: A Green Witch Guidebook to Conscious Living and The Gift of Healing Herbs, talks with J about the language of plants and the need for radical revitalization. They discuss the value of dandelion, Ginkgo biloba trees, the sacredness of dirt, turtle medicine, synchronicity, oat straw, earth spirit teachings, Robins upcoming course on Radical Self-Care, and the evolutionary impulse towards "kin-dome.".

Glenn Murphy, author and Founder of NC Systema, talks with J about the Russian martial art of Systema and the intersection of self-defense and self-development. They discuss the origins of Systema, Glenn's background in other types of martial arts, the limitations of over adherence to form, Vladimir Vasiliev and Mikhail Ryabko, remaining calm when someone punches you in the face, and experiencing yourself as part of nature.

Linda Cassidy, old-school teacher and listener of the show, talks with J about yoga being founded on a exploration and realization of the divine. They discuss her religious background and early studies in eastern philosophies, breaking from dogma, presentations of spirit, Bhagavad Gita, consensual reality and inner knowing, moving away from materialism, Sushumna Nadi, and tickling the possibility of being in touch with a metaphysical center.

Alma Duran, PhD, is a cultural anthropologist, yoga teacher, and friend of J's who joins the show to talk about the migration of yoga over time and the cultivation of discernment. They discuss the early days of yoga in the eighties and Alma's time as a tv and film producer, Yogaworks in LA in the nineties, being inspired by TKV Desikachar, cultural anthropology, and the progression of yoga from the forest to the palace to the mall to the internet.

Lauren Walker, founder of Energy Medicine Yoga and author of The Energy To Heal, returns again to further convince J that we are electromagnetic beings with the capacity to heal. They discuss ways to feel your own energy, the nine energy systems, bringing principles from one-to-one Energy Medicine to group Yoga, democratizing energy practices, difference between healing and curing, and moving from a field of trauma to a field of magic.

Monica Voss, co-owner and director of Esther Myers Yoga Studio, talks with J about her studies with Vanda Scaravelli and Esther Myers. They discuss her discovery of yoga through Esther and transition from Iyengar to Vanda's approach, structure and freedom, individual agency, fundamental principles behind Vanda's teaching, elongating with wavelike pulsations, tapping into outer realms through poetry, and staying true to your convictions.

Bari Gratton, coauthor of an Open Letter To Yoga Alliance along with collaborators Meghan Maris, Courtney Ng, Gayatri Sehgal, and Shuo Wang, talks with J about the possibility for change in the yoga profession. They discuss the Masters of Arts in Yoga Studies program at Loyola Marymount University, problems with the Yoga Alliance, whether yoga teaching ought to be regulated, appropriation and racism, and engaging in good faith dialogue.

Blake Tedder, host of Inner Explorations with Angela and Victor: A Yoga Podcast, talks with J about healing trauma and going deeper in personal practice. They discuss Blake's process of recovery after being in a plane crash, discovering yoga and the influence of his teachers, disassociation and ways to embodiment, his evolution in personal practice of listening to the body, and being directed by the intelligent Life Force that flows through us.

Karin Lynn Carlson, author of the substack Gristle and bone, talks with J about leaving the yoga profession and the power of prayer. They discuss the pitfalls of a group yoga class context, her decision to wind down her teaching, importance of mentorship, a cultural moment defined by repressed futility, her turn to writing and most recent post, acknowledging a higher power, and how prayer renders us responsibility for our humanity.

Nick Beem, co-founder of Grateful Yoga, talks with J about the implications of yoga as ritual vs technology. They discuss the contrast between Nicks training in Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy and ParaYoga, why framing yoga as a set of tools for self improvement is lacking, intention empowering practice, recognizing our animistic ancestry and a More Than Human world, and riding the slippery edge where doing and surrender blend together.

Kat Rosenfield, author of No One Will Miss Her and co-host of the Feminine Chaos Podcast, talks with J about her recent article on politics in the yoga space. They discuss Kat's evolution as a freelance pop culture and political writer, her separate life in yoga practice and teaching, the merging of those worlds in her article regarding infighting in online yoga communities, and reserving the right to let yoga remain a neutral ground in the culture wars.

Sophie Strand, author of The Flowering Wand: Rewilding the Sacred Masculine and facilitator of the online course, Myth & Mycelium: Rerooting & Rewilding the Gospels, talks with J about summoning enchantment and healing beyond hope. They discuss Sophie's health journey and the medical industrial complex, epiphanies around fungi organisms, cultural stories vs lived experience, "the animate everything," and alchemical storytelling.

Nischala Joy Devi, author of The Secret Power of Yoga: A Woman's Guide to the Heart and Spirit of the Yoga Sutras, returns to talk with J about her revised interpretation of Patanjali's last two padas. They discuss what led to doing a revision on Yoga Sutras, the criticism she has received, why so little consideration is given to the third and fourth padas, going beyond mind, intuitive wisdom, and relinquishing efforts to effortlessly reside in our heart.

Leslie Kaminoff, founder of The Breathing Project and coauthor of Yoga Anatomy, returns to talk with J about the changing professional landscape and deeper inquiries into the nature of healing. They discuss Leslie's bout with long covid, the third edition of Yoga Anatomy, TKV Desikachar and teachings on Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, Leslie's coming show, having faith, surrendering to dharma, intuition, and forever continuing to learn.

Dr. Shamini Jain, Founder and Director of the Consciousness and Healing Initiative and author of Healing Ourselves: Biofield Science and the Future of Health, talks with J about how there need be no divide between science and spirituality. They discuss healing as the absence of disease (pathogenesis) vs a reflection of harmony (salutagenisous,) what placebo research tells us, Jainism, and how the biggest aura (nature) always wins.

Amy Matthews, co-founder of Babies Project and Program Director for the Somatic Movement Educator (SME) at Sonder Movement Project, returns to talk with J about redefining what it is to be human and reimagining educational models. They discuss the jarring stop to being a traveling teacher, the third edition of Yoga Anatomy, yoga and somatics, embodiment, ourselves as more than individuals, and pedagogy based in curiosity.

Lorin Roche, author of the Radiance Sutras and creator of the Radiance Sutras School of Meditation, talks with J about instinctive meditation and the Vijñāna-bhairava-tantra. They discuss the natural unfolding of meditative experience, formalities and spiritual cosplay, distrust and ethics in meditation teachings, unpacking sanskrit texts and the language of spirit, and that which captures our attention and brings delight.