J. Brown Yoga Thoughts

The Blogcast. Celebrating 10 years of 800 words per month, written and now read aloud by J. Brown, influential independent yoga teacher at the forefront of the slow yoga renaissance. J navigates coming into his adulthood alongside yoga becoming mainstream and ends up leading the way in what is at once both a revolution and return to the ancients roots of yoga.

EP106 Yoga Teacher, Heal Thyself 10/01/2026

EP106 Yoga Teacher, Heal Thyself /episode/index/show/jbrownyogathoughts/id/43117748

EP105 Shell Games Keep the Myth Alive 09/25/2026

EP105 Shell Games Keep the Myth Alive Nothing exemplifies the false narratives perpetuated by the yoga industrial complex more than a recent Yoga Journal headline that read: “How to Make $5 Classes Sustainable.” These stories, often well-intentioned, are the product of outdated modes of thinking that turn earnest people into unwitting hypocrites. Challenging the status quo by returning to an earlier stage in the evolution of yoga transmission, but with new eyes, might be the best way to break free of our current extractive paradigm. /episode/index/show/jbrownyogathoughts/id/43028488

EP104 Proper Alignment in Yoga 09/17/2026

EP104 Proper Alignment in Yoga Generally speaking, when someone sets out to learn a new skill there is a natural human impulse to want to get it right. Being able to do a yoga pose in a certain way often becomes an extrapolated question of safety. Doing it right means safety. Doing it wrong means injury. Unfortunately, anyone who has engaged in a deep inquiry of yoga knows that looking for rights and wrongs to follow when it comes to practice is not only an unhelpful context, but is the primary obstacle to understanding the role of engaging poses as a means towards health and well-being. /episode/index/show/jbrownyogathoughts/id/42887825

EP103 Less Pandering, Less Students 09/13/2026

EP103 Less Pandering, Less Students There is a convenient irony to the way the yoga-related industry effectively exploits the weaknesses in people that yoga purports to help. As teachers come clean with themselves on what they are actually doing, and make choices truer to their evolving understanding of yoga, they often find their class sizes begin to wane. Fostering the beneficial purpose of yoga teachings in our society will require us to better navigate the uncomfortable trade-offs between successful business promotion and the false expectations it perpetuates. /episode/index/show/jbrownyogathoughts/id/42887790

EP102 The Unexplainable Importance of Yoga 04/23/2026

EP102 The Unexplainable Importance of Yoga We’ve all heard about the amazing things that yoga can do for us, but try explaining exactly what it is and how it works and you quickly find yourself on shaky ground. There is an innate something at the heart of the matter that simply cannot be measured, only felt. As unsatisfying as this may be, the highly subjective perception of our own experience is the only real basis for any understanding, and the very thing that makes yoga so vital. /episode/index/show/jbrownyogathoughts/id/40891680

EP101 A Case for Anarchy in Yoga 04/16/2026

EP101 A Case for Anarchy in Yoga Radical transformation is the provenance of yoga. The promise of bringing about change in oneself through will and determination, being able to derive truth and purpose by observing our own experience rather than succumbing to societal conditioning or the influence of outside authorities, is inherently revolutionary. The compartmentalization and standardization of practice techniques, and the parsing of yogic experience through a scientific lens, has created the perception that yoga can be neutered of its subversive underpinnings. Yet, truly authentic expressions always seem to retain a spark of the unknown that refuses to be ordered. /episode/index/show/jbrownyogathoughts/id/40891565

EP100 Lineage or Family Business 12/04/2025

EP100 Lineage or Family Business A lot of people in the yoga world are feeling confused. Changing social tides and startling revelations are calling into question the foundations on which many a career have been built. Deep vacuums have been created with the passing of primary teachers, previously held secrets are being exposed, and the emergence of a neo-orthodoxy is attempting to lay claim to what was once considered an open-source transmission. Those who continue to feel a calling are rightly searching their souls for clarity as the always precarious mix of business and wisdom tradition becomes ever more blurred. /episode/index/show/jbrownyogathoughts/id/39264260

EP99 The Future of Yoga is Small 11/20/2025

EP99 The Future of Yoga is Small The algorithms and operating systems that are governing our experiences, intended to expand our reach and connect us to the broader world, have borne unforeseen and adverse repercussions. This is particularly true for yoga teachers and center owners looking to cohere the intimacy and connection they feel through yoga with the realities of making it a profession. Only if we can abandon the flawed models that are suffocating the better parts of our humanity, might such a balance be struck. /episode/index/show/jbrownyogathoughts/id/39105725

EP98 Yoga's Greatest Challenge 11/06/2025

EP98 Yoga's Greatest Challenge A lot of people who go to yoga classes are not really interested in yoga. At least, not in the sense of being seriously committed and willing to take on a radical inquiry into the nature of being, and having the courage to manifest what is discovered in attitudes and actions. Most folks just want a good workout that will tone their bodies and make them feel less stressed, without being all too clear about what that might actually mean or entail. The trappings of mainstream yoga have led to an obfuscation of not only the greater challenge for individuals but the potential rewards for our communities and planet at large. /episode/index/show/jbrownyogathoughts/id/38751150

EP97 Whence Credibility Comes 10/30/2025

EP97 Whence Credibility Comes As the evolution of yoga in the modern world continues its slow-motion metamorphosis from ancient wisdom culture to fitness craze to no-one-knows-what-yet, expertise has become a highly sought after premium. The 200-hour teacher training model has managed to bring in enough revenue over the last 7-10 years to make up for shortfalls and keep pace with gentrifying rents, but now that the meme of certificate mills producing ill-equipped and injurious teachers has become ubiquitous, everyone is feeling the need to step up their game. The question is, how? /episode/index/show/jbrownyogathoughts/id/38751110

EP96 Patriarchy, Microaggression, and Political Correctness 10/23/2025

EP96 Patriarchy, Microaggression, and Political Correctness I recognize that I was born into privilege. Being male, white and American comes with a set of assumptions and implicit biases that are deeply ingrained in me and the mores of our fathers. As a progressive-minded person who wants to be an example of attitudes and actions that foster a more just and humane society, I am willing to have my unconscious behaviors laid bare so that I might learn new ways of communicating and interacting with people and the world. But in order for this to occur, my hope must be met with more than mere outrage. /episode/index/show/jbrownyogathoughts/id/38751025

EP95 To Sell a Center 10/09/2025

EP95 To Sell a Center After nine years of owning and operating a yoga center in one of the most popular neighborhoods on the planet, I was approached by a broker inquiring if I was interested in selling my business. Nine months later, I closed on a deal and handed over the keys. What I have learned in the process has given me new perspective on why owners sell and how easily it can tarnish the hearts of teachers. /episode/index/show/jbrownyogathoughts/id/38520760

EP94 Strung Out in the Attention Economy 10/02/2025

EP94 Strung Out in the Attention Economy Something has happened to the way I see myself in relationship to time, and the amount of life that is being spent behind a screen. For a while, I had a handle on my use of technology and my digital life seemed empowering and mind-expanding. But, of late, things seem to devolve easily into a grey zone of succumbing to the more manipulative aspects of our systems and the mentalities that govern them. /episode/index/show/jbrownyogathoughts/id/38147365

EP93 My Body is Not a Machine 09/25/2025

EP93 My Body is Not a Machine In the post-lineage void of the current yoga scene, conversations around safety and improving the quality of yoga teacher-training often turn to biomechanics for solutions. However, replacing one arbitrary imposition on our bodies with another does not address the real issues. Fostering safer spaces for practice, or creating any sort of positive change in our bodies, will likely require new understanding based on a broader range of possibilities and ideas. /episode/index/show/jbrownyogathoughts/id/38147305

EP92 I Love Yoga and Hate Everything About It 09/18/2025

EP92 I Love Yoga and Hate Everything About It Pop culture continues to enjoy a glossy-eyed love affair with yoga. But many long-time practitioners and professionals are discovering that, somewhere along their journey over the last decade or so, either yoga or they have changed. As once die-hard yogis attempt to discern what, if anything, of their practice has stood up against the test of time, their relationship to yoga needs to be allowed to evolve or they’ll likely feel compelled to part ways. /episode/index/show/jbrownyogathoughts/id/38146720

EP91 Yoga Journal Exit Stage Right 09/11/2025

EP91 Yoga Journal Exit Stage Right Yoga Journal has announced that it is doing a "reset" on all of its annual conferences. There will be no more Yoga Journal Conferences for the rest of 2017 while they attempt to re-imagine the model and figure out a way to make them relevant and profitable again. For those who are invested in the yoga profession, it’s not clear whether the crumbling of this institution is a canary in a coal mine or a crow outside our window. /episode/index/show/jbrownyogathoughts/id/38146585

EP90 Another Yoga Center Closing 05/29/2025

EP90 Another Yoga Center Closing It’s official. I will be closing my yoga center down at the end of this year. The hipster pond that I once helped homestead a decade ago has come to a boil quicker than I could have foreseen, and the only sensible thing to do is come up with an exit plan. Contrary to the common meme though, I don’t think the ‘studio model’ is disappearing. I always knew that my time for an ending would come. I have witnessed the pattern enough to predict that an operation like mine can only keep pace with the rents for so long before getting priced out. What is surprising is how fast it happens and how hard it is to accept when the numbers turn against you. It’s easy to place blame somewhere. With myself for not running the business better. Or with the NYC real estate market for acting so seemingly against its own interests and humanity. Or with a larger economic system that is based on a grow-or-die model which precludes a healthy stasis for community-supported businesses. /episode/index/show/jbrownyogathoughts/id/36573450

EP89 Getting Off the Crack 05/22/2025

EP89 Getting Off the Crack For a long time, I relished the way I could “crack” my back and neck. Just the right turn of my torso would send a ripple of clicks and releases along my spine. My idea about it was that those cracks were “unsticking” the gears of my body-machine. But there was also an underlying pattern playing itself out. Those cracks were a symbol of sorts, they represented all the breakthroughs and “tapas” I had accomplished through my many years of diligent practice. The cracks felt good, at least until they didn’t anymore. /episode/index/show/jbrownyogathoughts/id/36573405

EP88 Keep On Rockin' in the Real World 05/15/2025

EP88 Keep On Rockin' in the Real World I grew up in the eighties. My folks moved from NY to Los Angeles and settled into the comfort of a big house, two-car garage, and three kids. We were never in want for money. My dad made millions as the vice president of a huge construction firm. I was raised to believe that there was no limit to what I could attain. The milieu of my childhood is best exemplified by a t-shirt that hung in my dad’s closet, and would sometimes be bandied around for laughs, it read: “He who dies with the most toys wins.” In the nineties, I moved from LA to NY for college and rejected the era of my upbringing as representing a glorification of the superficial. I was one of the x-generation slackers who grew up alongside the corporatization of America, whose only defense against the takeover of everyday life was feigned apathy. On some level, I felt despair over something I could not explain but, being young and without a sense of consequence, I still believed that I was entitled to more. /episode/index/show/jbrownyogathoughts/id/36573315

EP87 I Teach Yoga 05/08/2025

EP87 I Teach Yoga A number of long-time yoga teachers are deciding to stop referring to what they teach as yoga. In the past, the term yoga represented a freedom to explore and discover truths outside western cultural norms. Now that yoga has largely become a western cultural norm, fueled by the advertising prowess of a multi-billion dollar industry and challenged by scholars questioning appropriation, public perception has been shaped in ways that have made the word yoga seem limiting. However, the teachers are the only ones who hold the power to define what they do, not scholars or the industry. /episode/index/show/jbrownyogathoughts/id/36483645

EP86 Yoga and the New Discipline 05/01/2025

EP86 Yoga and the New Discipline The novelty of yoga has been worn down to almost nothing by a multi-billion dollar industry that cares little for its tenets, like the crumbling shreds of a shoddily made pvc mat from China. But from out of the ashes of craven images and advertising schemes, a new discipline is emerging. /episode/index/show/jbrownyogathoughts/id/35877180

EP85 Abundance Mentality and Yoga Careers 04/24/2025

EP85 Abundance Mentality and Yoga Careers Continuing education for yoga teachers is in high demand since the proliferation of yoga teacher training certification has reached epic proportions. No one expects someone to be seasoned after merely two hundred hours, and technological advancements have enabled newfound access and resources to anyone with an internet connection. More than just a knowledge of yoga, or adjunct skills for teaching, these offerings often purport to give practical career advice that will help graduates succeed financially. Unfortunately, business advice for “yogapreneurs” is often grossly misguided. /episode/index/show/jbrownyogathoughts/id/35877095

EP84 Incredible Shrinking Yoga Class 04/17/2025

EP84 Incredible Shrinking Yoga Class In the last twenty years, yoga in the west has gone from a guru-driven model to a market-driven model. Decisions still often come from atop a pyramid. But now, the directives are based more on aggregated data than on the presumed authority of an ancient wisdom. One small manifestation of this turn can be found in the way that yoga classes have gotten progressively shorter. As yoga teachers are newly questioning old models for what and how they teach, industry mores also deserve examination. /episode/index/show/jbrownyogathoughts/id/35876960

EP83 Yoga's Marginal Utility 04/10/2025

EP83 Yoga's Marginal Utility Among longtime yoga professionals, there are some well-kept secrets. The reasons for these truths to remain unspoken are rooted in protecting both personal and professional interests. But, for many, the veneer has worn too thin and what once was an article of faith now feels like perpetuating myths. For those untangling the mess of confused emotions and experiences, honesty is our only saving grace. /episode/index/show/jbrownyogathoughts/id/35876780

EP82 Midlife Yoga Crisis 04/03/2025

EP82 Midlife Yoga Crisis Coming of age in the yoga profession means facing changing realities and shifting priorities. The majority of yoga teachers start out in the profession at an early time in their lives. But as the viability of old models wanes and independent players have less impact in the face of up-scaled operations, long-term prospects for careers in yoga are less apparent. For those whose passion cannot be deterred by the odds, their faith and trust in practice will likely be tested. /episode/index/show/jbrownyogathoughts/id/35876585

EP81 Is That Your Male Privilege Or Are You Just Happy To See Me? 03/27/2025

EP81 Is That Your Male Privilege Or Are You Just Happy To See Me? A confluence of conversations has emerged in the yoga world regarding purpose, safety, and abuse of power. The politics involved are playing themselves out, and the sides of the debate are being formed along disparate lines. The microcosm of what has been occurring in practice rooms for more than a decade is now bursting forth in a macrocosmic confusion around where people stand. As communities struggle to make sense of confusing emotions and contradictory viewpoints, a careful examination of where we might actually be able to effect change is in order. /episode/index/show/jbrownyogathoughts/id/35876450

EP80 Get Your Yoga Out of My Asana 03/20/2025

EP80 Get Your Yoga Out of My Asana For many, it is has become important to distinguish between “asana,” or the performing of postures, and yoga. Both those who are inclined towards yoga as a fitness regimen, and those who embrace it as more than just exercise, find it necessary to clarify the intent and purpose behind their practice. This compartmentalisation, while convenient and often useful, brings with it a dilemma, the resolution to which determines what is actually possible with yoga. /episode/index/show/jbrownyogathoughts/id/35265940

EP79 Your Yoga Teacher is Now a Brand 03/13/2025

EP79 Your Yoga Teacher is Now a Brand Economic trends and the evolution of social media have led to a shift in the way yoga is being effectively marketed. The old model of packaging and selling a style of practice has largely been retired. Now, everyone agrees, the teacher is the brand. With this comes a string of inevitabilities that are at the heart of what plagues most professional yoga teachers today. /episode/index/show/jbrownyogathoughts/id/35265835

EP78 Empowerment Lost 03/06/2025

EP78 Empowerment Lost When circumstances, ruled by forces beyond the will of one individual, overshadow our personal experience of life, unconscious resentment and fear run deep. The coercive fuel of capitalism has conditioned and resigned us to manipulation that both obfuscates truth and reveals the inhumanity of entrenched power. Despite hopelessness, perhaps a kernel of our sacrificed fortitude and imagination can be redeemed. /episode/index/show/jbrownyogathoughts/id/35265775

EP77 Establishment Politics in Yoga 02/27/2025

EP77 Establishment Politics in Yoga Last month, the Yoga Alliance announced a new policy regarding “yoga therapy terminology” that creates a significant new precedent. A lack of any public debate and transparency in the process has made it difficult to discern why exactly this was needed and what purpose it serves. Perhaps this explains why there has been almost no response from yoga teachers thus far. Or, more likely, people are just too turned off by the politics involved to care. /episode/index/show/jbrownyogathoughts/id/35265725

J. Brown Yoga Thoughts

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