CHITHEADS with Jacob Kyle (Embodied Philosophy)
Jacob Kyle
Chitheads is a smorgasbord of contemplative education. Each episode is like a mini masterclass, exploring the diverse landscapes of spiritual practice, philosophy, and the transformative power of embodied knowledge. Each episode is crafted with the curious and open heart in mind, aiming to illuminate the path of self-inquiry and empowerment for yoga teachers, scholar-practitioners, meditators and other spiritual seekers and contemplative folks from around the world. From the profound teachings of Yoga and Buddhism to the sometimes complex theories of contemplative psychology and the vibrant tapestry of indigenous wisdom, our guests share insights that awaken, challenge, and inspire. With every episode, we dive into discussions that matter, exploring questions that guide us closer to our true selves and to a deeper understanding of the world around us. Our mission is to create a space where wisdom (and not fame, power, or money) is the center of gravity and what we are most concerned about cultivating in this lifetime. Join us on Chitheads as we explore the liminal spaces of consciousness, embrace the complexities of the human experience without dogma or self-righteousness, and discover the beauty again and again of the interconnectedness of all things. Subscribe to Chitheads on YouTube and your favorite podcast platform, and please consider leaving us a positive review on one iTunes, or your favorite podcast player. Come dive into these in-depth conversations that illuminate our path of contemplative discovery. If you’ve felt like you’re the only one full of chit – full of consciousness or awareness ˀ– welcome home. This community of listeners, seekers, and scholar-practitioners is for you.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Jul 28, 2016 • 1h 22min
Dana Slamp on the Nervous System, our Cartesian Worldview, and Yoga Therapy (#21)
Dana Slamp is the Founder of Prema Yoga Therapeutics, an IAYT member school and the leading training facility for yoga therapists in NYC. She leads advanced teacher trainings at Pure Yoga in uptown New York, Yoga Vida in downtown New York, Three Sisters Yoga in Portland, OR, and the upcoming Ayurvedic Yoga Training at Pure Yoga July 13 - 31. Dana's presented at Columbia Medical University, the Telluride Yoga Festival, and several times at the Yoga Journal Conference. Dana's unique upbringing in a family of ministers and teachers led to a lifelong pursuit of spiritual truth, first in the arts through classical acting and writing, through her legal writing as paralegal, and through the teachings of yoga over the past two decades. Prema Yoga Therapeutics' training for yoga teachers and medical health care professionals can be found at prema-yoga.org. For a list of local classes as well as national courses and international retreats, please check our her personal teaching site at danaslamp.com.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jul 20, 2016 • 1h 11min
Ramesh Bjonnes on the Tantrik vs. Vedic Stream of History, the 4 Pillars of Tantra, and Environmentalism (#20)
Ramesh Bjonnes is a writer, yogi and workshop leader. Currently residing in the United States, he lived in India and Nepal in the 1980s learning directly from an enigmatic master of Tantra. He has practiced yoga and meditation for over 30 years and lectured on Tantra, yoga and meditation in many countries. The co-founder of the Prama Institute, a holistic retreat center, he is also the Director of the Prama Wellness Center, where yoga therapy, meditation, juice fasting and Ayurveda is used to rejuvenate people’s health and wellbeing. He lives and practices in an eco-village in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, USA. His is the author of two books on Tantra, Sacred Body, Sacred Spirit (Innerworld, 2013) and Tantra: The Yoga of Love and Awakening (Hay House India, 2014). See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jul 2, 2016 • 1h 18min
Miles Neale on Buddhist Psychotherapy, Karma, & Nirvana (#19)
Miles Neale is a Buddhist psychotherapist in private practice, Assistant Director of the Nalanda Institute for Contemplative Science, Clinical Instructor of Psychology at Weill Cornell Medical College, and contributing expert on mindfulness meditation for the BBC World Service. Miles earned a doctoral degree in clinical psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies and has spent twenty years studying Buddhism under American Buddhist scholars Joe Loizzo and Robert Thurman as well as Tibetan masters Gelek Rimpoche and Lama Zopa. Dr. Neale’s approach to personal healing and transformation isinformed by contemplative neuroscience, an eclectic hybrid of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist psychology and meditative arts, depth psychotherapy, and the current neuroscience of trauma resilience. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jun 11, 2016 • 1h 23min
Kiki Flynn on the Early New NYC Yoga Scene, Ashtanga, and the Detriments of Plastic (#18)
Kiki is a renowned Ashtanga Yoga teacher, wellness consultant, and personal coach. With 34-years experience, she has pioneered a career at the strategic intersection of Wellness, Natural Lifestyle, Yoga, Inspired Living, and Organic Beauty. Kiki is a spokesperson and community builder with a dedicated YouTube and Blogging audience. Kiki facilitates and implements transformational programs for individuals and organizations. Her clients include Hollywood and Fortune 500 leaders as well as adults and children with therapeutic needs. She develops and executes Yoga and Wellness Programs for Spinal Cord Injury at The Axis Project as well as Independence Care Systems, providing Yoga for communities with disability. Based in New York City, Kiki also consults remotely with clients around the world. A Yoga educator, she teaches workshops locally and worldwide. Kiki Graduated with Honors from NYU with a BFA in Drama, and it is here she was introduced to Yoga. As an actress, she starred and co-starred in Hollywood, New York, and Independent projects in film, television, and theater. Kiki continued her Yoga studies traveling to India more than a dozen times studying closely with Ashtanga Yoga with founder Sri. K. Pattabhi Jois in Yoga Therapeutics, Wellness Traditions, Sanskrit and Philosophy. In 1996, Kiki opened her first yoga school in Los Angeles, where she taught for 10 years. Here she was honored to host her teacher Pattabhi Jois as well as celebrated Kirtan singer Krishna Das in his first California appearances. She also worked as a Yoga Consultant in film and television, notably on The Next Best Thing, starring Madonna. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jun 4, 2016 • 1h 20min
Philip Goldberg on Appropriation, Pragmatic Mysticism and the Americanization of Yoga (#17)
Philip Goldberg is the author and co-author of various books, including and most notably, American Veda. CHITHEADS and Jacob Kyle sat down with Philip to talk about his journey as a public speaker, spiritual counselor, workshop leader, and transcendental meditation teacher from his beginnings in the counterculture movement of the sixties and seventies. Philip lives in Los Angeles and writes often for Huffington Post. Considering himself a pragmatic mystic, he also leads Vedic tours in India, exploring the origin of the main gurus that visited the West, and is the co-host of the podcast, "Spirit Masters". Currently, Philip is working on a biography on Yogananda, set for release in 2018. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jun 1, 2016 • 1h 11min
Zachery Dacuk on Conscious Embodiment, Anatomy as a Story, and the 45 Minute Movement Rule (#16)
Blending body work, yoga and anatomy, Zachery Dacuk coined the practice of Conscious Embodiment. Chitheads and Jacob Kyle had the opportunity to sit down with Zach to talk with him about his 15-year journey into holistic healing where he developed an experiential practice that integrated postural analysis and fascia movement. Based in New York City, Zach provides an anatomy curriculum to students and renowned teachers all over the United States. Zach is a registered yoga teacher, licensed massage therapist, and since 2002 has built a successful and innovation bodywork practice that applies the teachings of yoga, Shiatsu, fascial manipulation and Kinesis Myofascial Integration. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
May 5, 2016 • 1h 11min
Matt Lombardo on Spiritual Bypassing, Cults, and Recent Yoga Scandals (#15)
Matthew Thomas Lombardo is a popular yoga teacher and teacher of teachers in New York City and Brooklyn. Besides his well attended public classes, he has a wide range of experience teaching asana and meditation to celebrities, senior citizens, kids, and is trained to teach yoga in prison. He has also worked with reinvigorating men who are returning to the workplace at Career Gear. He has been interviewed by the New York Times and Haute Living. In the Spring of 2016, he will be on a teaching tour through Prague, Bratislava, Munich and other European cities. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Apr 25, 2016 • 1h 23min
Christopher Wallis on Tantra, Non-Dualism, and Awakening to Your True Nature (#14)
Christopher, also known as Hareesh, was introduced to Indian spirituality at the age of seven and initiated into the practice of yogic meditation at sixteen. His degrees include a B.A. in Religion and Classics from the University of Rochester, an M.A. in Sanskrit from U.C. Berkeley, an M.Phil. in Classical Indian Religions from Oxford, and a Ph.D. on the traditions of Śaiva Tantra from Berkeley. He received traditional education at yoga āshrams in upstate New York and India in meditation, kīrtan, mantra-science, āsana, karma-yoga, and more. He currently teaches meditation, yoga darśana (philosophy), Tantrik philosophy, Sanskrit, mantra-science, and offers spiritual counseling. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mar 18, 2016 • 1h 1min
Bob Doto on Yogalebrity Culture, the Babarazzi, and the Spectacle (#13)
Bob Doto is the owner and director of Church Avenue Yoga and Bodywork Center in Brooklyn, New York City. He is a yoga instructor and massage therapist, who has been practicing Ashtanga Yoga under the guidance of Eddie Stern. Bob is a prolific writer on body-centered spirituality. He is a founding member of The Babarazzi; was the Managing Editor of internationally acclaimed journal of religious studies, Parabola; and was a founding member of the elusive post-art-punk band SPRCSS. Bob received his MFA in Writing & Poetics from Naropa University’s “Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics” in 2002, and is a graduate of the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mar 13, 2016 • 1h 34min
Nikki Costello on Integration, Mother India, and Experiences of God (#12)
Nikki Costello is a Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher (CIYT) and a Certified Yoga Therapist (C-IAYT). For 24 years, her teaching has been influenced by annual trips to India including six visits to RIMYI (Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute in Pune), the study of philosophical and scriptural texts and a daily practice of meditation. In 2013, Nikki was a contributing editor at Yoga Journal, writing the magazine’s “Basics Column” and in 2016 she was named one of the 100 Most Influential Yoga Teachers in America. Nikki is recognized as a thought leader in the global yoga community and shares her wisdom and expertise in yoga and meditation retreats around the world. When at home in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, she teaches public classes at Kula Yoga and Yoga Shanti and maintains a well-established private practice in New York City guiding individuals on all levels of their health and well-being.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
