Keen on Yoga Podcast

The Dalai Lama befriended Bob in 1964, ordained him as a Buddhist monk, then later forgave him for returning to lay life. Bob Thurman is known in the academic circles as Professor Robert A.F. Thurman. He is a talented popularizer of the Buddha’s teachings.  In addition, Bob is the first Westerner Tibetan Buddhist monk ordained by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, He is a charismatic speaker and author of many books on Tibet, Buddhism, art, politics and culture. Bob was named by The New York Times as the leading American expert on Tibetan Buddhism. In 2020 he was awarded the prestigious Padma Shri Award for his help in recovering India’s ancient Buddhist heritage. Time Magazine chose him as one of the 25 most influential Americans in 1997. They  describe him as a “larger than life scholar-activist destined to convey the Dharma, the precious teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha, from Asia to America.” Bob served as the Jey Tsong Khapa Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies in the Department of Religion at Columbia University for 30 years, until 2020. A very popular professor, students always felt his classes were “life-changing”. Tibet House Bob is the founder and active president of Tibet House US, a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and promotion of Tibetan culture. And of the American Institute of Buddhist Studies, a non-profit affiliated with the Center for Buddhist Studies at Columbia University and dedicated to the publication of translations of important artistic and scientific Tibetan treatises. His own search for enlightenment began while he was a university student at Harvard. After an accident in which he lost the use of an eye, Bob left school on a spiritual quest throughout Europe, the Middle East and Asia. He found his way to India, where he first saw His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 1962. After learning Tibetan and studying Buddhism, Bob became a Tibetan Buddhist monk and the first Westerner to be ordained by the Dalai Lama. Some years later, however, he offered up his robes when he realized he could be more effective in the American equivalent of a monastery: the university, returning to Harvard to finish his PhD. Long-term Commitment As part of his long-term commitment to the Tibetan cause, at the request of H.H. the Dalai Lama, Bob co-founded Tibet House US in 1987 with Tenzin Tethong, Richard Gere, and Philip Glass, a non-profit organization based in New York City and dedicated to the preservation and renaissance of Tibetan culture. Inspired by his long-time good friend the Dalai Lama, Bob takes us along with him into an expanded vision of the world through the prisma of Tibetan Buddhism. He shares with us the sense of refuge in the Dharma, which unfailingly helps us clear away the shrouds of fear and confusion.  He sustains us with the cheerfulness of an enriched gift, and opens a door to a path of realistic hope for a peaceful, kind, and wise future. Bob has a prolific podcast of 287 episodes to date, which you can find on his website Instagram @bob__thurman   @tibethouse.us  @menlaretreat           

Tara has been a dedicated practitioner of yoga for over 18 years. She has been blessed to practice with some of the most dedicated ashtanga teachers in the world. Studying with Johnny Smith, Tim Miller (completing both his primary and intermediate series trainings), R. Sharath Jois & R. Saraswathi Jois. She has apprenticed with only certified teachers (6 years) with R. Saraswathi Jois for 4 of those years in her very busy Mysore shala where she assisted up to 200 students a month for nine months of the year. Tara has a special bond with Saraswathiji and is one of the few students authorised by her to teach.  Tara is also a Certified Yoga Therapist in the tradition of T. Krishnamacharya & his son T.K.V. Desikachar in Chennai, India. Her interest in yoga therapy is a focus to help heal others from injury and imbalances within the body. She has helped many students learn to understand their bodies while bringing back health and stability through yoga therapy, diet and lifestyle changes.  She has studied Pranayama with Sri O.P. Tiwari, Philosophy with Prof. Nagaraja Rao and Vedic chanting with Dr. Vigneshwar Bhat and Madhavi Kotha in the lineage of T. Krishnamacharya.  Tara has been studying ritual, chanting and Vedic chanting for the last 7.5 years and is a long time Vipassana Meditator. Both R. Saraswathi Jois, Saraswathi Vasudevan & Vigneshwar Bhat have given her blessings to share the teachings as taught to her through parampara.  Other interests Tara’s curiosity for understanding the mind and body led her to study psychology (since 1993) and nutrition (since 1999).  She is a trained Chef, has worked with many healing modalities, and has recently spent 5 years living in Mysore, India in order to seek and learn pure knowledge directly from the source and continues to visits India every 6 months to be with her teachers. Tara has also studied classical Carnatic music with two of Mysore’s greatest teachers and she has and continues to study Ayurveda with Dr. R. Padmini. Tara believes that to be a good teacher one needs to be a good student. Therefore, she continually expands her knowledge on the subjects of yoga, health, nutrition and healing through sound and other methods. She teaches in a traditional yet playful manner incorporating the teachings of her teachers. Tara now lives in Sicily with her husband Dr. Rob Lamport of @morethananatomy  You can find Tara on Instagram @taramitrayoga and on her website.

Yan Ong tested at the top 2% of worlds IQ at the age of 16. Joining the Mensa Society, sparked an interest to discover the purpose of intellect. She sought out to gain knowledge through university degrees in science graduating with honours in Biotechnology from the world's 5th ranked university. In attempt to balance both left and right brain function took a second university course in the arts.  Although she found solving problems and creating ideas fun, there was still something that corporate life was not fulfilling. 6 years of working in business and I was over it, there had to be more to life.  She hit the road for 2 years of backpacking on her own from South America, Africa and ending up in Bali. She discovered Ashtanga yoga in 2001 with a book and a class for 4 years.  In 2008 everything fell into place and the Ashtanga Yoga became her life. In 2010 she found her teacher, Paramagruru Sharath Jois and moved to Mysore.  Living in Mysore for 4 years Yan practicing under his guidance and privately studied sacred texts constituting the Upanishads and Yoga Sutras with renowned philosophy expert Professor Najarajao Rao. Yan and Mysore In 2012 she was authorised by Paramaguru Sharath Jois to teach Ashtanga Yoga and was fortunate to have the opportunity to travel and teach across the globe in Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Brunei, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines & more. I’m blessed to be Malaysia’s first Level 2 qualified Ashtanga Yoga teacher. In the 20 years since she found Ashtanga Yoga, she has learned to heal her own spinal, ankle and wrist injuries, manage stress and hypothyroidism within the practice.  Thus having a more thoughtful, accepting and compassionate approach towards asana and its ability to be therapeutic.   In conjunction with having dealt with both physical and health struggles during her journey, 10 years study of yoga philosophy scripture which the practice is built upon, has given her understanding of the practice from a deeper yet wider perspective. Yan is also largely influenced by non-denominational spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle. She has time with him on retreat and completed his 6-month advanced School of Awakening course.  She teaches with her husband Manuel and now plans to spend time between their native countries, Malaysia and Portugal.  You can find her at @yanyoga or on her website https://www.yanong.me/

Ross Stambaugh is an Ashtanga yoga teacher who is Authorized Level 2 by Saraswati Jois. He has made many annual trips to India to continue his studies and has assisted Saraswati on multiple occasions. Ross seeks to preserve the traditional Ashtanga method by maintaining a daily practice and teaching his students with the same integrity and patience that was taught to him by his teachers.  Ross teaches Ashtanga yoga workshops internationally and welcomes a chance to work with you and your yoga practice.   Ross is a 20+ year veteran of the Ashtanga lineage. Apart from having a daily Ashtanga yoga practice, Ross has been a collegiate swimmer, judoka, and mountain climber. He is a public school teacher and holds a post-master’s degree in education. He enjoys walking his dogs, Kali and Brie and is an avid motorcyclist. You can find him on Instagram @ashtanga.yoga.ross

The "Yoga Doc" - Dr. Ronald Steiner is the founder of the AYI method. This method links traditional Ashtanga Yoga with innovative Yogatherapy. Body and mind connect with each other and together create a harmonious balance. Ronald is a sports physician, researcher with focus on prevention and rehabilitation as well as one of the most well-known practitioners of Ashtanga Yoga. Ronald Steiner is one of the very few yoga teachers authorized in the traditional way by both the Indian grand masters Sri K. Pattabhi Jois and BNS Iyengar. You can find more about Dr Steiner on his website https://www.ashtangayoga.info/ Listen to the Keen on Yoga Podcast via link in bio, all usual outlets & now on YouTube. If you enjoy our show and would like to support continued free content click Donate link in the Instagram bio or visit our website https://keenonyoga.com/donate/

Stephen W. Porges, Ph.D. is the author of The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-regulation (Norton, 2011). In 1994 he proposed the Polyvagal Theory, a theory that links the evolution of the mammalian autonomic nervous system to social behavior.  This emphasizes the importance of physiological state in the expression of behavioral problems and psychiatric disorders. The theory is leading to innovative treatments based on insights into the mechanisms mediating symptoms observed in several behavioral, psychiatric, and physical disorders. Stephen is the creator of a music-based intervention, the Safe and Sound Protocol ™ , which currently is used by more than 1400 therapists to improve spontaneous social engagement, to reduce hearing sensitivities, to improve language processing and state regulation. Also written by Stephen: The Pocket Guide to the Polyvagal Theory: The Transformative Power of Feeling Safe, (Norton, 2017) and co-editor of Clinical Applications of the Polyvagal Theory: The Emergence of Polyvagal-Informed Therapies (Norton, 2018).  Stephen is Distinguished University Scientist at Indiana University where he is the founding director of the Traumatic Stress Research Consortium. In addition, he is Professor of Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina, and Professor Emeritus at both the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Maryland.  He served as president of the Society for Psychophysiological Research and the Federation of Associations in Behavioral & Brain Sciences and is a former recipient of a National Institute of Mental Health Research Scientist Development Award. Your support of the Keen on Yoga Podcast is greatly appreciated.  https://keenonyoga.com/donate/      

David Jackson a Master Instructor with the Oxygen Advantage and a breathwork coach. He is a former professional rugby player, accredited UKSCA Strength & Conditioning coach, NASM performance enhancement & corrective exercise specialist. His mission is to make breathwork a normal part of our everyday lives. David retrained his own breathing after a brain injury in 2013 forced him to retire from professional rugby.  He’s passionate about helping others change the way they breathe to improve the way they feel, move and perform. He believes that there is something for everyone in breathwork. David has worked with professionals seeking better stress management or those suffering with anxiety to professional athletes looking to improve performance and everything in between. He knows how your breath can impact all areas of our body and mind. This is the reason he is so passionate about helping people use breathwork to fulfil their true potential. Having felt the benefits personally, he wants to share it with others. Find more about David: Website: https://www.rootedlife.co.uk/ YouTube: David Jackson Instagram: @ jackohumanflag

Ana  Forrest is  an inspiration and has been changing  people’s lives for over 45  years. She  is an internationally recognized  pioneer in yoga and emotional healing. She is the Creatrix of Forrest Yoga, a mystic, visionary, philanthropist, author, and Medicine Woman. Ana crafted Forrest Yoga while working through healing from her own life’s traumas – abuse and addictions, the feeling of helplessness around the addictions, and the ongoing suffering from chronic injuries & illnesses. Ana took her first yoga class at age 14 and became a certified instructor in 1975. Ana used yoga and Native American ceremony to save her own life. It is her intent to pass that lifesaving ability forward. The process of healing herself inspired her to teach others to heal themselves physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. Forrest Yoga is a powerfully physical, internally focused practice that emphasizes the integration of  transformative experiences from the mat into purposeful daily life.  Ana is at heart a woman of the wilderness. She has spent many years in the mountains and forests learning from the animals, trees, rocks, water, and the seasons. Prior to becoming a yoga teacher, Ana spent her early years training horses, dogs, cats, birds, and the occasional snake. She brings her deep understanding of the animal kingdom to her teaching with humans. Jose Calarco is Ana’s co-director of Forrest Yoga. Jose comes from a long history of shamanism, the arts, music and healing, bringing his decades of experience as an artistic prodigy to Forrest Yoga. He is also Director of the legendary Australian  Indigenous company Descendance Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Dance Theatre www.descendance.com.au. Descendance won the UNESCO (United Nations) competition as the world’s best Indigenous live show. Jose Calarco is a bridge to the spirit world. As Ceremonial Leader for Forrest Yoga and co – teacher with Ana Forrest, he creates and teaches ceremonies, tells creation stories from the traditions of the First Peoples of Australia and other shamanic traditions and weaves these into the yoga practice His experience as a faith healer and Medicine Man spans over 30 years. He has collaborated with Indigenous wisdom keepers like Medicine Woman and Australian cultural treasure Kathy Marika of the Yirrikala People of central Northern Australia, and he co-created Descendance Aboriginal with Indigenous elder and Song Woman Imelda Willis of the Yidinji and Kandju tribes. Imelda is Jose’s Spiritual Mother, and was a rare woman who had been fully initiated. She adopted him as an equal into her tribes in Far Northern Australia, sharing knowledge and hope with each other and with the world. Also available on YouTube      

Sir James Mallinson, 5th Baronet of Walthamstow (born 22 April 1970) is a British Indologist,  writer and translator. He is recognised as one of the world’s leading experts on the history of medieval Hatha Yoga. Mallinson became interested in India by reading Rudyard Kipling’s novel Kim as a teenager; the book describes an English boy travelling India with a holy man. Mallinson is described as “perhaps the only baronet to wear dreadlocks. He let his hair grow out from 1988 on his first visit to India during his gap year. He is the co-author with Mark Singleton of  Roots of Yoga. Penguin Classics. (A commented collection of translations of yoga practice texts from the Sanskrit traditions). Currently Dr Mallinson is Senior Lecturer in Sanskrit and Classical and Indian Studies at SOAS, University of London. His interest in yoga grew out of a fascination for India and Indian asceticism. He spent several years living with Indian ascetics and yogis, in particular Rāmānandī Tyāgīs. Background He took his BA in Sanskrit and Old Iranian at the University of Oxford, followed by an MA in Area Studies (South Asia), with Ethnography as his main subject, at SOAS. His doctoral thesis, submitted to the University of Oxford, was a critical edition and annotated translation of the Khecarīvidyā, an early text of haṭhayoga. Dr Mallinson has published eight books. All of which are editions and translations of Sanskrit yoga texts, epic tales and poetry. His recent work has used philological study of Sanskrit texts, ethnography and art history to explore the history of yoga and yogis. Projects Between September 2015-2020, Mallinson was the Principle Investigator of The Haṭha Yoga Project (HYP), a five-year research project funded by the European Research Council and based at SOAS, University of London which aims to chart the history of physical yoga practice by means of philology, i.e. the study of texts on yoga, and ethnography, i.e. fieldwork among practitioners of yoga. From January 2021, Mallison has been the lead on three year project entitled “Light on Hatha Yoga: A critical edition and translation of the Haṭhapradīpikā, the most important premodern text on physical yoga” funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the German Research Foundation Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG). He has been interviewed on yoga for BBC Radio on Beyond Belief and for the Secret History of Yoga. More information about Dr Mallinson’s work, his CV and publications, many of them downloadable, can be found here, and on his website: www.khecari.com If you enjoy the Keen on Yoga Podcast and would like to support us you can share this post, subscribe and give us a review on Apple or Spotify or make a donation .  We appreciate your help to keep this going.

Stephen Cope is a best-selling author and scholar who specializes in the relationship between the Eastern contemplative traditions and Western depth psychology. Among his seminal works in this area are: Yoga and the Quest for the True Self, The Wisdom of Yoga, and The Great Work of Your Life.  His most recent work, Deep Human Connection, is an examination of the psychology, neurobiology, and spirituality of deep human connection, and the imperatives of human attachment—an issue of great importance to both the Eastern and Western traditions. For almost thirty years, Stephen has been Scholar-in-Residence at the renowned Kripalu Center—the largest center for the study and practice of yoga in the Western world. Kripalu hosts almost 50,000 guests a year in its many yoga, meditation, and personal growth programs. It is located on a sprawling 200 acre estate in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. In addition to his role as Scholar-in-Residence, Stephen is the founder and former director of the Kripalu Institute for Extraordinary Living—one of the world’s most influential research institutes examining the effects and mechanisms of yoga and meditation, with a team of researchers from Harvard Medical School, University of Connecticut, University of Pennsylvania, and many more. Stephen is the recipient of both a Telly and an Apple award for his work. In its twenty-fifth anniversary edition, “Yoga Journal” named him one of the most influential thinkers, writers, and teachers on the current American yoga scene.