Keen on Yoga Podcast

Bryan Kest has been practicing yoga since 1979 and has been teaching since 1985. He developed his unique, distinctive style of yoga, called Power Yoga, in 1979. Over the years, this style, an amazing workout for the body, mind and spirit, has made him a well-known, popular teacher across the country and around the world. His mainstream popularity is matched by an authentic foundation in the ancient practice of yoga and a long path of development as a yogi (a practitioner of yoga). At age 15, Bryan uprooted from his native Detroit home to make a life change in Hawaii. He moved to live with his father, a doctor, who understood the benefits of yoga. Like many of us, Bryan originally thought yoga was nothing more than strange contortions, but that changed when his father introduced him to a physical style of yoga called Ashtanga. This appealed to him immediately, and he soon observed great changes in himself, both physically and mentally. Yoga quickly became his passion, one that would take him to India for a year to study with one of the greatest yoga masters of the world, Pattabhi Jois. He has been continuing on his yoga path ever since. Bryan founded two studios in Santa Monica, CA. He also teaches at workshops and retreats around the world; provides an intensive Teacher Training program; and is featured in his own Warner Brothers video series from 1995, as well as a newer video series and audio CD series. His most recent endeavor is Power Yoga Online. This online tool features streaming videos of Bryan’s classes, along with programs and series including a Teacher Training meant to help support and deepen one’s yoga practice. These are usually recorded live and streamed to students around the world.  For articles by Bryan and more information about Power Yoga, visit Power Yoga.

Edward Clark is the creator of Tripsichore, the London-based yoga performance group that has delighted audiences around the world. The performance company was created to explore the possibilities of a form of theater that would celebrate yoga philosophy and extraordinary physical prowess. Edward began studying yoga in 1978. Notable among his teachers are Narayani and Giris Rabinovitch, but he also admires Ashtanga vinyasa, Sivananda, Iyengar, and viniyoga practices. The Tripsichore group has practiced daily for the past 20 years. Constantly devising and refining its techniques for asana, pranayama, pratayahara, dharana, and dhyana. Edward fuses his keen artistic vision with a deep understanding of the essential pursuit of yoga practice. His classes are entertaining, demanding, and exhilarating. Vinyasa Applied to Yoga Philosophy Edward says, “The concept of vinyasa as applied to yoga philosophy could either be considered very ancient or radically new. In either case, vinyasa seems to be one of the great contributions to yoga of this particular generation of yogis. VINYASA in our definition, is the evenly metered flow of movement, breath and thought. This resulting in a smooth, uninflected state of being. The vinyasa techniques are pursued to bring about clarity and stability to one’s thoughts and actions. Tripsichore endeavours to do this in class and onstage. Most yoga discipline has worked on refining one’s self in the direction of greater stillness – an absence of movement in the mind and body. Superficially, vinyasa would seem to contradict this. However, the mental focus and physical technique needed to bring about continuous fluid movement can also bring one to a “seat” of great stability and clarity. The stability is not only in the posture. It is in addition in the transition between postures – to the point where there is no distinction between movement and stillness. Yoga Choreography Tripsichore began in 1979 as a company devoted to creating full length dance narratives.  They explored a variety of stylistic forms including punk ballet, conventional modern dance and strict neo-classical technique.  They used masks, performed with rock bands and did pop videos.  While yoga was always a part of their training, it wasn’t until 1992 that they realised the expressive potential and choreographic viability of yoga postures.  Once they began to devise works using yoga asanas, their extraordinary artistic logic became evident.  Surprisingly, it would seem that there has been no orthodox tradition for using yoga technique to create dances in the 5000 year history of the discipline.  The postures are the ideal vehicle to express the themes of harmony, balance, spirituality, ecstasy, bliss and mysticism because they are exactly about these subjects in and of themselves.  See more about Edward and Tripsichore on the website here.

Bessel van der Kolk MD is author of the seminal book The Body Keeps The Score. He spends his career studying how children and adults adapt to traumatic experiences, and has translated emerging findings from neuroscience and attachment research to develop and study a range of treatments for traumatic stress in children and adults. In 1984, he set up one of the first clinical / research centers in the US dedicated to study and treatment of traumatic stress in civilian populations, which has trained numerous researchers and clinicians specializing in the study and treatment of traumatic stress, and which has been continually funded to research the impact of traumatic stress and effective treatment interventions. He did the first studies on the effects of SSRIs on PTSD; was a member of the first neuroimaging team to investigate how trauma changes brain processes, and did the first research linking BPD and deliberate self-injury to trauma and neglect in early childhood. Much of his research has focused on how trauma has a different impact at different stages of development, and that disruptions in care-giving systems have additional deleterious effects that need to be addressed for effective intervention. In order to promote a deeper understanding of the impact of childhood trauma and to foster the development and execution of effective treatment interventions, he initiated the process that led to the establishment of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN), a Congressionally mandated initiative that now funds approximately 150 centers specializing in developing effective treatment interventions, and implementing them in a wide array of settings, from juvenile detention centers to tribal agencies, nationwide. He has focused on studying treatments that stabilize physiology, increase executive functioning and help traumatized individuals to feel fully alert to the present. This has included an NIMH funded study on EMDR and NCCAM funded study of yoga, and, in recent years, the study of neurofeedback to investigate whether attentional and perceptual systems (and the neural tracks responsible for them) can be altered by changing EEG patterns. ​His efforts resulted in the establishment of Trauma Center (now the Trauma Research Foundation) that consisted of a well-trained clinical team specializing in the treatment of children and adults with histories of child maltreatment, that applied treatment models that are widely taught and implemented nationwide, a research lab that studied the effects of neurofeedback and MDMA on behavior, mood, and executive functioning, and numerous trainings nationwide to a variety of mental health professional, educators, parent groups, policy makers, and law enforcement personnel. You can find out more about him on his website here.  

It actually strikes one as quite funny, that despite Zoe’s reputation, she is hardly unruly. Actually, during this podcast she and Adam spend a good majority of their time praising Mysore and Sharathji’s ability to make the general rule specific to individuals. In fact, neither of them are ultimately rebellious. They like the system, its traditional aspect (respecting the sequences); what they are both outspoken on is the kind of dogma and polarity Ashtanga yoga often enters into when it makes its way out of Mysore, which treats individuals as generalisations, to be fitted into ideal structures. When, instead, what they really require out of yoga is a practice that serves one’s life and doesn’t cause injury. One that respects the demands of your own circumstances. That is, real life, when we have jobs, families and health issues, as opposed to the idealised picture painted of how Ashtanga should be practiced and taught in Mysore. Adam and Zoe talk along these lines then. Having met many years ago in Mysore, they re-connected in the online world through their similar opinions  Zoë is a US based cynical observer, writer, and comedian. After a decade of Ashtanga practice in Mysore and around the world, she now directs the sharpness of mind cultivated by the method toward critiquing the policies and politics of the community on her Instagram account, @unrulyascetic. 

This is the first part of Ashtanga Yoga 2021 & Beyond online panel webinar held in June 2021. We brought together two groups of teachers spanning decades of teaching to discuss the future of Ashtanga yoga. Hosts Adam Keen and Eddie Stern moderated the issues. Discussion was around the best way to move forward from various points of view. The aim of this panel discussion was to look to the future. As any living tradition, Ashtanga Yoga must also evolve as a living and working method. A skillfull look to the future, does not demolish the past, the smarter move is to build upon it. We are brought together respected voices of Ashtanga yoga into dialogue with a newer generation of teachers. Those perceived to be taking it into the future. Bringing the experienced and new together for the first time in the Ashtanga community to share and learn from one another. The discussion was a most exciting and ground breaking one touching upon issues such as inclusivity. Culturally and individually, the role of the teacher and the meaning of tradition for current times to name but a few of the fundamental topics that now require our further, collective reflection. In order that each teacher’s voices was properly heard, the panel was divided into two groups with a short interlude. The event will be of respectful and thoughtful tone, and promises to be unique in the history of Ashtanga so far in offering such an open and collective, communal reappraisal. To watch a recording of the full webinar click Ashtanga Yoga 2021 & Beyond

Russell is one of the most interesting characters I’ve interviewed. Sometimes painfully self-aware, the discussion gives you a good idea of the nuanced world of yoga in utter technicolour honesty as Russell is well known for now as co-host of the Finding Harmony Podcast with his wife Harmony Slater. Russell was one of the fairly old batch of student who studied directly with Pattabhi Jois. We chat about the yoga scene back then, amongst other things as well as his own evolution as a student and a man. We discuss his practice now as he deals with the results of pushing his body too hard over the years. Russell has been practicing and teaching Ashtanga yoga for more than 25 years. He is a humble and refined teacher, he was given Authorization by Sri K Pattabhi Jois in 2005. Case is known for his joking spirit, and his perpetual eye toward social justice work. When Pattabhi Jois invited him to his pranayama class in 2007, he considered this distinction to be the highest grade.  Russell has been teaching Ashtanga Yoga in the Mysore Method since 2001. He has taught programs in NYC, Brighton - England, Taipei - Taiwan, San Francisco, and was Director of the Ashtanga Yoga Mysore program at Stanford University for nine years. He worked as the Director of Partnerships for the Pure Edge Foundation, a non-profit company that brings yoga-based exercises and mindfulness programs into schools throughout the USA. Russell is known for his creative delivery of experiential presentations on neuroscience for social and emotional learning. Russell Case brings to life the teachings of yoga and mindfulness in a very colorful and scientific way that makes it easy for students to understand the deeper dimensions of why yoga works and how. Follow Russell on Instagram @russell_altice_case

Kimberly Ann Johnson is a Somatic Experiencing™ Practitioner, educator, and author. She helps women heal trauma, awaken their power and feel at home in their bodies. So they can then start living life on their own terms. She’s always had a deep knowing that she was in this world to change things for the better. All of that came into sharp focus when she became a mother. Her whole life changed completely in that moment. She had to learn a new way of being in the world. She believes that if you can learn to speak your body’s language, and transmute trauma into positive, reparative experiences in the present, if you can make the shift into acting from a stance of your deepest, truest self … everything changes. Your relationships, sex, and love get infinitely better. Your decisions come from a place of true agency, rather than fear and conditioning. And you tap into a level of power inside yourself that’s deeper than you would have ever believed to be possible. She is the author of two books. Call of The Wild, It’s not just you — women all around the world are experiencing record levels of stress, anxiety, depression, and autoimmune issues.  The truth is, many women are stuck in a cycle of trauma, with no idea how to heal from it. What’s worse, most of the resources out there for healing trauma are written from a male perspective, which makes them ineffective for women, because they heal differently. Call of the Wild is the answer.  And The Fourth Trimester, a holistic guide that offers practical guidance for women making the physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual transition into motherhood. Deeply impactful on both the individual and global level, it’s shifted the experience of motherhood for women all over the world — and helped make this universal, yet widely-ignored experience of postpartum healing a priority in national policy. See more about Kimberly Ann on her website  

In this Keen on Yoga Podcast Adam talks to Carlos Pomeda.  Originally from Madrid, Spain, Carlos has been steeped in all aspects of the yoga tradition during more than 40 years of practice and study. He spent 18 of those years as a monk of the Saraswati order, under the name Swami Gitananda, including 9 years of traditional training and practice in India.  During this time he learned the various systems of Indian Philosophy and immersed himself in the practice of yoga, becoming one of the senior monks of the tradition and teaching meditation and philosophy to tens of thousands of students around the world. He combines this experience and traditional training with his academic background, which includes two Masters Degrees: one in Sanskrit, from U.C. Berkeley (where he has taught) and another one, in Religious Studies, from U.C. Santa Barbara. He is currently working on a book on the topic of “Karma and the Journey of the Soul”, as well as a new translation of the Śivasūtra, an important Tantric text of the Kashmiri tradition .  Carlos currently lives in the US, and travels extensively around the world conducting a variety of retreats, courses, seminars, workshops and lectures on the Wisdom of Yoga and related subjects.  As a teacher, Carlos is renowned for the breadth of his knowledge and the clarity with which he conveys it. His great love of the Indian yoga traditions, his insight, his humor and his deep connection with his audiences give him the ability to transmit the deepest scriptural teachings in a way that is clear, meaningful and applicable. Studying with Carlos is an enjoyable and transformative experience.  You can see more about Carlos on his website. If you would like to support the Keen on Yoga Podcast you can share this post, give us a review on Apple or make a donation at www.keenonyoga/donate

In this Keen on Yoga Podcast Adam talks to Dr Yogi (Andrew McGonigle) Andrew attended Medical School at The University of Newcastle Upon Tyne but struggled with the non-holistic approach often adopted by western medicine. He graduated in 2005 at the young age of 23 and worked for a brief period as a junior doctor in Sunderland Royal Infirmary. However, for many reasons he knew that this career was not suited to him and he finally made the decision to leave the medical world. In 2004 he started to practise Transcendental Meditation as a coping mechanism for stress and this had opened a gateway into spirituality. He began a new life in Sydney in 2006 working for the British fashion brand Paul Smith and regularly attended hatha yoga classes. After a few years of dedicated practice I decided to embark on an Ashtanga Yoga teacher training course at Yoga Thailand with Paul Dallaghan. Teaching is in his blood and is something that has always come naturally to him. His parents were both keen teachers during their working lives and early on in his life he set up an after school homework club to help younger students with their studies.  Having moved to London in 2009 he started working at the Triyoga headquarters where he remained in a Managerial role for almost 9 years. He began to set up my own small yoga classes in a local church hall and completed a holistic massage diploma. While assisting on a massage course someone asked why he wasn’t teaching anatomy and he had had a true light bulb moment! From that point onwards I focused all his attention on establishing himself as an anatomy teacher. Having studied anatomy in great detail during Medical School he now needed to look at this incredibly vast subject from a completely different angle and create ways to make it relevant to yoga.  He enrolled in hands-on dissection classes that focused on fascia (a word that he had never come across at Medical School!) and spent all of his spare time re-reading anatomy books, listening to podcasts and talking about anatomy to anyone who would listen. In recent years he has become a keen writer contributing chapters to the popular Yoga Teaching Handbook: A Practical Guide for Yoga Teachers and Trainees and Yoga Student Handbook: Develop Your Knowledge of Yoga Principles and Practice. His new book, Supporting Yoga Students with Common Injuries and Conditions, was published in March 2021. And his second book, focusing on yoga physiology, will be published in early 2022 Above all, Andrew is one of the most humble yogi’s Adam has interviewed and a really nice guy.  Enjoy this Keen on Yoga Podcast with Dr Yogi.  If you would like to support us please like, share and review the podcast.  We gratefully accept donations in any amount you choose on our website at Keen on Yoga.

Jimmy started meditation as his life enjoyment was crippled by insomnia. he heard that meditation was a scientifically valid way to treat that problem. He had already tried to fix it with courses on mindfulness, books and guided meditation CDs, but nothing got me to that deep place I'd heard about. Then he found a teacher from the ancient Vedic tradition. After four days of meditation training in a little room in London, his life was on a new path (and he was sleeping like a baby). Since then he’s been hooked. He has spent years training, exploring and testing meditation techniques. Jimmy is fascinated by the science and philosophies of these ancient practices. Now he teaches busy people the most powerful technique he knows for connecting to deep inner silence and stillness. The technique is an ancient one from the Himalayas that is scientifically proven to deliver transformative benefits. This is completely different from mindfulness and other styles of meditation which you might have tried before. He shows how to get into a deep state of meditative absorption in just 20 minutes. This melts away stress and leaves you feeling happy, energised, and clear-headed. A skill for life you'll be delighted to practice.  It takes you beyond the thinking mind into a place of peace, stillness, calm and silence. Life becomes easier when you delve into this altered state each day. It doesn't involve focussing on your breath or body sensations. It doesn't involve witnessing your mind or visualising anything. Nor does it involve mindless chanting. The technique leads to an altered state of consciousness. This shows up as highly organised and synchronised alpha waves in both hemispheres of your brain. This is a sign of deep relaxation for the body and rejuvenating rest for the mind. This is the mechanism that delivers the benefits of meditation.   It's a marvellous stroke of luck that getting into this state is fairly quick and extremely enjoyable once you know how to do it.  You can find him at Delve Deep  If you would like to support the Keen on Yoga Podcast please give us a review, or make a donation.