Black Beryl

Today, I sit down with Theodora Wildcroft, a researcher, anthropologist, and long-time teacher of what she calls “post-lineage yoga.” We discuss Theo's ethnographic research on yoga in the UK, focusing on its connections with animism, paganism, and other somatic practices. We also dive into Theo’s personal approach to yoga as a liberatory practice that allows diverse bodies and minds to thrive. Along the way, we touch on disability, neuro-divergence, cultural appropriation, and the inescapable influence of colonialism for contemporary yogis. Enjoy! and subscribe to Blue Beryl for monthly episodes.Resources mentioned in this episode:Theodora Wildcroft, Post Lineage Yoga: From Guru to #MeToo (2020)Theo Wildcroft & Harriet Mcatee, The Yoga Teacher's Survival Guide: Social Justice, Science, Politics, and Power (2024)Barbora Sojkova & Theodora Wildcroft, Yoga Studies in 5 Minutes (2025)Theo’s website: https://theowildcroft.com

Today I sit down with Willa Blythe Baker, a writer, translator, and teacher of meditation based on Himalayan Buddhist tradition. We talk about Willa’s early discovery of Buddhism with her mother, her time living as a nun, and our shared experience in graduate school at UVa. We then do a deep-dive into Buddhist tantra and the alchemical transformations of the body-mind that led to Willa’s most recent book, The Wakeful Body, published by Shambhala in 2021. If you find yourself in your head too much of the time, then this conversation is for you! Enjoy! And, if you want to hear from more experts on Buddhist medicine and related topics, subscribe to Blue Beryl for monthly episodes here. Willa's Publications and Activities Natural Dharma Fellowship and Wonderwell Mountain RefugeThe Wakeful Body: Somatic Mindfulness as a Path to Freedom (2021) The Arts of Contemplative Care: Pioneering Voices in Buddhist Chaplaincy and Pastoral Work (2012)Everyday Dharma: Seven Weeks to Finding the Buddha in You (2009)Essence of Ambrosia: A Guide to Buddhist Contemplations (2005)

Today I sit down with Dr. Brandt Stickley, associate professor of classical Chinese medicine at the National University of Natural Medicine. We talk about Brandt’s approach, which he calls “nondual psychosomatic medicine.” We also explore how perceiving yin and yang moment by moment can be a portal to nondual experience, and how placing needles in a patient can open up a whole imaginal world of symbols and spirits. Along the way, we talk about phenomenology, Chinese herbs, and how premodern texts might literally speak to us.Remember, if you want to hear from more experts on Buddhism, Asian medicine, and embodied spirituality, subscribe to Blue Beryl for monthly episodes. Please enjoy! Resources mentioned in the episode:Brandt’s PatreonBrandt’s personal website

Naomi Worth, a scholar of Tibetan Buddhism's yoga tradition, discusses intense elements and visual aspects of the practice. She shares insights on balancing her scholarship with teaching high school and guiding teens through mindfulness. Topics include wrathful deities, sky-gazing, and empowering youth through philosophical teachings.

Today I sit down with Justin B. Stein, a specialist in modern Japanese religion and the preeminent historian of Reiki. We discuss Justin’s new book, Alternate Currents, about the transnational origins of Reiki, and also get into his perspective as a both a scholar and a Reiki practitioner. Along the way, we ask what Reiki has to do with Buddhism, what subtle energy feels like up close, and what kinds of extraordinary experiences might occur when you open up to energy of the universe. Remember, if you want to hear from more experts on Buddhism, Asian medicine, and embodied spirituality, subscribe to Blue Beryl for monthly episodes. Please enjoy!Resources mentioned in the episode:C. Pierce Salguero, Buddhism and Medicine: An Anthology of Modern and Contemporary Sources (2020). Justin’s translation is Chapter 5, “Psychosomatic Buddhist Medicine at the Dawn of Modern Japan”Justin B. Stein, Alternate Currents: Reiki’s Circulation in the Twentieth-Century North Pacific (2023).BBP interview with Nathan Michon

Historian Dominic Steavu discusses Daoist practices, psychedelics, talismanic tattoos, and internal alchemy. He explores the intersection of Taoism, Buddhism, and psychedelics, contrasting body-centric Taoism with mental-focused Buddhism. Topics also include alien encounters, intergalactic mushrooms, mystical visions, and scholarly skepticism.

 In this debut episode of Blue Beryl's second season on embodied spirituality, I sit down with Paul C. Wang, a healer and teacher of Chinese medicine and Daoism, and host of the Daology Podcast. We talk about Paul’s practices of “memetic healing” and “clinical cosmology,” and how he works with Chinese medicine, martial arts, neigong, and spirit healing. Along the way, we discover how to communicate with deceased spirits, and how to embody the Dao through everyday practices.   Please enjoy! And if you want to hear from more experts on Buddhism, Asian medicine, and embodied spirituality, subscribe to Blue Beryl for monthly episodes.Resources mentioned in this episode:Daology PodcastDaocenter.comDao Center’s Facebook page

In this podcast, they reflect on Season 1, challenge academic norms with Buddhist medicine, and explore embodied spirituality. Topics include talismanic chants, dissolving bodies, and the mystery of spirituality. Scholars share personal journeys and the importance of integrating personal experiences into academic work.

Dr Pierce Salguero is interviewed by James Bae on the Buddhist Medicine & Yoga Podcast. In this extensive and in-depth conversation, we talk about differentiating religion from medicine, what Buddhist medicine can teach contemporary clinicians,  current trends in the field of Buddhist studies, and hybridity versus tradition. We also explore Buddhist medicine in America, different kinds of Buddhist healers in the US, and how Buddhist medicine circulates in the contemporary era. Along the way, we dig into the promise of “metadisciplinary” collaborations, and what it means to engage in “pedagogy of the soul.” This episode combines two interviews, abridged and edited together.Enjoy, and please subscribe to Blue Beryl so that you do not miss any episodes in the future!Resources mentioned in the episode:Link to the original (non-abridged) interview, part 1Link to the original (non-abridged) interview, part 2 Michael Stanley-Baker, Situating Religion and Medicine in Asia (2023)Pierce Salguero, Translating Buddhist Medicine in Medieval China (2014)Pierce’s “Pedagogy of the Soul” blog seriesPierce Salguero, “Beyond Mindfulness: Buddhism & Health in the US” (2022) Pierce Salguero, “Varieties of Buddhist Healing in Multiethnic Philadelphia” (2019)Pierce Salguero, “The Role of Buddhist Studies in Fostering Metadisciplinary Conversations and Improving Pedagogical Collaborations” (2021)Pierce’s “Meta Approaches to Asian Medicine” blog seriesDr. Pierce Salguero is a transdisciplinary scholar of health humanities who is fascinated by historical and contemporary intersections between Buddhism, medicine, and crosscultural exchange. He has a Ph.D. in History of Medicine from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine (2010), and teaches Asian history, medicine, and religion at Penn State University’s Abington College, located near Philadelphia. www.piercesalguero.com.

Today I sit down with Amy Langenberg, a scholar of South Asian Buddhism, gender, sexuality, and the body. We focus on Amy’s work on misogyny in Buddhist texts, her book on Buddhist embryology, and her current project on sexual abuse in contemporary Buddhist communities. Along the way we discuss miscarriage, menstruation, and the importance of feminist scholarship . . . and also, what does the Buddha have in common with Michael Phelps? Remember, if you want to hear from more experts on Buddhism, Asian medicine, and embodied spirituality, subscribe to Blue Beryl for monthly episodes. Please enjoy!Resources mentioned in this episode:Amy Langenberg, Birth in Buddhism: The Suffering Fetus and Female Freedom (2017)Pierce Salguero,  "'This Fathom-Long Body': Bodily Materiality and Ascetic Ideology in Medieval Chinese Buddhist Scriptures" (2018)Amy’s academic papers, free to download on Academia.eduPierce Salguero (ed.), Buddhism and Medicine: An Anthology of Premodern Sources (2017)Amy Langenberg, "The Buddha Didn’t Teach Consent" (2021)The Buddhist Bodies Collective  Ann  Gleig and Amy Langenberg, “Survivor-Centered Solutions: #MeToo and Spiritual Abuse” (CBC Radio)Ann Gleig and Amy Langenberg, "Abuse, Sex and the Sangha: A Series of Healing Conversations” (video playlist)Ann Gleig and Amy Langenberg, “Sexual Ethics and Healthy Boundaries in the Wake of Teacher Abuse” (2023) Ann Gleig and Amy Langenberg, “Supporting Survivors of Abuse” (video)Amy Langenberg and Ann Gleig, "Sexual Misconduct And Buddhism - Centering Survivors" (2020)Amy Langenberg, “Late Night Phone Alerts And Other Intrusions: What To Expect When You Write About Sexual Violation In Religion” (2021)