J.Brown is the founder and director as well as lead yoga teacher of Abhyasa Yoga Center in Brooklyn, NY. His writing has been featured in various popular yoga blogs, Yoga therapy today, the International Journal of Yoga Therapy,Elephant Journal, and Yogadork.
He has been working as a yoga therapist since more than 15 years and have actively involved in yoga with a therapeutic orientation. Checkout his video !!
J.Brown: My first yoga class was in college. At that time, I was very confused and unhappy in life. But I could not deny that the practice made me feel better. After I graduated, I spent a number of years living in an unhealthy manner. When I decided that I wanted to be well, yoga was the only thing I could think of to do.
Yetta: Since when, you have been practicing yoga and what was your source of motivation??
J.Brown: I have been practicing yoga for 18 years, teaching for 16. My motivation comes from having to reconcile the loss of my mother. She died from leukemia when I was 16 years old. Yoga was how I learned to accept her death and appreciate life.
Yetta: When did you decide to dedicate yourself to yoga as a personally and professionally?
J.Brown: I didn’t really decide. It just happened that way. I was doing yoga because it made me feel well. I started teaching yoga as a natural conclusion. The more it worked for me, the more I had something to offer other people. Now, I can’t imagine doing anything else.
Yetta: As a yoga therapist, please share your experience about yoga as a healing therapy.
J.Brown: Having studied a number of different yoga systems and styles, there are ways to practice yoga with a therapeutic orientation and ways that are injurious. When practiced appropriately, yoga has the capacity to facilitate healing on many levels. I have personally witnessed all types of people overcome a full range of disorders and conditions through yoga practice. There are many scientific studies that are now looking to document the results of yoga for different ailments, but yoga was healing people before there was anyone doing studies on it. If putting science to it helps more people benefit from yoga then I think it is good. But yoga is certainly more than science and there are issues with looking at it through a scientific lens only.
Yetta: As you are also writing on Yoga Therapy, briefly share about your published work.
J.Brown: I have written a number of articles for the International Association of Yoga Therapists. I was involved in the early discussions there regarding the creation of educational standards for Yoga Therapy. As their efforts have progressed, we have parted ways some. I am interested in bringing the therapeutic aspects into all yoga classes everywhere, not just to hospitals and universities. The IAYT has gone in a more clinical direction. I also write a blog (yogijbrown.com) that discusses topics that are relevant to yoga in the modern world.
Yetta: Share you most memorable incident as a yoga therapist?
J.Brown: There are many memorable incidents for me. One in particular involved a young woman who had a number of autoimmune disorders. She had been to doctors her whole life and on all sorts of medication. She was terribly depressed and came to my class in a bit of desperation. After only six months of regular attendance, the change was startling. She wrote me a note some time later that said her yoga practice was the thing that made her fell that: “I am OK.”
Yetta: What advice you will give to people who want to start practicing (learning) yoga?
J.Brown: Choose a teacher who makes you feel comfortable and is sensitive to your needs. You will probably have to try more than one class before you find a teacher that is right for you.
Yetta: In today’s era, all are busy with work and all. Which asanas you suggest our readers that can be performed in small time-stamp and can help to tone whole body?
J.Brown: To get the whole body on one short thing, I’d say a few sun salutations done very slow with emphasis on oo-jai pranayama (ocean breathing.) maybe 5 rounds, takes 5-10 minutes.
Yetta: Kindly say few words about Abhyasa Yoga Center.
J.Brown: I founded Abhyasa Yoga Center to have a place for students and teachers to learn personal, breath-centered, therapeutic yoga. We have been open for five years now and offer more than 40 classes a week. The approach we teach specializes in adapting to individual needs, including chronic or acute conditions.
Yetta: Say few words for our readers…
J.Brown: No matter what you do in the name of your health, make sure that it is of a nurturing character. The only appropriate response to suffering is compassion.
