What Is Special About Jessica

It seems to me Yoga choose Jessica rather than the other way around.

She had a great job in Paris in IT, she travelled all the time, and she was making money.

But a workshop with David Swenson and meeting Pattabhi Jois in London between 2000 and 2002 changed everything.

She could not believe how people would show up early in the morning to "sweat together", and practice this dynamic form of hatha yoga. And she liked it.

So she started practicing and traveling to Mysore and meeting people and ...

She joined Yoga Thailand in its early stages as a teacher and by invitation! and met Tiwari who is one of the most serious and advanced practitioners of pranayama in the world today.

That, meeting Tiwari, is something I envy her for (in a good way of course) because she got to study under direct supervision from him... they still talk on the phone.

What We talked About

Jessica's life in the corporate world, working for IT and traveling most of the time
How she started getting into yoga slowly
Her workshop with David Swenson clarifies things for her
Her visit to London to take Pattabhi Jois's tour classes
India
An Invitation to Teach and "take over for a few months" Yoga Thailand!!! I mean. Wow.
Her yoga sabbatical, and did she fear running out of money?
What is it like to learn directly from Pranayama World Authority Tiwari?
Opening her own studio in 2008 in New Orleans
Getting married and having a baby
The delivery story - It was painful but not as crazy as some videos women get to watch...
How the studio is doing today
What took Jessica a long time to understand.

Books Jessica Recommends on The Podcast

Prakriti: Your Ayurvedic Constitution (Your Ayurvedic Constitution Revised Enlarged Second Edition) Paperback - by Dr. Robert Svoboda

Prakriti It means "nature" in Sanskrit. Dr. Svoboda, says Jessica, is a great writer, very entertaining, very clear and practical. He is a teacher and a yogi.

Ayurveda The Science Of Self Healing by Vasan Lad. Jessica says this one is for those of us interested in learning more about the pulse, and a good introduction.

Ayurvedic Nutrition - By Atreya Smith, one of Jessica's teacher. This book is clear on diet and the benefits of it.

ANOTHER BOOK WE MENTION IN THE PODCAST:

The Blue Zones Solution: Eating and Living Like the World's Healthiest People by Dan Buettner

(Here is the interview James did with Buettner on living to 100)

About Jessica

Her Studio in New Orleans

Her book: Yoga Thailand's Healthy Lifestyle Cooking I've tried recipes from this book for the past five years, in between visits to Ko Samui, and they are delicious and packed with nutrition.

A Meal Plan to eat healthy she is offering for free

Samahita Retreat - or Yoga Thailand

Transcript

Claudia A. Altucher: Hello and welcome to the Yoga Podcast. Today I have for my guest Jessica Blanchard. She is the founder of Balance Yoga and Wellness in New Orleans. She is a trained yogi for years, authorized by Pattabhi Jois in the Ashtanga yoga tradition. She has also studied at Yoga Thailand under Paul and Jutima Dallaghan, and also Master Tiwari, one of the most authoritative authorities in Pranayama in the world. And Jessica has an interest in Ayurveda. She is a member of NAMA, the national organization which governs and protects Ayurveda here in the United States, and she studied at the European Institute of Vedic Studies and Ayurveda as well. She’s a co-author of Yoga Thailand’s Healthy Lifestyle cookbook, which is in Amazon, and Jessica had the life I think I wish I had when I was in the corporate world. Jessica, welcome to the Yoga Podcast.

Jessica Blanchard: [Laughter] Thank you, Claudia.

Claudia A. Altucher: It’s great to have you. So I want to ask you – I’m insanely curious. You started practicing around ’99, 2000 – is that so?

Jessica Blanchard: That’s right, y...