Black Beryl – Details, episodes & analysis

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 Refuge
• The 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 Pamela Boyce Simms, a Buddhist practitioner, herbalist, and cultural healer. We talk about how Pamela’s Buddhist practice enables her to facilitate self-care sovereignty for impoverished rural and urban communities. We also discuss how she uses deep meditation states to navigate the stark racial and political divides facing contemporary America. Along the way, we talk about the multidimensional nature of reality, plant spirits, and how the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa inspired her to get involved in environmental activism.  

Enjoy, and don’t forget to subscribe to Blue Beryl to ensure that you don’t miss an episode!

Resources mentioned:

• https://singularitybotanicals.net/
• https://communitysupportedenlightenment.com/

In this episode, I sit down with Kin Cheung, a scholar of contemporary Buddhism at Moravian University. We talk about his research on a Chinese American community healer who happens to be his father. We discuss how his father’s practice raises challenging questions for scholars, and reveals gaping holes in current academic approaches to Buddhism. Along the way, we talk about how code-switching between different ontologies is a feature of life for Asian Americans, and hear Kin’s father conduct a blessing ritual.

Enjoy, and please subscribe so that you do not miss any episodes in the future!

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

• First installment of Pierce's blog series on Meta Approaches to Asian Medicine
• Chenxing Han, Be the Refuge: Raising the Voices of Asian American Buddhists (2021)
• Duncan Ryūken Williams, American Sutra: A Story of Faith and Freedom in the Second World War (2019)
• Pierce Salguero, Buddhism and Medicine: An Anthology of Modern and Contemporary Sources (2020)
• Jivaka Project Philadelphia (documentary films on Asian American Buddhism in Philadelphia, by Pierce and Lan)
• Pierce Salguero, Kin Cheung, and Susannah Deane, Buddhism and Healing in the Modern World (2024) 
• Pierce Salguero and Andrew Macomber, Buddhist Healing in Medieval China and Japan (2020)

Today I sit down with Rev. Nathan Jishin Michon, a postdoctoral fellow at Ryukoku University and an ordained priest in the Shingon Buddhist tradition. Our conversation touches on diverse Buddhist healing rituals and the role of light in Shingon practice and cosmology. We discuss the playfulness and innovation in modern Japanese Buddhism, and the rise of chaplaincy after the 3.11 tsunami and nuclear disaster. We also talk about Nathan’s ethnographic work in Japan, as well as their experiences volunteering in a “listening cafe.”

Resources mentioned in the episode:

• Pierce Salguero, Buddhism and Medicine: An Anthology of Modern and Contemporary Sources (2019)
• Jivaka Project
• Nathan’s dissertation: “Awakening to Care: Formation of Japanese Buddhist Chaplaincy” (2020) 
• Nathan Michon, A Thousand Hands: A Guidebook to Caring for Your Buddhist Community (2016)
• Nathan Michon, Refuge in the Storm: Buddhist Voices in Crisis Care (2023) 

Today I sit down for an in-depth conversation with my good friend, Michael Stanley-Baker, a scholar of Chinese religion and medicine. We talk about Mike’s international childhood and how his family history influenced his intellectual life, his training as a Chinese medical practitioner, and his book co-edited with Vivienne Lo, the Routledge Handbook of Chinese Medicine, which is groundbreaking... and open access! We also talk about Mike’s new book with Manchester University Press, Situating Religion and Medicine in Asia, which opens up a critical conversation about how we understand Asian medicine. Then, we look ahead to Mike’s digital humanities project, called Polyglot Asian Medicines. Along the way we talk rabbit-ducks and how fish know that they're underwater. 

I hope that you enjoy the conversation as much as I did. And if you want to hear from more experts on Buddhist medicine and related topics, subscribe to Blue Beryl for monthly episodes.

Resources mentioned in the episode:

• Michael Stanley-Baker and Vivienne Lo (eds), Routledge Handbook of Chinese Medicine (2022).
• Michael Stanley-Baker, Situating Religion and Medicine in Asia: Methodological Insights and Innovations (2023).
• The Rabbit-Duck (image)
• Polyglot Asian Medicines project website 
• Polyglot Asian Medicines intro video
• Mike's publications

Today I sit down with two guests, Ounkham Souksavanh and Elizabeth Elliott, to talk about community engagement and community health in Laos. We discuss how Elizabeth as a medical anthropologist, and Ounkham as a physician, work together to build trust and improve healthcare access across an ethnically and religiously diverse landscape. Along the way, we learn about Elizabeth’s experience of foraging for herbs and Ounkham’s memories of growing up with traditional medicine in his family. If you want to learn about the landscape of Lao traditional healers and medicinal plants — with a few snake bites and plant talismans thrown in — then this episode 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. 

Resources mentioned in the podcast: 

• Elizabeth's dissertation: "Potent Plants, Cool Hearts" (2021) 
• Pierce Salguero, Traditional Thai Medicine: Buddhism, Animism, Yoga, Ayurveda (2016)
• Richard Poitier, Yû dî mî hèng "être bien, avoir de la force" (2007)
• Elizabeth's documentary: Traditional Medicine in Southern Laos (2023) 
• Brand new book released after the interview was recorded: Djaja Djendoel Soejarto et al, Medicinal Plants of Laos (2023)

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 Refuge
• The 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)

In this episode I sit down with Frances Garrett, a scholar of Tibetan culture, history, and language. We talk about Frances’s interests in embodiment and movement, and how her experiences as ballet dancer, surfer, and rock climber connect with her work on religion and healing. Our conversation focuses on her commitment to embodied and trauma-aware pedagogy, and how in the interest of flourishing, she engages the whole person in the learning process. Along the way, we talk about Tibetan bards, sacred mountains, and the importance of long walks. 

Enjoy! And, if you want to hear from more experts on Buddhist medicine and related topics, subscribe to Blue Beryl for monthly episodes here.


Resources 

• Michel Strickmann, Chinese Magical Medicine (2002)
• Frances Garrett, Religion, Medicine and the Human Embryo in Tibet (2008)
• Frances Garrett, Hidden Lands in Himalayan Myth and History (2020)
• Tsering Yangzom Lama, We Measure the Earth with Our Bodies (2022)
• Susan Hrach, Minding Bodies (2021)
• Jesse Stommel's ungrading website: www.jessestommel.com
• Susan D. Bloom, Ungrading: Why Rating Students Undermines Learning (and What to Do Instead) (2020)
• Cate J. Denial, “A Pedagogy of Kindness” (2019)
• Frances's website: www.francesgarrett.info
• Windvane Project: www.windvane.life

And now for something completely different! Today I sit down with Zachary Lui who is a practitioner of Chinese medicine, magic, and shamanism in the Toronto area. We start by talking about his early work with Chinese martial arts, traditional medicine, and qigong. We then get into Zac’s practice of chaos magic, diverse ritual practices, reiki, and esoteric Buddhist healing. Finally, we discuss his communication with different deities and spirits, as well as the potential dangers of working with them in his healing practice.

Enjoy! And, if you want to hear from more experts on Buddhist medicine and related topics, subscribe to Blue Beryl for monthly episodes here.


Resources 

• Wuji Xuan Life Wellness 
• Queen City Curio 
• Deeper Down the Rabbit Hole Podcast 
• Andrieh Vitimus, Hands-On Chaos Magic (2009)