Brian James organizes Psychedelic Sangha Montréal. He is a yoga teacher, transformational coach and integration counselor who has been exploring the medicine paths of yoga and psychedelics for over twenty-five years. He works with individuals in person or online and regularly teaches classes, workshops and trainings. Brian is the host of the Medicine Path Podcast and author of Harmonic Movement, a vinyasa yoga manual. His latest book is Yoga & Plant Medicine: Integrating Yoga & Psychedelics for Your Healing, Growth & Transformation. When he’s not out sharing yoga medicine, he’s usually at home with his wife, astrologer and artist Debbie Stapleton, and their Boston Terrier Kingston.

When did you first “turn on” with psychedelics?

Like many people, I started exploring psychedelics and mind-altering substances in my mid-teens. I had no concept of "set and setting" at the time, so those experiences were very hit or miss. It wasn't until my mid-30s that I began to use psychedelics with the clear intention to learn about myself and resolve old wounds that were creating conflict and stress in my life and relationships.

When, where, and how did Yoga enter your life?

I initially became interested in yoga through the exploration of Indian classical music and culture in my late teens when I was practicing and studying music quite intensely. I remember my first yoga classes as being difficult and confusing but intriguing. I continued to visit yoga studios on and off for many years until my mid-30s when I committed to a daily practice to support my healing journey. At that time I sought out teachers in the Krishnamacharya/Desikachar lineage to learn more about the history, development and practice of yoga, and began incorporating a fuller spectrum of techniques (beyond asana) into my home practice. I started teaching formally in 2012.

Are psychedelic experience and yogic practice complementary for you? If so, what do they have in common?

Yoga and the intentional use of psychedelics has been completely compatible for me. Psychedelics allowed me to clearly see how my conditioning, beliefs and attitudes were causing a lot of unnecessary suffering in my life. They helped me to understand the subtler aspects of yoga, particularly the energetic body and distinguishing between the mind and true self (drashtr, or "seer"). Psychedelics helped me see that I am not my mind, which opened me up to a sense of greater freedom and possibility for my life.

A consistent yoga practice has given me more mental-emotional stability which has been very helpful in navigating the psychedelic experience as well as integrating the insights and inspiration into my daily life. My practice keeps me physically fit and energetically clear which has allowed my work with ayahuasca in particular to be less about "cleaning out" and more about "tuning in."

What’s your attitude toward intoxicants in general, with regard to abstinence or moderation?

I have become addicted to the clarity that comes with sobriety, and recognize that psychedelics produce an altered state that can't always be trusted to reflect an objective truth. I think a high degree of discernment is needed when working with these substances. Ultimately I think that once you've had some big breakthroughs and been liberated from the tyranny of the mind, then the focus can move toward stabilizing and maintaining clarity in your everyday life. With the enhanced awareness, sensitivity and detachment from my thoughts that yoga and psychedelics have given me, I find that the best way to learn about myself is through my daily interactions with other people. My relationships have proven to be the clearest mirror for learning where I'm still "stuck".

Besides psychedelics and Yoga, what other practices and traditions, if any, do you incorporate into your spiritual life?

I work a lot with music, drumming and creative visualization to guide folks into an exploration of their subconscious and imaginative realms. Lately I've been using the Tarot as another means for self-inquiry and developing intuition.

Please recommend three cultural works that have been meaningful to you—whether a film, television series, video game, fiction or nonfiction book, philosophical treatise, religious scripture, an album or a single song, etc.

There are so many, but when I was 10 or 11 Stephen King and Peter Straub's book The Talisman had a profound effect on me. It's a classic hero's journey that incorporates shamanic elements like alternate realities and animal allies.
As a yoga practitioner who is interested in better understanding my psychology, the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali has been invaluable. I find it both astounding and comforting that a text from thousands of years ago is still so relevant to someone living in the modern age. People back then were dealing with the same problems of mental distraction, projection and identification that we deal with today, and that was way before social media!
I think the Beatles song "Tomorrow Never Knows" sums up everything I've learned through yoga and psychedelics pretty well. The lyrics also offer some great tips for navigating the psychedelic experience! It's a perfect song to play when the shrooms are starting to kick in.

Turn off your mind relax and float down stream
It is not dying, it is not dying
Lay down all thoughts, surrender to the void
It is shining, it is shining
Yet you may see the meaning of within
It is being, it is being
Love is all and love is everyone
It is knowing, it is knowing
And ignorance and hate mourn the dead
It is believing, it is believing
But listen to the colour of your dreams
It is not leaving, it is not leaving
So play the game "Existence" to the end
Of the beginning, of the beginning

ψ संघ

6 Questions for BRIAN JAMES