Sept. 8, 2025

#284 From Prison to a 3 Year 3 Month Silent Retreat - Earle Birney

Earle led the yoga philosophy department and taught meditation and yoga, while also studying Tibetan, Sanskrit, business, and a 7-year advanced program in Tibetan Buddhism.

 

#energymedicine #spiritual #meditate

 

About my Guest Earle Birney

Earle grew up an avid sports fan in Vancouver, Canada. With just 4 months left of study before obtaining a degree, he began to realize that a life of following “societal norms” — starting a career, buying a house, getting married, having kids — did not make sense or appeal to him. It felt confining rather than freeing. So instead, he took out a student loan, bought an around-the-world ticket, and went on his personal search for freedom. Fueled by liquid inspiration, Earle ironically ended up in Paremoremo, a maximum security prison in Auckland New Zealand where he remained as a guest for the next 22 months. This is where Earle met the practices of yoga, meditation, and Buddhist philosophy. Earle began studying the Asian Classics Institute program and shortly after returning to Canada, went to help him start the Diamond Mountain University and Retreat Center in the Chiricahua Mountains of Arizona. Earle led the yoga philosophy department and taught meditation and yoga, while also studying Tibetan, Sanskrit, business, and a 7-year advanced program in Tibetan Buddhism. This period of study concluded with a 3 year 3 month 3 day silent meditation retreat.Taking his 27 years of experience, Earle thrives on making the often complicated teachings practical and relatable. Earle uses his expertise in retreat and his capacity to guide people along the stages of meditation, to help them in their spiritual journey.Earle is the head of curriculum development and lead teacher at the Yoga Studies Institute (YSI). YSI reaches over 10,000 students annually, leading students in yoga programs and retreats, meditation teacher trainings, and philosophy workshops. Earle also teaches and leads meditation programs at the Three Jewels Outreach Center in NYC for many students, including beginning meditators, people training to become meditation teachers, and advanced practitioners looking to deepen their practice in retreat.

What we Discussed:

 

00:10 Who is Earle Birney

 

01:00 His Journey to understand life

 

05:35 4 months from finishing his Degree and quit

 

07:40 The plan was to work and kep travelling

 

08:18 How he got into selling Acid

 

09:30 Getting a warning he should have listened to

 

10:28 The Process of Getting Arrested

 

11:40 His Court Experience

 

14:20 His experience in Prison

 

15:50 How did his Parents react to the situation

 

17:00 After 5 month how was the prison experience

 

18:55 The jobs in the Prison

 

20:30 What was his Mindset when he know he was getting out

 

22:45 Was there any treatment in Prison to help with drug use

 

25:00 The Journey after Prison

 

28:00 7 Years in a Buddist centre

 

29:00 3 Years 3 Months & 3 Day silent retreat

 

29:50 How did they cover costs

 

30:45 Spending 3 years to go inwards for yourself

 

31:45 The Structure of the Retreat

 

33:19 How was his mind in the 1st few days

 

35:25 After the Retreat what was the next part of his journey

 

38:00 Fast for Hunger

 

40:20 Give Dignity to the Homeless

 

41:00 What Meditation do they Teach and his Practice

 

43:30 When People say they can not Meditate

 

46:00 Getting Tired in Meditation

 

49:14 Walking on the beach worked for me Meditating

 

50:48 The Free Resources on his Website

 

How to Contact Earle Birney

www.yogastudiesinstitute.org

 

https://www.instagram.com/samayogastudio/

 

All about Roy / Brain Gym & Virtual Assistants at ⁠https://roycoughlan.com/⁠

 

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Roy Coughlan

Podfather

Serial Entrepreneur and host of 6 Podcasts. All 6 got to the Top 5%. 5 got to Top 1% and 4 to Top 0.5%.

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Earle Birney Profile Photo

Earle Birney

Meditation Teacher

Earle grew up an avid sports fan in Vancouver, Canada. With just 4 months left of study before obtaining a degree, he began to realize that a life of following “societal norms” — starting a career, buying a house, getting married, having kids — did not make sense or appeal to him. It felt confining rather than freeing. So instead, he took out a student loan, bought an around-the-world ticket, and went on his personal search for freedom. Fueled by liquid inspiration, Earle ironically ended up in Paremoremo, a maximum security prison in Auckland New Zealand where he remained as a guest for the next 22 months.

This is where Earle met the practices of yoga, meditation, and Buddhist philosophy. Earle began studying the Asian Classics Institute program and shortly after returning to Canada, went to help him start the Diamond Mountain University and Retreat Center in the Chiricahua Mountains of Arizona. Earle led the yoga philosophy department and taught meditation and yoga, while also studying Tibetan, Sanskrit, business, and a 7-year advanced program in Tibetan Buddhism. This period of study concluded with a 3 year 3 month 3 day silent meditation retreat.

Taking his 27 years of experience, Earle thrives on making the often complicated teachings practical and relatable. Earle uses his expertise in retreat and his capacity to guide people along the stages of meditation, to help them in their spiritual journey.

Earle is the head of curriculum development and lead teacher at the Yoga Studies Institute (YSI). YSI reaches over 10,000 students annually… Read More