The Spiritual Pilgrim: How Ashtanga and Tibetan Buddhism Point to the Same Truth
Cory Michael Bryant — known to many as The Spiritual Pilgrim — joins Harmony and Russell for a conversation about what happens when two decades of Ashtanga yoga and Vajrayana Buddhist practice grow up side by side. From a 9/11 wake-up call that led him to his first yoga class, to studying under teachers in the lineage of Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche in Nepal, Cory traces how Ashtanga and Tibetan Buddhism aren't separate paths — they may be two branches of the very same root.
In this episode:
- How a strange bout of stress-induced hair loss led a type-A FDA chemist into his first yoga class
- Studying with Sharon Gannon and David Life at Jivamukti, and the pull toward Ashtanga
- Moving back to the American South as an openly gay man after 20 years in New York and DC
- The 37 practices of a bodhisattva, and using relationships as spiritual practice
- What sukha and dukkha actually mean — and why it's really about space versus contraction
- The Vairochana posture as “the ultimate asana,” and the prana/nadi/trulkhor overlap between Ashtanga and Vajrayana
- Taking refuge, ngöndro, and years of preliminary Buddhist practice
- Leading pilgrimages to Nepal, Bhutan, India, and this fall, Mount Kailash in Tibet
Guest Bio
Cory Michael Bryant, known as The Spiritual Pilgrim, is a longtime Ashtanga yoga teacher and Vajrayana Buddhist practitioner. A former FDA food chemist, Cory has practiced Ashtanga since the early 2000s, trained at Jivamukti Yoga under David Life and Sharon Gannon, and has studied for over a decade in the lineage of Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, including with Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche and Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche. He leads pilgrimages to Nepal, Bhutan, and India through The Spiritual Pilgrim, and teaches on Omstars.
Resources Mentioned
- When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chödrön
- Joy of Living / Path of Liberation programs (Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche)
- thespiritualpilgrim.com
- Omstars
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00:00 - Welcome & Introduction
03:27 - Reunion & Small-Town Roots
04:35 - Finding Yoga After 9/11
08:41 - From Jivamukti to Ashtanga
12:57 - Coming Home to the South
18:39 - Spiritual Practice in Everyday Life
20:58 - Discovering Tibetan Buddhism
23:36 - Ashtanga & Vajrayana: One Root
32:35 - Space, Suffering & the Ultimate Asana
39:06 - Meeting John Campbell
43:13 - Ngöndro & Taking Refuge
51:21 - Teaching & Sharing the Dharma
59:12 - Pilgrimage to Tibet & Mount Kailash
01:02:12 - Where to Find Cory & Farewell
01:03:21 - Retreat Invitation & Outro
Yoga Teacher
Cory Bryant is the Founder and Director of The Spiritual Pilgrim, offering yoga, meditation, pilgrimage throughout Nepal, India, Bhutan, and Tibet. He is also the former Founder and Head Teacher of Yoga Shala Nashville, where he led a daily Mysore program from 2019–2025.
His yoga journey began at Jivamukti Yoga School in New York City in 2002 and has continued for more than two decades. A longtime practitioner of Jivamukti & Ashtanga Yoga, Cory has studied extensively with David Life, Sharon Gannon, David Garrigues, Tim Miller, and Tim Feldmann. He was certified to teach Jivamukti in 2008.
Alongside his yoga studies, Cory has devoted much of the past decade to the study and practice of Tibetan Buddhism. He has trained with Khenpo Tokpa Tulku, Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche, and Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, received refuge vows from Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche, and became a Certified Tergar Anywhere Anytime Meditation Teacher in 2025.
Before dedicating himself fully to teaching, Cory earned a Ph.D. in Food Chemistry and spent sixteen years working in science, public policy, and international affairs. Today, he draws upon both scientific inquiry and contemplative wisdom to explore the rich intersections between Buddhism and Yoga.
Through pilgrimages, retreats, online programs, and courses on OmStars, Cory helps students cultivate greater awareness, compassion, and connection to their innate goodness.
