Episodes
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In this wide ranging conversation Scott Johnson talks to Dr Mark Williams, professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Oxford and director of the Oxford Mindfulness Centre, about mindfulness meditation and its ability to treat and prevent depression. Mark was raised in a devout Christian household, and at a young age believed his calling was with the ministry. His path changed while studying clinical psychology at university, where he was drawn to the field of treating adult mental health.
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We’d like to invite you to join our growing monthly Stillpoint Online Yoga community. For just £20 per month you can support the podcast and every Monday evening join The Still Space, our live stream yoga philosophy, mindfulness, pranayama and discussion sessions hosted by Scott Johnson. You can also gain access to our growing Stillpoint Online library of helpful yoga and mindfulness content.
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Mark Williams - How We Created Mindfulness Based Cognitive TherapyIn this conversation, Mark explains how cognitive therapy and mindfulness can be used to reduce the risk of relapse in people who have experienced depression. Mindfulness, unlike antidepressants and cognitive therapy, is uniquely effective as a preventative measure against poor mental health. By engaging in mindfulness even when we are not depressed, we can lower the risk of it affecting us in the first place. Among many rich and inspiring stories Mark shares how he developed MBCT after working with Jon Kabat Zinn, the founder of modern day mindfulness practices.
Mark shares:
How he developed MBCT with his colleagues and working directly with Jon Kabat Zinn How he experienced the transformational power of mindfulness meditation only after having abandoned it. How mindfulness and his Christian faith work in tandem, with surprising similarities between Buddhist awareness meditation and the Gospel of St John. How, within the Christian contemplative tradition, God can be understood as the ‘loving heart’ at the centre of the universe. How effective the combination of cognitive therapy and mindfulness is at reducing the risk of relapse. The limitations and contraindications of mindfulness. How liberation is to be found in the present moment, and that each moment is a possible moment of freedom._____
About Mark WilliamsMark Williams is Emeritus Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Oxford, having held posts at the Medical Research Council’s Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit at Cambridge and the University of Wales, Bangor. He co-developed Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy and founded the University of Oxford’s Mindfulness Centre that works to prevent depression and enhance human potential through the therapeutic use of mindfulness across the lifespan. His books include The Mindful Way through Depression: Freeing Yourself from Chronic Unhappiness (with John Teasdale, Zindel Segal and Jon Kabat-Zinn) and Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Finding Peace in a Frantic World (with Danny Penman). His most recent work focuses on how to sustain and deepen mindfulness through a programme that explores feeling tone (vedanā) 'frame by frame', as explained in Deeper Mindfulness (2023).
You can find more about Mark here:
Oxford Mindfulness Foundation Wikipedia Books"This conversation with Dr Mark Williams gives a beautiful insight into one of the foremost leaders in the field of mindfulness over the past 40 years. Mark shares not only his involvement in the growth of mindfulness based interventions but also about his own journey with mindfulness. It is one of my favourite conversations yet...."
Scott Johnson - September 2023
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If you enjoyed this podcast then you might also enjoy Scott’s conversations with Pamela Weiss, Peter Levitt and Martin Aylward.
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In this deep and rewarding conversation Scott Johnson talks to author, yoga teacher and mystic Gregor Maehle on his life as a seeker in the contemplative and spiritual traditions. Gregor shares how his childhood created the bedrock for a life of spiritual discovery, the outcome being a life embedded within the mystical limbs of yoga and contemplative practice.
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We’d like to invite you to join our growing monthly Stillpoint Online Yoga community. For just £20 per month you can support the podcast and every Monday evening join The Still Space, our live stream yoga philosophy, mindfulness, pranayama and discussion sessions hosted by Scott Johnson. You can also gain access to our growing Stillpoint Online library of helpful yoga and mindfulness content.
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Gregor Maehle on Yoga As A Mystical ExperienceScott and Gregor talk openly about Gregor’s life as a yoga practitioner and mystic. Gregor shares:
How he grew up in a catholic upbringing. How he had a mystical experience aged 6. How his parents saw something deep in him from an early age. How he read mystical books from a very young age. How he took psychedelics in his late teens but the integration as a spiritual experience didn’t work. How in his twenties he did the guru trail in India. How he decided to spend his life doing personal sadhana. Why mystical experiences are not spontaneous. Why you should work with hypotheses rather than belief. Why the mystical state is your birth right. How in his forties he developed a relationship with Jesus. How the ego gets in the way of the mystical experience and is known in many traditions with different names. How we need to be in the service of all beings. Why yoga is the most powerful tool for transformation. What the inspiration is that he uses to write his books. How we can all find our life’s purpose. How we can stay connected to nature. What the most important thing is that he has discovered through his practice. ___ About Gregor MaehleGregor Maehle began his yogic practices 45 years ago. In the mid-1980s he commenced annual travels to India, where he studied with various yogic and tantric masters, traditional Indian sadhus and ascetics. He spent fourteen months in Mysore, and in 1997 was authorised to teach Ashtanga Yoga by K. Pattabhi Jois. Since then he has branched out into researching the anatomical alignment of postures and the higher limbs of yoga.
In India Gregor also received eight months of mostly one-on-one instruction in scripture and the higher limbs of Yoga through B.N.S. Iyengar, a student of T. Krishnamacharya, and he studied Sanskrit under Professor Narayanachar and Dr Chandrasekhar. Gregor’s internationally acclaimed textbook series consisting of Ashtanga Yoga: Practice and Philosophy, Ashtanga Yoga: The Intermediate Series, Pranayama: The Breath of Yoga, Yoga Meditation: Through Mantra, Chakras and Kundalini to Spiritual Freedom, Samadhi The Great Freedom, How to Find Your Life’s Divine Purpose, Chakras, Drugs & Evolution and Mudras: Seals of Yoga – have sold more than 100,000 copies worldwide and have been translated into eight foreign languages. Additional volumes currently prepared are Tantric Meditation and Bhakti: Yoga of Love. Gregor has been invited to many countries to teach and has contributed to and been interviewed by numerous yoga magazines. On Gregor’s blog page chintamaniyoga.com/blog/ you will find over 300 articles, videos and podcasts on all aspects of yoga, which Gregor has authored together with his wife Monica.
Today Gregor teaches an anatomically sophisticated interpretation of traditional vinyasa yoga, integrated into the practice of the higher limbs in the spirit of Patanjali and T. Krishnamacharya. His zany sense of humour, his manifold personal experiences, and his vast and deep knowledge of scripture, Indian philosophies and yogic techniques combine to make his teachings applicable, relevant and easily accessible to all his students.
You can find more about Gregor here:
Website Blog BooksIn this deep and rewarding conversation Scott Johnson talks to author, yoga teacher and mystic Gregor Maehle on his life as a seeker in the contemplative and spiritual traditions. Gregor shares how his childhood created the bedrock for a life of spiritual discovery, the outcome being a life embedded within the mystical limbs of yoga and contemplative practice.
We’d like to invite you to join our growing monthly Stillpoint Online Yoga community. For just £20 per month you can support the podcast and every Monday evening join The Still Space, our live stream yoga philosophy, mindfulness, pranayama and discussion sessions hosted by Scott Johnson. You can also gain access to our growing Stillpoint Online library of helpful yoga and mindfulness content.
Gregor Maehle on Yoga As A Mystical ExperienceScott and Gregor talk openly about Gregor’s life as a yoga practitioner and mystic. Gregor shares:
How he grew up in a catholic upbringing. How he had a mystical experience aged 6. How his parents saw something deep in him from an early age. How he read mystical books from a very young age. How he took psychedelics in his late teens but the integration as a spiritual experience didn’t work. How in his twenties he did the guru trail in India. How he decided to spend his life doing personal sadhana. Why mystical experiences are not spontaneous. Why you should work with hypotheses rather than belief. Why the mystical state is your birth right. How in his forties he developed a relationship with Jesus. How the ego gets in the way of the mystical experience and is known in many traditions with different names. How we need to be in the service of all beings. Why yoga is the most powerful tool for transformation. What the inspiration is that he uses to write his books. How we can all find our life’s purpose. How we can stay connected to nature. What the most important thing is that he has discovered through his practice. About Gregor MaehleGregor Maehle began his yogic practices 45 years ago. In the mid-1980s he commenced annual travels to India, where he studied with various yogic and tantric masters, traditional Indian sadhus and ascetics. He spent fourteen months in Mysore, and in 1997 was authorised to teach Ashtanga Yoga by K. Pattabhi Jois. Since then he has branched out into researching the anatomical alignment of postures and the higher limbs of yoga.
In India Gregor also received eight months of mostly one-on-one instruction in scripture and the higher limbs of Yoga through B.N.S. Iyengar, a student of T. Krishnamacharya, and he studied Sanskrit under Professor Narayanachar and Dr Chandrasekhar. Gregor’s internationally acclaimed textbook series consisting of Ashtanga Yoga: Practice and Philosophy, Ashtanga Yoga: The Intermediate Series, Pranayama: The Breath of Yoga, Yoga Meditation: Through Mantra, Chakras and Kundalini to Spiritual Freedom, Samadhi The Great Freedom, How to Find Your Life’s Divine Purpose, Chakras, Drugs & Evolution and Mudras: Seals of Yoga – have sold more than 100,000 copies worldwide and have been translated into eight foreign languages. Additional volumes currently prepared are Tantric Meditation and Bhakti: Yoga of Love. Gregor has been invited to many countries to teach and has contributed to and been interviewed by numerous yoga magazines. On Gregor’s blog page chintamaniyoga.com/blog/ you will find over 300 articles, videos and podcasts on all aspects of yoga, which Gregor has authored together with his wife Monica.
Today Gregor teaches an anatomically sophisticated interpretation of traditional vinyasa yoga, integrated into the practice of the higher limbs in the spirit of Patanjali and T. Krishnamacharya. His zany sense of humour, his manifold personal experiences, and his vast and deep knowledge of scripture, Indian philosophies and yogic techniques combine to make his teachings applicable, relevant and easily accessible to all his students.
You can find more about Gregor here:
Website Blog Books“This conversation with Gregor is grounded in deep insight. Gregor has lives such a rich life of study and practice that his teachings are a visceral outcome of personal committed study. Gregor shares life experiences that are at the same time teachings. We all can find a deeper way to interact with ourselves and the world. Gregor is a testament to that… “
Scott Johnson – April 2023
If you enjoyed this podcast then you might also enjoy Scott’s conversations with Ty Landrum, Simon Borg Olivier and Frank Jude Boccio.
In this deep and rewarding conversation Scott Johnson talks to author, yoga teacher and mystic Gregor Maehle on his life as a seeker in the contemplative and spiritual traditions. Gregor shares how his childhood created the bedrock for a life of spiritual discovery, the outcome being a life embedded within the mystical limbs of yoga and contemplative practice.
We’d like to invite you to join our growing monthly Stillpoint Online Yoga community. For just £20 per month you can support the podcast and every Monday evening join The Still Space, our live stream yoga philosophy, mindfulness, pranayama and discussion sessions hosted by Scott Johnson. You can also gain access to our growing Stillpoint Online library of helpful yoga and mindfulness content.
Gregor Maehle on Yoga As A Mystical ExperienceScott and Gregor talk openly about Gregor’s life as a yoga practitioner and mystic. Gregor shares:
How he grew up in a catholic upbringing. How he had a mystical experience aged 6. How his parents saw something deep in him from an early age. How he read mystical books from a very young age. How he took psychedelics in his late teens but the integration as a spiritual experience didn’t work. How in his twenties he did the guru trail in India. How he decided to spend his life doing personal sadhana. Why mystical experiences are not spontaneous. Why you should work with hypotheses rather than belief. Why the mystical state is your birth right. How in his forties he developed a relationship with Jesus. How the ego gets in the way of the mystical experience and is known in many traditions with different names. How we need to be in the service of all beings. Why yoga is the most powerful tool for transformation. What the inspiration is that he uses to write his books. How we can all find our life’s purpose. How we can stay connected to nature. What the most important thing is that he has discovered through his practice. About Gregor MaehleGregor Maehle began his yogic practices 45 years ago. In the mid-1980s he commenced annual travels to India, where he studied with various yogic and tantric masters, traditional Indian sadhus and ascetics. He spent fourteen months in Mysore, and in 1997 was authorised to teach Ashtanga Yoga by K. Pattabhi Jois. Since then he has branched out into researching the anatomical alignment of postures and the higher limbs of yoga.
In India Gregor also received eight months of mostly one-on-one instruction in scripture and the higher limbs of Yoga through B.N.S. Iyengar, a student of T. Krishnamacharya, and he studied Sanskrit under Professor Narayanachar and Dr Chandrasekhar. Gregor’s internationally acclaimed textbook series consisting of Ashtanga Yoga: Practice and Philosophy, Ashtanga Yoga: The Intermediate Series, Pranayama: The Breath of Yoga, Yoga Meditation: Through Mantra, Chakras and Kundalini to Spiritual Freedom, Samadhi The Great Freedom, How to Find Your Life’s Divine Purpose, Chakras, Drugs & Evolution and Mudras: Seals of Yoga – have sold more than 100,000 copies worldwide and have been translated into eight foreign languages. Additional volumes currently prepared are Tantric Meditation and Bhakti: Yoga of Love. Gregor has been invited to many countries to teach and has contributed to and been interviewed by numerous yoga magazines. On Gregor’s blog page chintamaniyoga.com/blog/ you will find over 300 articles, videos and podcasts on all aspects of yoga, which Gregor has authored together with his wife Monica.
Today Gregor teaches an anatomically sophisticated interpretation of traditional vinyasa yoga, integrated into the practice of the higher limbs in the spirit of Patanjali and T. Krishnamacharya. His zany sense of humour, his manifold personal experiences, and his vast and deep knowledge of scripture, Indian philosophies and yogic techniques combine to make his teachings applicable, relevant and easily accessible to all his students.
You can find more about Gregor here:
Website Blog Books___
“This conversation with Gregor is grounded in deep insight. Gregor has lives such a rich life of study and practice that his teachings are a visceral outcome of personal committed study. Gregor shares life experiences that are at the same time teachings. We all can find a deeper way to interact with ourselves and the world. Gregor is a testament to that… “
Scott Johnson – April 2023
If you enjoyed this podcast then you might also enjoy Scott’s conversations with Ty Landrum, Simon Borg Olivier and Frank Jude Boccio.
“This conversation with Gregor is grounded in deep insight. Gregor has lives such a rich life of study and practice that his teachings are a visceral outcome of personal committed study. Gregor shares life experiences that are at the same time teachings. We all can find a deeper way to interact with ourselves and the world. Gregor is a testament to that… “
Scott Johnson – April 2023
If you enjoyed this podcast then you might also enjoy Scott’s conversations with Ty Landrum, Simon Borg Olivier and Frank Jude Boccio.
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Missing episodes?
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In this beautiful and enlightening conversation Scott Johnson talks to Zen teacher, poet and author Peter Levitt about his book Fingerpainting On The Moon, his life as a Soto Zen practitioner and poet and how we can all use contemplative practices to find our own unique creative process.
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We’d like to invite you to join our growing monthly Stillpoint Online Yoga community. For just £20 per month you can support the podcast and every Monday evening, between 7.30pm - 8.30pm UK time, join our live stream yoga philosophy, mindfulness, pranayama and discussion sessions hosted by Scott Johnson. You can also gain access to our growing Stillpoint Online library of helpful yoga and mindfulness content and connect with others on a private messaging group. We look forward to welcoming you to our community
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Peter Levitt on How Mindfulness Is CreativityScott and Peter talk openly about his life as a writer and a Zen practitioner. Peter shares:
About his early years of growing up with chronic illness How his early life spending time on his own was the catalyst to his learning his craft How he discovered Zen at the end of the sixties. How he begun to understand how his creative process comes from him How the art of practice is intimacy How all relationship is intimacy Who the great Soto Zen master Dogen was. How non-separation is the key to creativity How creativity is expressed without language. How poetry lands in someone. How we finds words that move through us. How the language of poetry carries ineffable words. On how we are all creators About his book Fingerpainting On The Moon Seeing that we have choice with what we do with this moment---
About Peter LevittPeter Levitt is authorized as a Zen teacher within the Suzuki-roshi lineage, and as a preceptor within the White Plum Asanga. He is is the founder and guiding teacher of Salt Spring Zen Circle on Salt Spring Island in British Columbia where he lives with his wife and fellow poet Shirley Graham,
Peter is the author of seventeen books of poetry and prose including Within Within, One Hundred Butterflies and Bright Root, Dark Root.
In 2003 Peter wrote Fingerpainting on the Moon: Writing and Creativity as a Path to Freedom a beautiful meditation on finding our own unique creative process.
A longtime student of Zen, he edited Thich Nhat Hanh’s classic,The Heart of Understanding, and recently he served as Associate Editor of The Treasury of the True Dharma Eye – Zen Master Dogen’s Shobo Genzo, edited by Kazuaki Tanahashi (pictures above with Peter) and he co-edited, with Tanahashi, The Essential Dogen: Writings of the Great Zen Master. In addition, Peter has published many fiction and literary translations from Chinese, Japanese and Spanish.
In late 2022 Peter released his latest book of translations, Yin Mountain: The Immortal Poetry of Three Daoist Women, co-translated with Rebecca Nie. You can find links to these books in the show notes.
Governor General Award recipient, Robert Hilles said of Peter books One Hundred Butterflies and Within Within, “these are master works that reveal the interconnected fabric of it all in ways that will leave you stunned.”
And Legendary poet, Robert Creeley, wrote that Peter Levitt’s poetry “sounds the honor of our common dance,” and, in 1989 Peter received the prestigious Lannan Foundation Award in Poetry.
Find our more about Peter Levitt here: Website Wikipedia Peter's books on Amazon---
"Peter's book Fingerpainting On The Moon is a roadmap to getting underneath our own creative process. This conversation with Peter Leviit is beautiful and helps us to consider how we can make our way through this precious life with openness. It is one of my favourite conversations and has changed the way I see my own creativity."
Scott Johnson - April 2023
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If you enjoyed this podcast then you might also enjoy Scott’s conversations with Pamela Weiss, Sarah Powers and Frank Jude Boccio.
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In this deeply inspiring and wide ranging conversation Scott talks to Waylon Lewis on his life as a buddhist and the growth of the world renowned yoga and wellness magazine, Elephant Journal.
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We’d like to invite you to join our growing monthly Stillpoint Online Yoga community. For just £20 per month you can support the podcast and every Monday evening, between 7.30pm - 8.30pm UK time, join our live stream yoga philosophy, mindfulness, pranayama and discussion sessions hosted by Scott Johnson. You can also gain access to our growing Stillpoint Online library of helpful yoga and mindfulness content and connect with others on a private messaging group.
We look forward to welcoming you to our community---
About Waylon LewisWaylon Lewis, founder of Elephant Journal & host of Walk the Talk Show with Waylon Lewis, is a 1st generation American Buddhist “Dharma Brat.”
Voted #1 in U.S. on twitter for #green two years running, Changemaker & Eco Ambassador by Treehugger, Green Hero by Discovery’s Planet Green, Best (!) Shameless Self-Promoter at Westword’s Web Awards, Prominent Buddhist by Shambhala Sun, & 100 Most Influential People in Health & Fitness 2011 by “Greatist”, Waylon is a mediocre climber, lazy yogi, 365-day bicycle commuter & misses his best friend Redford (his rescue hound of 14 years).
His aim: to bring the good news re: “the mindful life” beyond the choir & to all those who didn’t know they gave a care. elephantjournal.com His dream of 12 years, the Elephant “Ecosystem” will find a way to pay 1,000s of writers a month, helping reverse the tide of low-quality, unpaid writing & reading for free online.
His first book, Things I would like to do with You, touches on modern relationships from a Buddhist point of view. His second book, It’s Never too Late to Fall in Love with Your Life, is available, here.
Find our more about Waylon Lewis here: Elephant Journal Instagram Facebook --- Waylon Lewis on The Story of Elephant JournalScott and Waylon take a deep dive into his life and how Elephant Journal became a major figure in the wellness industry. Waylon shares:
About growing up in a Buddhist school. How loneliness taught him about contemplative practise How he began Elephant Journal How Elephant was originally a yoga magazine. Why he called it Elephant Journal How he began practicing yoga How Elephant compared with Yoga Journal and other publications. How Elephant gave anyone the opportunity to write on the platform. How Elephant used pop culture to bring people to understand spiritual traditions. What actually clickbait is. How Instagram and Facebook changed the way we relate to each other. How EJ is now becoming a Community platform where anyone can write. The most important reading from his new book: ‘It’s Never Too Late To Fall In Love With Your Life’---
"I really wanted to speak to Waylon about Elephant and how he grew a small local magazine to a worldwide publication that we all recognise. His story of growing up in a spiritual school and being a Buddhist is fascinating. And his sharing of the power of the big social media companies is food for us all. This is a fascinating insight into someone who has shaped part of our modern yoga and wellness culture"
Scott Johnson - March 2023
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If you enjoyed this podcast then you might also enjoy Scott’s conversations with Pamela Weiss, Sarah Powers and Frank Jude Boccio.
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In this deeply inspiring and wide ranging conversation Scott talks to David Swenson, one of the worlds foremost and well loved teachers and practitioners of Ashtanga yoga.
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We’d like to invite you to join our growing monthly Stillpoint Online Yoga community. For just £20 per month you can support the podcast and every Monday evening, between 7.30pm - 8.30pm UK time, join our live stream yoga philosophy, mindfulness, pranayama and discussion sessions hosted by Scott Johnson. You can also gain access to our growing Stillpoint Online library of helpful yoga and mindfulness content and connect with others on a private messaging group.
We look forward to welcoming you to our community.
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About David SwensonDavid Swenson began his journey of Yoga in 1969 when he and his brother Doug practiced in a small park at the end of their street in Houston, Texas. There were few sources for yoga at that time so they practiced from whatever books they could find.
In 1973 David discovered Ashtanga after he met David Williams and Nancy Gilgoff in Encinitas, CA. In 1975 David and Nancy brought K. Pattabhi Jois to the U.S. for the first time and Swenson was fortunate enough to be there. He then initiated studies directly with the master. He made his first trip to Mysore in 1977. David is one of only a handful of Westerners to have learned the full Ashtanga system including all of the asana sequences and pranayama as originally taught by K. Pattabhi Jois.
Today David is recognised as one of the world's foremost practitioners and instructors of Ashtanga Yoga. He tirelessly travels year round to teach and offer workshops. His courses are presented in a supportive and compassionate fashion making it accessible to all levels of practitioner to participate.
Find our more about David Swenson here: Website Instagram Facebook --- David Swenson on Practicing Yoga Because You Love ItScott and David take a deep dive into David's life as a practitioner and teacher. They cover:
what compelled David to start yoga. how his years of Bhakti yoga practice changed him. his views on how we move on from the sexual abuse of K Pattabhi Jois. how we can develop as practitioners by asking more questions.---
"I loved this conversation with David. He is one of the most generous teachers you'll find, with the information he shares and the way he shares it. David Swenson is one of the most loved and respected teachers for a reason. This conversation captures that..."
Scott Johnson - January 2023
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If you enjoyed this podcast then you might also enjoy Scott’s conversations with Danny Paradise, John Scott and Prem & Radha Carlisi.
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Scott shares intimate moments with his guests over the year. Hear beautiful words from his conversations with Ty Landrum, Sarah Powers, Ty Powers, Nadia Gilani, Pamela Weiss, Shyam Ranganathan and Jon Yuen.
You can listen to all this years episodes here.
Scott also intersperses the guests words with poetry that has inspired him over the year, words that he has shared with his online and workshop communities. Listen to poems from Derek Mahon, Julia Fehrenbacher, Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer, Rumi and more...
We hope you have a happy and prosperous 2023 from all of us at Stillpoint.
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In this light hearted, fun and inspiring conversation Scott talks to online trainer, author and entrepreneur Jon Yuen on his life as a movement educator. Jon shares how he sees movement education, how the body can be controlled through time and how we can all find our own unique freedom to move in our bodies.
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We’d like to invite you to join our growing monthly Stillpoint Yoga community. We teach in-person in London Bridge and live stream online Ashtanga Yoga assisted self practice and guided classes, with weekly yoga clinics and philosophy sessions guided by Scott Johnson and the Stillpoint teaching faculty. It’s a beautiful way to navigate these times…
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About Jon YuenJon currently lives in Norway. He studied and practiced many martial arts in China while living there. He was also a professional dancer for many years and was incapable of settling on one style. Rather, he wanted to delve as deep as he could into each and every genre and culture, in an effort to understand what worked, how it worked and how could it be applied in other practices.
Jon is passionate about expanding his own skill set and movement repertoire, and think it’s vital that he personally try out and refine as many approaches as he can in an effort of making it easier for his students.
The goal of his work is to offer science-based information that simplifies the way we all can progress towards better movement (without the dogma) and better health (without unwarranted restrictions).
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Find our more about Jon Yuen here: Read Jon's blog on movement and his article, reminders. Find out more about Jon, his work and courses on his website here. Follow Jon on Instagram here.---
Freedom to Move - Jon YuenScott and Jon have an open conversation on movement and how ease can be found in the body. Jon talks about how movement has been the foundation of his life, through martial arts and dance, and now how he educates others on principles and patterns that create health, vitality and strength. Jon and Scott also look at the integration of movement culture and yoga, and how we are all just finding what works for us.
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"This conversation with Jon Yuen was so rich. I have followed Jon's works for about 5 years and he teaches and shares movement education in a deeply moving and poetic way. I encourage everyone who has a body to take look at what Jon is offering."
Scott Johnson - December 2022
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If you enjoyed this podcast then you might also enjoy Scott’s conversations with Mark Robberds, Deepika Mehta and Joey Miles.
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In this deep conversation Scott Johnson is joined by his good friend Greg Nardi. They talk to Shyam Ranganathan, a field-changing researcher, scholar, author and teacher of philosophy, and an expert in the neglected traditions of Indian moral philosophy. Shyam talks about his life as a philosophy researcher, his work on decolonisation and his translation of the yoga sutra named, Patanjali Yoga Sutra
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About Shyam RanganathanShyam Ranganathan is an author, editor, and translator of more than 50 peer-reviewed scholarly works (including Ethics and the History of Indian Philosophy MLBD 2008 and 2017; the Bloomsbury Research Handbook of Indian Ethics 2017; and Hinduism: A Contemporary Philosophical Investigation, Routledge 2018). He is a specialist in translation, having written his PhD dissertation on how we can understand texts without projecting our beliefs onto them. With this specialised knowledge, Dr. Ranganathan translated Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtra (Penguin 2008). Having taught more than 20,000 hours and 3,000 students,Dr. Ranganathan founded Yoga Philosophy in 2019. Yoga Philosophy is a scholar practitioner initiative bringing research-based knowledge about yoga and philosophy to practitioners.
Dr. Ranganathan is an E-RYT-500 and CYA-RYT Gold. He is a member of the Department of Philosophy at York University in Toronto, Canada, as well as the York Center for Asian Research.
Find out more about Shyam here.
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Understanding Yoga Philosophy - Shyam RanganathanIn this open and honest conversation Scott and Greg unpack Shyam's translation of Patanjali's Yoga Sutra. Shyam shares how translation works, how his movement into philosophical research and south asian studies compelled him to write a translation of Patanjai's Yoga Sutra. He also shares on the decolonisation of yoga and how he is focusing now on trauma response.
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"This conversation with Shyam Ranganathan has been 2 years in the making. Both Greg Nardi and I had such a great time talking to Shyam about the way he translated the yoga sutra. It's important to understand his perspective on research and translation so you can possibly find your own."
Scott Johnson - November 2022
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If you enjoyed this podcast then you might also enjoy Scott’s conversations with Ty Landrem, Daniel Simpson and Greg Nardi.
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In this heart felt conversation Scott Johnson talks to Pamela Weiss, the first layperson to receive dharma transmission in the Soto Zen tradition. They talk openly about her life of Buddha dharma practice and her book, A Bigger Sky: Awakening A Fierce Feminine Buddhism.
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We’d like to invite you to join our growing monthly Stillpoint Yoga community. We teach in-person in London Bridge and live stream online Ashtanga Yoga assisted self practice and guided classes, with weekly yoga clinics and philosophy sessions guided by Scott Johnson and the Stillpoint teaching faculty. It’s a beautiful way to navigate these times…
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About Pamela WeissPamela Weiss is the first layperson in the Suzuki Roshi Soto Zen lineage to receive full Dharma Transmission, and is among the few Buddhist teachers authorised to teach in two traditions—Zen and Theravada. After living as a monastic at Tassajara Zen Mountain Monastery for five years, she completed comprehensive training through Spirit Rock Meditation Centre to become an Insight meditation teacher. She is currently a member of the Spirit Rock Teacher Council and a guiding teacher at San Francisco Insight. In addition, Pamela is an executive coach, entrepreneur, and pioneer in bringing Buddhist principles and practices into the workplace. She created the award-winning Personal Excellence Program, which, since 2008, has rolled out to thousands of people at companies like Genentech and Salesforce. Pamela lives in San Francisco with her husband and little dog, Grover.
Find out more about Pamela here.
A Fierce Feminine Buddhism – Pamela’s Conversation.In this open and honest conversation Scott talks to Pamela Weiss about her years of Buddha dharma practice and teaching, Pamela shares how her practice helped her come to terms with a diabetes diagnosis from a young age. She also shares how she became the first layperson to receive dharma transmission in the Soto Zen lineage. Pamela talks about her new book, A Bigger Sky. Part memoir, part historical it’s a deep look at how Buddhism can be reoriented through a more inclusive feminine lens.
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“As I begin to have more conversations with Buddha Dharma teachers authentic voices are so important. Pamela Weiss is one of them and this conversation was so rich. She has led a powerful life of practice and teaching and has been deeply moved by the world. This in turn has guided her direction which has culminated in her beautiful book A Bigger Sky: Awakening a Fierce Feminine Buddhism. It’s a must read for anyone who is looking to see spiritual practice can move beyond our own minds to serve others…”
Scott Johnson – November 2022
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If you enjoyed this podcast you might also enjoy Scott’s conversations with Ty Powers, Frank Jude Boccio and Sarah Powers.
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In this raw and wide-ranging conversation Scott Johnson talks to Nadia Gilani, yoga teacher and author of The Yoga Manifesto. They both go deep on yoga, practice, life, creativity and the shadows and light of yoga that Nadia discusses in her her new book, The Yoga Manifesto.
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We’d like to invite you to join our growing monthly Stillpoint Yoga community. We teach in-person in London Bridge and live stream online Ashtanga Yoga assisted self practice and guided classes, with weekly yoga clinics and philosophy sessions guided by Scott Johnson and the Stillpoint teaching faculty. We also have a growing library of on-demand content. It’s a beautiful way to navigate these times…
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About Nadia GilaniNadia Gilani is a yoga teacher and author of The Yoga Manifesto published earlier this year (May 2022). She first discovered yoga after her mum took her to a class in the 1990s and has been practicing ever since. Nadia has extensive experience of working with people with different bodies and from all walks of life and is deeply committed to making yoga inclusive. Her approach to teaching is contemporary and explorative while maintaining a deep respect for the ancient practice.
Find out more about Nadia here and connect to her instagram account here.
The Yoga Manifesto - Nadia's Conversation.Nadia shares how her yoga practice became a way to make sense of her body and forge new relationships with it. She shares intimate details of how this new intimacy formed her love of yoga practice and why she then felt compelled to write about how the practice she loves needs to find its soul again. Nadia also shares about the creative process, about birthing a book into the world and how even now, with the book getting rave reviews, she still questions why people would read what she has to say.
We are left with the understanding that a voice like Nadia's could never stay quiet. And we are all the better for it...
And as a beautiful ending to the podcast Nadia reads an excerpt from her book
"Nadia has written a brave and inspiring book that points to the way yoga has changed over the years. She shares in a beautifully raw way how yoga moved her, where she finds it now and Nadia also challenges us to look at the practice we hold dear with tender eyes. The Yoga Manifest is a powerful new book that is essential reading for all avid yoga practitioners."
Scott Johnson - October 2022
If you enjoyed this podcast then you might also enjoy Scott’s conversations with Ty Powers, Lucille Meyer and Greg Nardi
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In this deeply honest conversation Scott Johnson talks to Ty Powers, co-founder of the Insight Yoga Institute. They have a moving conversation on Ty's life of contemplative practice and his teaching of mindfulness meditation for over 25 years.
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We’d like to invite you to join our growing monthly Stillpoint Yoga community. We teach in-person in London Bridge and live stream online Ashtanga Yoga assisted self practice and guided classes, with weekly yoga clinics and philosophy sessions guided by Scott Johnson and the Stillpoint teaching faculty. We also have a growing library of on-demand content. It’s a beautiful way to navigate these times…
Also, consider joining our Patreon community. We share these podcasts every 2 weeks and would love your feedback, input and support. You can even join a monthly live call to share your thoughts.___
About Ty PowersTy Powers co-founded the Insight Yoga Institute with his wife Sarah Powers. He has been leading Yoga and Buddha Dharma/mindfulness meditation retreats throughout the world for over 25 years. Ty completed the Spirit Rock Community Dharma Leader training program in 2003 and has led daylong retreats on cultural diversity. He offers one on one sessions in Internal Family Systems, and as a Change and Transition Strategist and Certified Integral Coach. Ty also sits on the board of Studio BE and serves as it’s Senior Ethics Advisor.
Ty's Conversation.Ty shares how contemplative practice was not only a way to find oneness and a deeper connection to life, but also a way to navigate being African American in a world that sees you differently. He subsequently talks about the impact this has had on his life. As a response, Ty shares how we can all learn to see differently using the tools of mediation.
You can find out more about Ty’s work here.
"For me this conversation with Ty Powers is deeply profound and important. Ty is a highly skilled and experienced Buddha Dharma and mindfulness teacher who has to deal with everyday racism. His openess in this conversation is stunning, giving a deep insight into what it means to be African American in a world that sees you differently. This conversation is an important listen for those of us who have privilege"
Scott Johnson - April 2022
If you enjoyed this podcast then you might also enjoy Scott’s conversations with Sarah Powers, Wambui Njuguna-Räisänen, Laruga Glaser and Martin Aylward.
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Scott Johnson talks to Sarah Powers, a long term teacher of yoga and Buddha Dharma, about her life of contemplative practice and its culmination in her new book 'Lit From Within'.
We’d like to invite you to join our growing monthly Stillpoint Yoga community. We teach in-person in London Bridge and live stream online Ashtanga Yoga assisted self practice and guided classes, with weekly yoga clinics and philosophy sessions guided by Scott Johnson and the Stillpoint teaching faculty. We also have a growing library of on-demand content. It’s a beautiful way to navigate these times…
Also, consider joining our Patreon community. We share these podcasts every 2 weeks and would love your feedback, input and support. You can even join a monthly live call to share your thoughts.
Sarah Powers is an author, therapist and co-founder of Insight Yoga Institute. Her work is led by a desire for healing, and over the past 35 years Sarah has explored a number of healing modalities. Her yoga practise began with Ashtanga in the company of Chuck Miller, Maty Ezraty, Tim Miller, and Richard Freeman. There she found a daily ritual, an invitation to explore what changes on the inside, when on the surface things might look the same.
In this rich and generous conversation, Sarah shares how a profound experience she had while on retreat with Jack Kornfield deeply impacted her life. She’d been a yoga practitioner for over a decade at that point, but this was the time that it first truly made sense to her. Her previous practise served as a preparation for the Buddhist teachings she encountered. She studied both Theravada and Dzogchen, and saw comparisons with her previous studies in Advaita Vedanta. Sarah believes that underlying the multiplicity of teachers and traditions, they would all agree on the fundamental nature of freedom.
Over time, Sarah moved away from teaching Ashtanga yoga and towards a more Yin based approach, but the essence of inquiry that she first found in Ashtanga remains. Now, she combines yoga with mindfulness meditation in her classes, integrating yoga and Buddha Dharma with the intention of introducing beginners to meditation.
She is the author of Insight Yoga and her most recent book Lit from Within takes a holistic approach to healing our five experiential centres: the physical, energetic, mental, emotional, and interpersonal realms.
You can find out more about Sarah’s work here.
"This conversation with Sarah is so, so rich. I had wanted to speak to Sarah for a while, for her to expand on her beautiful view and experience on how the Buddha Dharma and yoga traditions blend together. I got so much and more. Sarah's wonderful and insightful way of seeing these practices and then sharing them is visceral and compelling. This conversation will leave you feeling like you've stepped right into the middle of Sarah's world. Full, inviting and so, so rich..."
Scott Johnson - January 2022
If you enjoyed this podcast then you might also enjoy Scott’s conversations with Kia Naddermier, Martin Aylward and Ann Weston
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Scott talks to Ashtanga yoga teacher Ty Landrum about yoga and how it ‘ruined his life’ in the best possible way.
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We’d like to invite you to join our growing monthly Stillpoint Yoga community. We teach in-person in London Bridge and live stream online Ashtanga Yoga assisted self practice and guided classes, with weekly yoga clinics and philosophy sessions guided by Scott Johnson and the Stillpoint teaching faculty. We also have a growing library of on-demand content. It’s a beautiful way to navigate these times…
Also, consider joining our Patreon community. We share these podcasts every 2 weeks and would love your feedback, input and support. You can even join a monthly live call to share your thoughts.
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Ty is renowned for his understanding of philosophy and academic knowledge. He never liked school, but after being awarded a wrestling scholarship Ty decided he’d go to college. While there, he found himself wrestling with the problem of the general disorientation he experienced within his day-to-day life. Philosophy seemed to offer clues to the answers he was searching for, and so he continued to study, and now holds a PhD in the subject.
He attended his first yoga class while he was at college. He was experiencing depression, and his friend encouraged him to go to a class with Jennifer Eliot. Ty experienced something immediate and visceral in that yoga class, something he’d been grasping for in his studies but newer fully realised. It changed his way of relating to philosophy, and it equipped him with the tools he needed to process the deep grief he had been carrying following the loss of two important people in his life.
In this sensitive and intelligent conversation, Ty shares about the clumsiness of academics, the wisdom of the body, and the primacy of human touch. He talks about the revelation of meeting Richard Freeman with his syncretic approach to philosophy. He discusses different wisdom traditions that, despite superficial differences, are united in their overall goal of spreading compassion. For Ty, yoga has been a path to intimacy, communion and relationship with all aspects of his life.
You can find out more about Ty’s work here.
‘Ty is one of the most intelligent and wise Ashtanga teachers in the field of yoga at the moment. The way he weaves yoga asana and philosophy together through stories, wisdom and language is beautiful and I wanted to capture how he got there. This conversation actually weaves like its own story, capturing the real spirit of how yoga has evolved in Ty's life. Bring a note book. There is so much to notice...'
Scott Johnson - January 2022
If you enjoyed this podcast then you might also enjoy Scott’s conversations with Petri Räisänen, Kia Naddermier and Dr Matthew Clark
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Scott talks to yoga teacher, writer and renowned podcast host J.Brown
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We’d like to invite you to join our growing monthly Stillpoint Yoga community. We teach in-person in London Bridge and live stream online Ashtanga Yoga assisted self practice and guided classes, with weekly yoga clinics and philosophy sessions guided by Scott Johnson and the Stillpoint teaching faculty. We also have a growing library of on-demand content. It’s a beautiful way to navigate these times…
Also, consider joining our Patreon community. We share these podcasts every 2 weeks and would love your feedback, input and support. You can even join a monthly live call to share your thoughts.
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J.Brown has been practising yoga for nearly thirty years, and teaching for almost twenty. In that time he taught at studios in New York, managed his own studio, and has been an early adopter of teaching yoga online. His ‘Yoga Talks’ is one of the most widely listened to yoga podcasts - you can listen to his episode with Scott Johnson here.
J came to yoga after his mum died at a young age. Yoga made him feel better, even in moments when he thought feeling better wasn’t possible. Yoga helped J. to process his grief, and over time his practise evolved from a physically intense asana practise to something more gentle. J. went on to develop his own personal teaching style of ‘gentle is the new advanced’.
In this wide-ranging conversation, J. shares about the challenges of establishing himself as a ‘gentle’ yoga teacher when power yoga was at its peak. J. talks about how his podcast developed, as well as the push-back he has received as a result of his decision to publish certain podcast episodes.
Throughout the conversation, J. keeps coming back to how yoga is a practise of praise. Where once he might have distanced himself from it, now he embraces his spirituality and the mystical wonder of life.
You can find out more about J.’s work here.
‘J hosts one of the leading yoga podcasts of the past five years and has spoken to hundreds of people. He was also a great help in setting the Stillpoints Podcast up. In speaking to J I wanted to get underneath what is meaningful for him. This conversation is at one point informative and another so tender. I so appreciated J allowing me to go on a journey with him...'
Scott Johnson - December 2021
If you enjoyed this podcast then you might also enjoy Scott’s conversations with Frank Jude Boccio, Zephyr Wildman, Lucille Meyer and Dr Matthew Clark
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Scott talks to Ashtanga yoga teacher and co-founder of the Miami Life Centre Tim Feldmann about the past, present and future of teaching Ashtanga yoga. In this nuanced and meaningful conversation, Tim and Scott discuss dancing as a spiritual practise, movement as a healing modality, and the teacher’s role as a vessel for knowledge.
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We’d like to invite you to join our growing monthly Stillpoint Yoga community. We teach in-person in London Bridge and live stream online Ashtanga Yoga assisted self practice and guided classes, with weekly yoga clinics and philosophy sessions guided by Scott Johnson and the Stillpoint teaching faculty. We also have a growing library of on-demand content. It’s a beautiful way to navigate these times…
Also, consider joining our Patreon community. We share these podcasts every 2 weeks and would love your feedback, input and support. You can even join a monthly live call to share your thoughts.
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Tim found his way to yoga after a catastrophic accident in Venezuela in 1992 interrupted his professional dancing career. He encountered Lino Miele in the late 1990’s, who set Tim on the path to practising with Pattabhi Jois in Mysore. There he met his wife, Kino MacGregor, and in 2006 they founded the Miami Life Centre, where they continue to teach together to this day.
Tim shares openly about the fear he felt before practising with Jois, who even then had a reputation for fearsome physical adjustments. When Tim finally felt ready to practise with him (after completing Advanced A), he recalls feeling gratitude for the assists he received.
Since Karen Rain’s revelations of sexual assault at the hands of Jois, Tim has had to come to terms with how his experience was at odds with that of the women Jois abused. He asks himself how he failed to notice, talking to Scott about how ‘crazy and amazing’ those days in Mysore were, concluding that sometimes people ‘surrendered’ at the expense of the safety of themselves and those around them.
Since opening the Miami Life Centre in 2006, Tim has moved his own teaching away from a hierarchical model and towards one that prioritises safety and inclusiveness. Having been confronted with the somewhat blasé attitude towards anatomy in the early days, he’s relieved to see a more detailed and logical approach developing in recent years.
He talks about the value and limitations of lineage and hierarchy - that structure can create clarity, but space to explore is essential. He talks about the ‘lineage holders’ of Ashtanga yoga, and the nature of how knowledge is passed down.
And finally, reflecting on the past couple of years, Tim concludes with how nothing is more important in life than being there for other people.
Tim is the co-founder and captain of the world-wide recognized Miami Life Center and of the newly opened Miami Yoga Garage - a new ambitious Shala and cultural house in Miami's fun Wynwood district. He has practiced yoga since 1994 and Ashtanga Since 1999. Authorized to teach by Pattabhi Jois and Sharath Jois he explores core concepts and modern boundaries of Patanjali’s yoga teachings alike. A practitioner of Ashtanga Yoga’s Advanced A Series Tim finds Ashtanga’s traditional method an exceptional path towards healing, wisdom and self-realisation. Drawing upon his past as an internationally successful dancer and acclaimed choreographer, anatomy, alignment and technique is his second nature. Tim has been pursuing in-depth studies of Patanjali, Sankhya and Vedanta over the past 7 years with Vidwan Nagaraja Rao, Jayashree & Narasimha and other exceptional scholars in South India. Cherished worldwide for his fun, disciplined and detailed pursuit of authentic yoga and his compassionately effective touch, Tim travels to yoga shalas around the globe with the inclusive message of how study, steadiness and devotion is the means to powerful transformation both inside and outside of us.
You can find out more about Tim’s work here.
‘This conversation with Tim Feldmann was so good. For quite a while I’ve wanted to talk to someone like Tim, who is one of the most recognisable of the current generation of Ashtanga teachers, about where the sharing of Ashtanga Yoga finds itself. Tim was so open and honest about his own process, where we are currently and what’s possible in the future. I was left feeling like I had found a new friend to ge deep with. This conversation is essential if you care about sharing the practice of Ashtanga yoga to others…’
Scott Johnson – November 2021
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Scott talks to Ashtanga yoga teacher Ellen Johannesen. A professional dancer at the time, Ellen travelled to the Lakshmipuram Institute (the ‘old old’ Shala) in 1997 where she spent three months studying with Pattabhi Jois.
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You can become part of our Stillpoints Podcast Patreon Community and get weekly updates on the podcast, plus a monthly Stillpoints Podcast Live Stream Chat where you can talk to Scott about the conversations past, present and future. We'll also get some of the previous guests involved too.
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Since then, Ellen’s sadhana has seen her live in a Buddhist monastery alongside five-thousand monks, learning Tibetan in Kathmandu, and studying Buddhism with the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala.
A devoted student, Ellen shares about finally feeling ready to take on the role of ‘teacher’, the value of learning the language of a spiritual tradition, the power of intention, and how contemplative practises can offer us all a different way of being in the world.
You can find out more about Ellen’s work here.
'Ellen is a deeply committed practitioner who has devoted her life to the study of yoga and Buddhism since the turn of the century. This conversation really gets to the heart of what it means to study both Ashtanga and Buddhism and how it can become a deep part of your life .'
Scott Johnson - November 2021
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Scott talks to Yoga and Dharma teacher Frank Jude Boccio. Frank took refuge in the Dharma after a period of practising with Thich Nhat Hanh in the 1990’s. In 2000, he began to study with Korean master Samu Sunim, who ordained Frank as a Dharma Teacher in 2007.
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You can support The Stillpoints Podcast through our Patreon page and help us to continue to share inspiring and meaningful conversations.
You can also join our monthly in-person on online Ashtanga Yoga and philosophy memberships here.
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In this warm and insightful conversation Frank shares about his experiences of ‘not-self’, how Buddhism helped him to process grief and loss, the importance of honouring the differences as well as the similarities between yoga and Buddhism, and the lively philosophical debates that Buddha could have had with Patanjali.
Frank is the author of ‘Mindfulness Yoga: The Awakened Union of Breath, Body, and Mind’as well as a national and international dharma/yoga teacher and lecturer. You can find out more about Frank’s work here and also join Franks Empty Mountain Sangha Online Facebook page here.
'Frank Jude Boccio has been a deeply impactful part of my life since I discovered his work. His teachings on how to relate mindfulness to yoga asana and life has been profound for me. This conversation allowed me to lean in to the way he sees practice and life and there is so much here. Yoga, Zen Buddhism, Grief, Nirvana... This conversation is so, so lovely. I hope you enjoy it...'
Scott Johnson - October 2021
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Scott talks to Lucille Meyer about her powerful work as an activist, yoga teacher and CEO of Chrysalis academy. Chrysalis is one of the largest and most prestigious youth service organisations in South Africa. Lucille has overseen the transformation of thousands of young men and women, using the techniques of yoga and mindfulness and other modalities.
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We’d like to invite you to join our growing Stillpoint Online Ashtanga Yoga and Mindfulness community. We live stream beginner classes, Ashtanga Yoga assisted self practice and guided classes with evening mindfulness sessions over 6 days with Scott Johnson and the Stillpoint teaching faculty. It’s a beautiful way to navigate these times…
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In this inspiring conversation Lucille and Scott talk about Lucille’s introduction to yoga whilst in solitary confinement. Lucille was detained in a South African prison in the early 90’s. In this conversation Lucille’s shares how this early activism shaped her and then how yoga changed her life. Lucille shares about her powerful work as a CEO and educator at Chrysalis Academy and how the young people are really changed through the tools of yoga, mindfulness, service and compassion.
You can find out more about Lucille’s and the work of the Chrysalis Academy here.
"Lucille Meyer is one of the most inspiring women I’ve met. She has such a powerful conviction to service using yoga and meditation. Her work at Chrysalis Academy, where she has helped to changed the life of thousands of young people, shows a dedication and profound sense os yoga as service. Her voice is powerful and this is one of my favourite conversations on the podcast. Enjoy Lucille’s powerful sharing and insights."
Scott Johnson – July 2021
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Scott and Dharma teacher Martin Aylward ‘chew the dharma fat’ over topics including contemplative practices, the inherent ‘juiciness’ of life, and the ultimate inevitability of liberation.
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We'd like to invite you to join our growing Stillpoint Online Ashtanga Yoga and Mindfulness community.
You can sign up for a free yoga and meditation course and a free week on our online platform here.
We live stream beginner classes, Ashtanga Yoga assisted self practice and guided classes with evening mindfulness sessions, yoga philosophy and restorative yoga over 6 days with Scott Johnson and the Stillpoint teaching faculty. It's a beautiful way to navigate these times...___
Martin has been practicing meditation for 30 years. Over that time he studied in monasteries and Ashrams in India and Thailand. He explored many different teachings, from Indian asceticism to Buddhist tantric traditions.
Martin began teaching the Dharma in 1999 after being encouraged by his teacher. In 2005, he co-founded Moulin de Chaves, a residential retreat centre in Southwest France. He has held pilgrimages, led wilderness retreats in France and the USA, and has taken small groups of Dharma students to practice in India and Bhutan.
He now runs a number of online courses which are designed to help people integrate these transformational meditative practices into their daily lives.
You can find out more about Martin’s teaching schedule here.
His Mindfulness Teacher Training here.
His new book Awake Where You Are: The Art Of Embodied Awareness here.
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Marting Aylward is such a rich, joyful voice. He brings the teachings of Buddhism and mindfulness and gently lands them in the centre of our lives. For me he is one of the leading voices of contemplative practice teaching at the moment. This conversation will leave you inspired...
Scott Johnson - July 2021
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Hokusai Saysby Roger Keyes
Hokusai says look carefully.
He says pay attention, notice.
He says keep looking, stay curious.
Hokusai says says there is no end to seeingHe says look forward to getting old.
He says keep changing,
you just get more who you really are.
He says get stuck, accept it, repeat
yourself as long as it is interesting.He says keep doing what you love.
He says keep praying.
He says every one of us is a child,
every one of us is ancient
every one of us has a body.
He says every one of us is frightened.
He says every one of us has to find
a way to live with fear.He says everything is alive --
shells, buildings, people, fish,
mountains, trees, wood is alive.
Water is alive.Everything has its own life.
Everything lives inside us.
He says live with the world inside you.He says it doesn't matter if you draw,
or write books. It doesn't matter
if you saw wood, or catch fish.
It doesn't matter if you sit at home
and stare at the ants on your veranda
or the shadows of the trees
and grasses in your garden.
It matters that you care.It matters that you feel.
It matters that you notice.
It matters that life lives through you.
Contentment is life living through you.
Joy is life living through you.
Satisfaction and strength
is life living through you.He says don't be afraid.
Don't be afraid.Love, feel, let life take you by the hand.
Let life live through you.
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Scott has an open, honest and heartfelt conversation with colleague and international yoga teacher Kino Macgregor about Covid-19 and the year of the pandemic.
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We'd like to invite you to join our growing Stillpoint Online Ashtanga Yoga and Mindfulness community.
You can sign up for a free yoga and meditation course and a free week on our online platform here.
We live stream beginner classes, Ashtanga Yoga assisted self practice and guided classes with evening mindfulness sessions, yoga philosophy and restorative yoga over 6 days with Scott Johnson and the Stillpoint teaching faculty. It's a beautiful way to navigate these times...
_______________Scott and Kino talk about their own personal experiences around the global pandemic. They talk about the divisions that have become apparent within the yoga community as a result of the pandemic, the danger inherent in confining ourselves to our own online echo chambers, and the potential for healing by learning to listen to each other in these fraught and fragile times.
Links to topics covered in the conversation:
Kino's vaccination Instagram post on 23rd April 2021. Kino's response to the above Instagram post on 23rd April 2021 Jo Herman's long covid articles in The GuardianWith over 1 million followers on Instagram and over 500,000 subscribers on YouTube and Facebook, Kino MacGregor is one of the world’s most recognisable yoga teachers.
She is a Miami native and mango enthusiast. A sought-after yoga teacher, she has written four books and has produced six DVDs on Ashtanga yoga. She is the founder of Omstars, and co-founder of the Miami Life Center.
A dedicated Ashtanga student, she was Certified to teach the method by Pattabhi Jois in Mysore, India. She continues to study in Mysore with her teacher Sharath, and is dedicated to sharing Ashtanga yoga with practitioners all over the world.
Kino’s international schedule includes classes, privates, workshops and retreats. You can find out more about Kino’s teaching schedule here.
I reached out to Kino after seeing her address the negative comments she received after being vaccinated. I've personally wanted to have this particular conversation all year. To be able to have it with Kino, one of the most recognisable yoga teachers in the world and someone who is as passionate about this incredibly important issue as I am, felt really valuable. I hope this conversation helps to create more dialogue in the yoga world as we move forward from the pandemic...
Scott Johnson - May 2021
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