Stillpoints

a podcast with Scott Johnson

meaningful conversations from the heart of practice

Just discovered the podcast?

Get started with four of our most loved episodes

Petri Raisanen

Lucille Meyer

Lucille Meyer

Zephyr Wildman

Zephyr Wildman

Ty Powers

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Every other week we share inspirational and intimate conversations on the interaction of yoga, mindfulness, creativity and life. We uncover beautiful and meaningful stories on what it means to live a fully engaged life with those who hold contemplative practices close to their hearts.

Gregor Maehle on Why Yoga Is A Mystical Experience

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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Peter Levitt Profile

Peter Levitt on How Mindfulness Is Creativity

In this beautiful conversation Scott talks to Zen teacher, poet and author Peter Levitt about the creative life and how we can all find a way to discover what we are here to share. Peter offers beautiful insights from his fifty five years of practice and study that can help us unveil our own inner wisdom and creativity.

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Waylon Lewis on The Story of Elephant Journal

In this insightful conversation Scott talks to Waylon Lewis about the growth oif the world renowned online yoga and wellness magazine, Elephant Journal. He also talks about his life growing up in a buddhist school and his new book, ‘It’s Never Too Late To Fall In Love With Your Life’.

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David Swenson Ashtanga Yoga

David Swenson on Practicing Yoga Because You Love It

In this inspiring and wide ranging conversation Scott talks to one of Ashtanga Yoga’s most respected, loved and experienced teachers, David Swenson. David has been practicing for 50 years and this conversation leans into that history. We are left with simple but profound insights into how practice can change us.

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Jon Yuen – Freedom To Move

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 his unique approach to conscious movement evolved, how the body can be controlled through time and the way we can all find our own unique freedom to move.

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Shyam Ranganathan

Shyam Ranganathan – Understanding Yoga Philosophy

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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Pamela Weiss – A Fierce Feminine Buddhism

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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Nadia Gilani, The Yoga Manifesto Profile

Nadia Gilani – The Yoga Manifesto

In this wide-ranging conversation Scott talks to Nadia Gilani, yoga teacher and author of The Yoga Manifesto, on her life of practice and how this was the foundation of her getting to know her body in a new way. She shares what compelled her to write a book on the shadows of yoga but also what we can do with that knowledge. She also talks deeply about the creative process and how we ultimately all have something in us we can create.

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Ty Powers – Finding Equanimity

In this intimate and moving conversation Scott talks to Ty Powers on his life as a practitioner and teacher of Buddha Dharma and mindfulness meditation. 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.

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Sarah Powers Yoga

Lit From Within – Sarah Powers

In this beautiful conversation Scott talks to Sarah Powers on her life as a practitioner and teacher of Buddha Dharma and yoga traditions. She shares deeply profound insights that have compelled her to live a life of dedicated practice and unpacks the wonderful teachings that are at the root of her new book, Lit From Within.

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Ty Landrum

Living Yoga Philosophy – Ty Landrum

In this honest and beautiful conversation Scott talks to Ashtanga Yoga teacher Ty Landrum on his life practicing yoga and how it played a major role in letting go of the deep grief of the loss of his best friend. It also helped him to discover how to relate to the Greek philosophy he had been deeply connected to in his academic life. We are left with how philosophy comes alive through a deep love of language….

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J. Brown Profile

How Yoga Talks – J. Brown

In this heartfelt and intimate conversation Scott talks to podcaster and yoga educator J. Brown on his life as a practitioner and teacher of yoga. J shares how when the real essence of yoga teaching came to him, how he connects to teacher training, how conversations can be enlightening and confronting and finally, how the death of his mother is the thread that runs through all that he does…

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Ashtanga Yoga: Past, Present and Future – Tim Feldmann

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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Ellen Johannesen

Ashtanga and Buddhism – Ellen Johannesen

Scott talks to fellow yoga teacher Ellen Johannesen about Ashtanga and buddhism and how they have been a central path of her life. She shares how the two traditions merge and how we can live a more contemplative life through a simple compassionate practice

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yoga and mindfulness Frank Jude Boccio

Yoga and Mindfulness – Frank Jude Boccio

In this inspiring conversation Scott talks to dharma teacher Frank Jude Boccio on his life and teachings. Frank shares how his life had been moulded from early on as deeply connected and how that compelled him to a life studying the dharma. He shares how Buddhism, yoga asana and mindfulness are deep related and can be a way of truly understanding the present moment.

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Lucille Meyer

Yoga As Service – Lucille Meyer

Scott talks to Lucille Meyer about her powerful work as an activist (in South Africa in the 1990’s), yoga teacher and CEO of Chrysalis academy, one of the largest youth service organisations in South Africa. Lucille has overseen the transformation of thousands of young men and women using the tools of yoga and mindfulness.

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Reality is Playful – Martin Aylward

Scott and dharma teacher Martin Aylward talk openly about Martin’s life and how meditation and mindfulness practice can transform our lives. Martin talks about how leading a dharmic life is one of the most beautiful things we can do and how we can meet ourselves differently in all the layers of life we lead.

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Yoga and Covid – Kino Macgregor

Scott and Kino Macgregor have an open and honest conversation about the year of covid in yoga. They share how they adapted, their personal views and decision on the vaccine and their hopes for the future. That we can learn to listen…

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Learning From The Past – Petri Räisänen

Scott talks to Petri Raisanen on his life as yoga teacher and practitioner of Ashtanga yoga. Petri talks candidly about his time spent in Mysore, how he moved away from the abusive adjustment culture there and paved his own way forward, based on his own energy work. He also talks about his current work, with his wife Wambui, on creating equity in yoga spaces.

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The Yoga Dialogue – Eddie Stern

Scott talks to Eddie Stern on his life as a yoga practitioner and teacher. Eddie shares deep insights into how we create identity in yoga and how the deeper Indian spiritual practices of yoga have been the ground from which he moves, right from the beginning.

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The Truth of Yoga – Daniel Simpson

Scott talks to Daniel Simpson, on his life as a yoga philosophy teacher and practitioner. Daniel presents ancient texts for modern times. He is the author of The Truth of Yoga, a comprehensive guide to the historic tradition and texts of yoga for contemporary practitioners.

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Kia Naddermier

The Practice of Pausing – Kia Naddermier

Scott talks to dear friend and colleague Kia Naddermier on Kia’s life as a renowned teacher of yoga and pranayama. Kia shares stories about her evolution, what practice means to her and how learning to pause is the key to understanding yoga in your life.

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Bringing Yoga Home – Josefin Wikström

Scott talks to colleague Josefin Wikström about her incredible work over the years delivering yoga in prisons and to those with complex trauma. Josefin is a deeply passionate and profound yoga teacher, never resting on her laurels and dedicating herself to her craft so she can be the best for those she meets through her work.

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Recovery Through Yoga – Taylor Hunt

Scott talks to colleague and Ashtanga yoga teacher Taylor Hunt about his recovery from addiction. This is a powerful conversation that is honest and open in how yoga continues to help Taylor with is sobriety and recovery. Scott also shares intimate details of his own recovery from growing upper in an alcoholic family.

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Finding Humility Together – Prem & Radha Carlisi

Scott talks to senior Ashtanga Yoga teachers Prem and Radha Carlisi about their friendship since 2008. Prem and Radha run Ashtanga Yoga Bali, one of the most well known Ashtanga Yoga shala’s in Asia. It’s a beautifully open and moving conversation on how their relationship has navigated tragedy and life.

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Leaning In To Vulnerability – Laruga Glaser

Scott and Laruga Glaser share an intimate conversation on her life as a student and teacher of Ashtanga Yoga. Laruga also shares her experience of being a woman of colour in the yoga industry and how she now tries to create diverse yoga spaces in her mysore shala and international workshop rooms.

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Finding The Real Yoga – Simon Borg Olivier

Scott and Simon have an epic conversation on how Simon has always been searching for the real yoga. The conversation spans his 40 years of practice and all the twists and turns it has taken. Simon is a maverick and this conversation shines that light…

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Greg Nardi

Empowerment Through Ashtanga Yoga – Greg Nardi

Scott and Greg have a deeply open and honest conversation on the evolution of yoga in Greg’s life. They have been close friends since 2013 and share in a moving conversation on how the devotional aspect of yoga became a central part of Greg’s life and how Greg has shifted direction since he left KPJAYI.

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Reclaiming Joy Through Heartbreak – Wambui Njuguna-Räisänen

Scott talks to Wambui Njuguna-Räisänen about her life in yoga. In a beautifully honest and open conversation Wambui shares how she has evolved over the years both as a practitioner and teacher to now becoming a powerful voice for diversity in yoga.

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Zephyr Wildman

Yoga and Recovery – Zephyr Wildman

Scott talks to Zephyr Wildman, one of London’s most highly regarded yoga teachers, on her life of yoga practice. Zephyr shares a deeply moving account of how yoga has helped her in recovery, how she dealt with the loss of her partner and how she now advocates for yoga as a tool for recovery and addiction.

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Into The Unknown – Mark Robberds

Scott talks to Mark Robberds, a certified Ashtanga yoga 
teacher and pioneering movement educator, on his life of yoga practice. Mark shares how making leaps of faith through his life has led him to become the inspiring teacher we know now.   

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Movement into Stillness – Deepika Metha

Scott talks to Deepika Mehta, a long term Ashtanga yoga practitioner and teacher, on how she overcame a life threatening injury to discover the deepest expression of movement in her body.

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A Naturally Sceptical Mind – Dr Matthew Clark

Scott talks to Dr Matthew Clark, a long term practitioner, yoga researcher and academia, on his life studying the non-ordinary states of yoga. Matthew shares so much about Soma, an ancient ritualistic drink that dates back to the Vedas.

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Blending Yoga Traditions – Joey Miles

Scott talks to Joey Miles, a good friend and inspiring Ashtanga yoga teacher, about his life and how combining Ashtanga and Iyengar yoga over the years has transformed his outlook to asana and yoga practice.

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62 Years of Practice – Ann Weston

Scott has a warm and rich conversation with UK yoga teacher Ann Weston on her journey of 62 years of yoga practice. Ann first walked into a yoga class in 1957. She has come so far since then…

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Movement Through Life – Jess Glenny

Scott talks to colleague and fellow yoga practitioner Jess Glenny, a London based yoga teacher and educator, on her lifelong dedication to movement practices and working with hyper-mobility.

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Danny Paradise

Create Your Own Way – Danny Paradise

Scott talks to Ashtanga yoga pioneer and teacher Danny Paradise about his life of yoga practice and teaching. Danny shares so many stories about the history of Ashtanga yoga’s growth in the west and how he moulded his own path over the years.

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David Keil

Owning Your Practice – David Keil

Scott talks to his good friend David Keil, a yoga teacher and anatomy educator, who has worked with Scott for 9 years at SYL. David shares stories about his life and how he came to be the highly skilled and sought after yoga a teacher that he is.

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A Transformative Pathway – Caroline Taylor

Scott talks to Caroline Taylor, a long term SYL practitioner, about how she has navigated her yoga practice and her relationship to her body since the time she started in 2012. Caroline’s story is one of courage and she talks openly about how commitment to practice helped her overcome her challenges.

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A Broader Perspective On Practice – Ian Cheney

Scott and Ian Cheney have a conversation on how Ian’s broader perspective on yoga practice has helped him to become a highly regarded Ashtanga yoga teacher.

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Yoga As A Creative Process – Liz Lark

Scott and Liz talk about Liz’s 30 years as a yoga practitioner and teacher and how she has become one of the most well loved yoga teachers in the UK.

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Remembering Precious Times – Maria Jose Pantoja

In a deeply moving conversation, Scott and Maria remember the beginnings of Stillpoint Yoga London from 2009 to 2013, when co-founder Ozge Karabayik was alive.

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Becoming Your Own Teacher – Laura Graham-Dullaert

More like a conversation between friends, Scott and Laura talk openly about how their relationship as teacher/student/friends evolved over the years. Laura also shares the issues she has faced through hypermobility.

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How Practice Changes Over The Years – John Scott

In a beautifully revealing conversation at the Purple Valley Retreat Centre in Goa where they were both teaching, John and Scott share intimate moments of their lives.

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Meet your host

Book a Private Yoga Class with Scott

Scott Johnson has been teaching yoga since 2004. He is director and co-founder of Stillpoint Yoga (founded in 2009) and has run self-practice Ashtanga yoga classes at Stillpoint Yoga London each weekday morning since 2009. In that time he has supported thousands of practitioners (including yoga teachers) in developing an inspiring, long-term and safe yoga practice.

Over the years Stillpoint has become one of the most well respected yoga studios in London. Stillpoint also runs highly successful trainings and workshops with some of the most respected teachers in the field of Ashtanga yoga. 

Scott has been teaching Ashtanga yoga and mindfulness workshops and retreats nationally and internationally for over 10 years.