Stillpoints
a podcast with Scott Johnson
meaningful conversations from the heart of practice
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Get started with four of our most loved episodes
Petri Raisanen
Lucille Meyer
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.
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.
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’.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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….
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…
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Meet your host
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.