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.

_____

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.

_____

Mark Williams - How We Created Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy

In 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 Williams

Mark 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.

 

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 Experience

Scott 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 Maehle

Gregor 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

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 Experience

Scott 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 Maehle

Gregor 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 Experience

Scott 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 Maehle

Gregor 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.

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 Creativity

Scott 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

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About Peter Levitt

Peter 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

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"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.

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 Lewis 

Waylon 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 Journal

Scott 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’

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"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.

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.

---

About David Swenson 

David 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 It

Scott 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.

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"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.

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. 

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 Yuen

Jon 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).

 

---

 

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.

 

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Freedom to Move - Jon Yuen

Scott 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 Ranganathan

Shyam 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 Ranganathan

In 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 Weiss

Pamela 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.

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 Gilani

Nadia 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

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.

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About Ty Powers

 

Ty 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.