About John

John’s Studies:  John Scott has been practicing Ashtanga yoga since 1987. He was introduced to the practice by early Ashtanga yoga pioneers Derek Ireland and Radha Warell at the legendary Skyros/Practice Place in Greece. The practice had a great effect on John and he formed a close relationship with Derek. In 1989, under Derek’s guidance, John travelled to Mysore, India to study with Sri K Pattabhi Jois at his Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga Research Institute. This trip changed the course of John’s life and he returned to Mysore annually thereafter. In1995, John became one of the few teachers to receive certification to teach Ashtanga yoga from his teacher. He continued to study with Pattabhi Jois until his passing in 2009. John continues to maintain a close relationship with the Jois family through Manju Jois, who he has personally known for many years and who he hosted at Limehouse Yoga in Cornwall.

John’s Lineage:  John’s teaching is directly influenced by his time spent with Pattabhi Jois, who, over the many years of study, he built a close relationship with. He has been greatly absorbed by the vinyasa counted method of ashtanga yoga, seeing this way of practicing as the key to Tristana (mind, body, breath synchronicity) and the ability for the practice to become a moving meditation and a key to the eight limb path. John was greatly involved in researching with Lino Miele, a colleague and fellow student of Jois, the Vinyasa Count which later led to the Lino writing “Ashtanga Yoga”, where the correct vinyasa for all the primary series and intermediate series asanas was collected from Pattabhi Jois. John also contributed his Ashtanga yoga drawings/glyphs to the book, which were the first drawn representation of the Ashtanga yoga practice. John also wrote his own book, Ashtanga Yoga, and in 2002 produced a ground breaking DVD of the same name.

John’s Teaching:  John still practices and explores the techniques of the counted method of Ashtanga passed to him and is continually discovering new meanings to the gems of wisdom that Pattabhi Jois left for his students to pass on. He connects to yoga practitioners with refreshing insight into the practice on a physical, anatomical and spiritual levels and is constantly improvising new and unique ways to engage and inspire practitioners with ashtanga and the counted method.

John Worldwide:  In John’s mission to pass on Pattabhi Jois’ Counted Method he travels the World literally Counting – he learns to count in the national language of his host (usually his host is a graduate of John’s teacher training) to bridge the cultural ‘gap’ (“mind that gap because therein lies extra ordinary wisdom”) and thus he draws the community in to the shared language of yoga – Sanskrit.  From John’s world adventure, sharing Jois’ teachings, an ever growing International Yoga Community is blossoming.

John is greatly respected and loved by his students, who in turn are greatly inspired also to shine the light for others, guiding them onto the inner path of Ashtanga Yoga.

Community:  We meet and enter into relationships for 1 or for all 3 reasons –  a reason, a season, a lifetime.  John met Derek Ireland and discovered he needed to change his life’s direction.  Derek showed him the new path and pointed him East to Mysore and to Shri K Pattabhi Jois.

John was with Derek for his Summer Harvest, and for his Autumn. His love, stories, inspiration and light will be within John for “the Rest of My Life. I needed to meet Pattabhi Jois to be introduced to ‘Self-Government’, Pattabhi Jois counted me to the inner door of my mind and in passing me the ‘key’ to The Method I discovered the secret of yoga – to realise how special we are and how important to the well being of all it is to share this secret.

Our duty in the JSY community is to share the gift of yoga…..”