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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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