Interview with John Scott in Le yoga Shop Journal Paris.

Nice interview with John Scott in Le yoga Shop Journal Paris by Kia Naddermier. I've not come across this online journal before but it has some great content, I hear the print version will be launched in Paris later this month.

http://www.leyogashop.com/blogs/lejournal

About Le Yoga Shop

Le Yoga Shop Paris was created by Kia & Magnus Naddermier who live, work, love and practise yoga in Paris.
Kia is a contemporary fashion photographer and also founder, director and main teacher of Mysore Yoga Paris– Ashtanga Yoga Shala, dedicated solely to teaching Ashtanga Yoga in the traditional Mysore Style.  Magnus is a high-end Creative Director with his roots in the art world. In 2011 he founded the photography website Le Journal de la Photographie (voted best photography site by LIFE magazine 2011). They have collaborated on innumerable fashion and art projects as well as award-winning yoga related publications and books. For nearly 20 years they have both been dedicated Ashtanga Yoga practitioners.

Another article I liked is a discussion on the Evolution of a tradition
http://www.leyogashop.com/blogs/lejournal/8094109-the-evolution-of-a-tradition

"While the practice of ashtanga yoga is firmly routed in India, cultures across the globe have taken it to their hearts and continue to embrace its teachings. ‘Traditional ashtanga’ is a term often used by teachers and students so, as the practice spreads, what does it really mean to stay true to that tradition? With ashtanga gaining more devotees, are we entering a new phase in its evolution? Chris Patmore spoke to dedicated teachers and students Jeff and Harmony Lichty, Kia Naddermier and Mark Robberds to get their views".

The John Scott Interview is called Closing the Circle.

"Twenty years after their first encounter, John Scott sits down with Kia Naddermier for a discussion on being a student, a teacher and all that happens in between..."
Here's a link to the full article
http://www.leyogashop.com/blogs/lejournal/12699457-closing-the-circle

And a taste, a couple of quotes from the article I particularly liked.

Photo Credit: ©photo: Kia Naddermier for www.leyogashop.com

John: ”From where I am right now as a teacher, what I have discovered is that we evolve within our societies. Newborn babies arrive totally dependent on their parents. Good parenting guides our children towards independence out of which, we hope, the child will develop dependability. You can look at it as a child growing up or as a student´s development towards becoming a teacher. The teacher too was once a student, totally dependent on their teacher. I can acknowledge that I was totally dependent on my teacher, but my teacher encouraged me to become independent. If you don’t achieve that independence you cannot become dependable, someone that can be counted upon.”
He continues: ”So in that middle category the teacher needs to give you the resources to become independent. In this system of yoga it is so simple: learn the count! Learn the count and the names of the postures. Learn the mala of the postures, as Guruji called it. You become independent of the teacher, and are then on your own journey through which you gain the experience to become dependable.
When you look at society there are still so many people who haven´t managed to become independent. People are consumed by the conditioned existence of society and end up being held there by the system. The system wants to be dysfunctional. That is how we keep the division between the haves and the have-nots, and how we keep people in the place of dependency. Yoga is meant to bring balance between the haves and the have-nots because in the end, the haves are still suffering.”

John: ”For me the Guru thing is crazy. The teacher or Guru should be a signpost pointing  in a direction beyond themselves. A Guru who tells you ’It´s here, this is it, I´ve got all the answers’ may attract many devotees – but can end up getting smothered by them. The fat man is sitting on top, the sign is gone and the direction lost!  My job as a teacher is pointing.
He continues: ”Evolution continues beyond an individual teacher – it doesn’t stop with you, you really want your students to surpass you. Innovation is what feeds the tradition, allowing it to grow. You can´t replace Krishnamacharya but his work was extended and improved by the innovations of Iyengar, Deshikachar and Pattabhi Jois. They respected and maintained the traditions but at the same time developed them through their own insights and experience.
I felt Guruji was one of those teachers who didn´t hold his students back, he wanted us to surpass him. I’m the same, I give my all to the students. And they are lucky to be receiving it at an early stage in their own yoga journey. If I could have been my own student back then it would be great... haha!”

Video of the photo shoot