John enjoys an enduring love for athletics...
John Merideth is a certified yoga instructor (E500 T500 - the highest level offered by Yoga Alliance) and the director of onlYoga. He has played an active role in training many of the Ashtanga teachers in the Atlanta area and throughout the USA. The son of true "hippies" he was exposed to yoga asana from a very early age. He was sitting quietly in padmasana with his mother at age three and clearly remembers practicing headstand with his sister throughout his adolescence.
Education
John's liberal upbringing lead him to New College in Sarasota, FL. The universities alternative educational model gave him the opportunity to explore yoga from a variety of perspectives. In 1990 he began his classical asana training and fell in love with the ashtanga practice. Concurrently John developed a passion for researching and writing about the rich philosophical and historical traditions of the yogic tradition, including Patanjali's eight limbed path (ashtanga yoga) for uncovering the atman or inner self.
Endurance
John has always had a deep love for athletics. As an elite swimmer and distance runner he was drawn to ashtanga yoga because of its demand for a perfect balance of strength, flexibility and endurance. John also recognizes the immense cross training potential of the practice and recommends ashtanga yoga to any athlete seeking to stay injury free and gain a competitive edge.
Authentic
John believes strongly in the authentic transmission of the classical ashtanga yoga asana method as taught by Shri K. Pattabhi Jois (the living master of ashtanga yoga). As such John's teaching style is very "hands on." He utilizes manual adjustment techniques along with the proper vinyasa method to help students uncover the deepest possible awareness in each posture. Working within the framework of classical ashtanga yoga, John makes each class unique and challenging through posture modifications and alignment isolation.
Depth
With more than 22 years of personal practice and 20 years of teaching, John brings an unusual depth to his instruction. John believes that yoga is meant to be dynamic and strives to keep his classes creative and light hearted. His varied life experience has shown him that ashtanga yoga is as much a psycho/spiritual passage as it is a physical journey.
Experience
John taught his first yoga class in 1991. He has studied a wide variety of yoga methods including Bikram, Iyengar, Kundalini, Sidda and many others. An avid practioner, John supplements his personal practice by regularly studying with his teacher Shri K. Pattabhi Jois and his son Manju Jois. He also attends various practicums' each year with other master teachers. He has been blessed to experience Kundalini yoga through his student, teacher and friend Leigh Mallis. John knows the value of meditation and recently returned from a 10-day, silent vipassana retreat.
John's Class Schedule
M
5:45pm Domí : : Structure
7:15pm Slow Flow @ Exhale Spa
TU
10:30am Warm Hip Opening @ Ember
12pm Introduction to Primary Series Level 1 @ Ember
5:15pm Meditation
6pm OY Prana Flow
7:30pm Yoga Basics & Practice Fundamentals
W
12pm Vinyasa Flow @ Exhale Spa
6:30pm Prana Flow @ Ember
7:45pm Domi @ Ember
F
12pm Yoga Chill @ Exhale Spa
5:15pm Power Flow @ Exhale Spa
SA
9am Ashtanga Blend
11am Yoga Basics and Practice Fundamentals
1:30pm Warm Prana Flow @ Ember
SU
10am Warm Hip Opening
4pm Flow basics @ Exhale Spa
6:30pm Warm Hip Opening @ Ember
