Family
John Merideth is a certified yoga instructor and the director of onlYoga. The son of true "hippies" he was exposed to yoga asanas 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 89 year old 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 17 years of personal practice and 13 years of teaching, John brings an unusual depth to his instruction.   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.   He also attends various practicums' each year with other master teachers.  John knows the value of meditation and recently returned from a 10-day, silent vipassana retreat.

Me, Dad and Jennifer
circa 1974

Me, Mom and Jennifer
circa 1974