About John Friend

John Friend, the founder of Anusara yoga, is widely recognized as one of the most charismatic and highly respected hatha yoga teachers in the world. Blending a life-affirming Tantric yoga philosophy with Universal Principles of Alignment and a delightful sense of humor, John's teaching style guides each student to live every moment fully from the heart. Students often comment in amazement that they can perform their yoga poses under John's guidance with a level of creative freedom and inner power that they have never experienced before. Above all, John respects and honors his students with a great deal of loving-kindness and inspires them to see their own unique beauty and divine goodness.

Founded in 1997, Anusara yoga is one of the most highly respected schools of hatha yoga in the world with an expanding presence in North America, the UK, Europe, Asia, and Australia. With hundreds of thousands of students and thousands of teachers worldwide, Anusara yoga is now practiced on every continent throughout the world, excluding Antarctica. With its closely knitted community and industry-leading standards in teacher certification, Anusara yoga is highly respected throughout the greater yoga populace as a preeminent 21st century yoga school.

Today, Anusara yoga is one of the most highly respected and fastest growing schools of hatha yoga in North America with an expanding presence in the UK, Europe, Japan, and Australia.

Yoga Education

John was first introduced to yoga in 1967 at the age of 8 by his mother, Ann Friend, when she read him stories of yogis who had supernatural powers and hidden knowledge of the mysteries of life. At age 13 John began studying yoga philosophy with Juan Mascaro's translations of the Bhagavad Gita and the principal Upanishads. At that time, he also started the practice of hatha yoga using Swami Satchidananda's book Integral Hatha Yoga and Jess Stern's Yoga, Youth and Reincarnation.

In 1976, John began a regular practice of sitting meditation while studying with a Sufi group as well as members of the Theosophical Society in his hometown of Youngstown, Ohio. Then in 1979, he moved to Houston, Texas and began studying yoga with students affiliated with Swami Kriyananda's Ananda Yoga Village and Yogi Bhajan's 3HO. In 1984, John began practicing a modified form of Astanga-vinyasa hatha yoga from Robert Boustany in Houston. Robert had learned Patabhi Jois's Astanga-vinyasa from David and Doug Swenson, who were also from Houston. In 1986, John resigned from his position as a Financial Analyst and began to teach yoga full-time. John traveled for two months in California studying a variety of yoga styles. He was most impressed by Iyengar Yoga as taught by Judith Lasater, so when he returned home, he began to take regular classes in the Iyengar tradition.

In 1987, John took six months off from teaching in order to study yoga with other teachers around the country. John studied with Patabhi Jois in California and also attended the Iyengar Yoga convention in Boston, where he met B.K.S. Iyengar. He continued this diverse course of study, focusing mainly on Iyengar Yoga, with such senior teachers as Dona Holleman, Gabriella Guibilaro, Mary Dunn, Patricia Walden, Joan White, John Schumacher, Kofi Busia, Donald Moyer, Arthur Kilmurray, Ramanand Patel, George Purvis and Manouso Manos. During this time he also studied with Richard Freeman, T.K.V. Desikachar, Angela Farmer, Victor van Kooten, Roger Cole, Paul Grilley, Larry Payne, Kali Rae and Ana Forrest.  

In October 1989, John went to Pune, India to study with B.K.S. Iyengar at his Institute for a one-month Intensive. Between 1990 and 1995, John earned two Iyengar Yoga teaching certificates (Introductory & Junior Intermediate). John went back to Pune in 1995 to study with the Iyengars and participate in another one-month Intensive. He attended the Iyengar Yoga national conventions in 1990, 1993, and 1995. Also, John served on the Board of Directors for the Iyengar Yoga National Association for four years in a variety of capacities.  On November 3, 1989, at her ashram in Ganeshpuri, India, John met Gurumayi Chidvilasananda who introduced him to the practice of Siddha Yoga. From 1991 to 2004, John studied in one of Gurumayi's ashrams for one to three months every year. There John gained considerable knowledge and experience in the Indian philosophical darshanas, including Samkhya, Vedanta, Buddhism, and non-dual Tantric schools, particularly Kashmir Shaivism. Through Gurumayi's direction, John learned and practiced devotional chanting, japa, Hindu puja, seva, ethical precepts, meditation and intricacies on hatha yoga.

Some of John's other relevant studies include such philosophies and religions as Buddhism, Taoism, Sufism, Jewish Mysticism, Theosophy, Wicca, and Freemasonry. On a more physical side, John is well-versed in anatomy, kinesiology, and physiology, and in 1994 he earned a National john_in_natarajasana_-_ganeshpuri89

Certification for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork.

Yoga Teaching Experience

John began teaching yoga classes in 1980 in Houston, Texas. From 1985 to 1991 John taught two to three classes per week at the YMCA in The Woodlands, Texas. From 1991 to 1996 he taught regular classes at the Iyengar Yoga Studio of The Woodlands and at the Iyengar Yoga Studio of Houston.

From 1991 to current, John has taught hundreds of workshop, retreats, and trainings worldwide, as well as presented at national yoga conferences, including the first ever Anusara yoga Grand Gathering conference, sponsored by Yoga Journal in 2008.