Originally from England, Lucy Elizabeth Johnson first discovered yoga in her late 20s when she happened to stumble across Mira Mehta’s Iyengar yoga classes in North London. She later also began to attend classes and weekend workshops at the Iyengar Yoga institute in Maida Vale, London. It did not take long for her to realize that yoga was just what she needed. Not only because of a recent whiplash injury, but also to help her cope with the demands (both physical and mental) of her fulltime job as a Chemical Engineer. She went on to become a fully certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher, qualifying in 2016.

Shortly after beginning yoga classes, and not long before the birth of her two daughters, Lucy moved to Putney in South-West London, just walking distance from the London Sivananda Yoga Centre. The centre happened to offer, amongst other things, introductory courses in Vedānta. It was here that her lifelong love of jñāna yoga (the path of knowledge) was ignited. She continues her study of Vedānta and Sanskrit with the Chinmaya International Foundation.

Lucy now lives on the South-East coast of Norway with her husband and two daughters. In 2019, Lucy retired from her job as a Consultant to Equinor (Norwegian state-owned energy company) to devote more time to her family and spiritual practice.

Author's Statement on Writing Yoga and Self-Enquiry:

I am so grateful for finding yoga. I have discovered first-hand the positive impact yoga can have on our busy lives today. Not only at the physical level, but also the subtle effect it has on the mind. I still remember my early days of practising yoga and attending classes. It felt like torture! I was so stiff with chronic neck and back pain, the result of various injuries and many years of desk work. But for the first time I found my scattered attention being gathered and directed inward, away from external objects. As a result, my mind began to experience states of calm previously unknown to me. I later came to understand that this heightened sense of mental wellbeing, often associated with the practice of hatha yoga postures and prāṅāyāma (breathing exercises), was due to the increase of sattva-guṇa in the mind (sattva-guṇa is one of the three innate qualities of primordial matter, the other two being rajas-guṇa and tamas-guṇa).

Over the years I have come to realize that not only yoga but also the knowledge gained through Self-study/enquiry (svādhyāya) is necessary to eventually become established in one’s true nature. The aim of yoga is final liberation (kaivalya) – the end to the cycle of birth and death. But even if we do not feel quite ready for this lofty goal, svādhyāya (designated by Patañjali as both a niyama/self-discipline and an act of yoga) will make our practise of yoga even more meaningful.

Writing my book, Yoga and Self-Enquiry, was the result of an inner urge - to give back to other yoga practitioners and fellow spiritual seekers. To share the tried and tested methods that have been developed over thousands of years by the great sages of India. This book is relevant to all practitioners of yoga today, independent of style. My aim has been to present the content with great clarity but at the same time for it to be both meaningful and practical.

Please do not delay putting into practice these teachings and see for yourself the power of this ancient knowledge! Let us heed the ancients - our yoga forebearers, who in their infinite compassion gave out the following advice:

“I relate to you the means to be employed for destruction of errors:

Without the practice of yoga, how could knowledge set the Ātman (Self) free?

Inversely, how could the practice of yoga alone, devoid of knowledge, succeed in the task?

The seeker of Liberation must direct his energies to both simultaneously.

The source of unhappiness lies in Ajñāna (ignorance);

Knowledge alone sets one free. This is a dictum found in all Vedas.” ~ Yogatattva Upaniṣad (verses 14-16)