In this episode of Guys Talking Yoga, hosts Derek and Larry discuss essential tips for men starting their yoga practice.

They emphasize:

• The importance of setting intentions

• Choosing the right yoga mat

• Finding a suitable studio.

• What to expect during the first class and how to navigate the studio experience

• Essential tips for yoga practitioners, studio etiquette, class structure, and the importance of listening to one's body and breath.

• The need for respect in the yoga space, the significance of punctuality, and the human aspect of yoga teaching.

• Encouraging practitioners to connect with their breath and being mindful of their physical limits.

What’s stopping more guys from doing yoga? It often comes down to some common misconceptions and excuses.

In this episode of the Guys Talking Yoga, co-hosts Derek Vanderwarker and Larry Milburn share the many ways yoga practice has transformed their lives off the mat. Listen as they offer practical tips for men who are yoga-curious but a little hesitant to take the plunge.

Derek and Larry also talk about:

• How yoga builds strength and body awareness

• Yoga and breathwork for better performance

• How yoga helps with stress and anxiety

• The spiritual side of yoga and building community

• Yoga for midlife men

Get ready for a new season of the Guys Talking Yoga podcast, where hosts Derek and Larry continue their mission to make yoga accessible to every man. Tune in THIS FALL for engaging conversations and expert insights to help you step on the mat and live a more balanced life practicing yoga.

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When Matt Giordano taught his first yoga class in his mom's Long Island basement, he had no idea he’d inspire a movement. He just wanted to share the practice that had transformed his life.

In this episode with guest host Larry Milburn, Matt reflects on his unlikely journey from touring musician to yoga teacher to influencer and entrepreneur. You’ll learn about how Matt discovered yoga, how its benefits radiated into every area of his life, and how his relationship with a mentor helped launch his own teaching career and attract a massive online following.

Matt also talks about:

• How yoga has made him a much better (and less injury-prone) ice hockey player

• What he learned from his mentor, yoga legend Marco Rojas

• How he went from teaching informally to leading international trainings

• The barriers that prevent more men from trying yoga and how to overcome them

These days, yoga is a mainstream phenomenon practiced by many. But back in the 1970s, when actor and filmmaker Campbell Scott first discovered it, it was still a fringe practice associated with hippies and gurus.

In this episode with guest host Larry Millburn, Campbell shares how a yoga book by Richard Hittleman nourished him physically, mentally, and spiritually.

As a teenager struggling with anxiety and self-doubt, Campbell was drawn to yoga's promise of inner peace and resilience. Over the years, his practice became an anchor, and a way to stay grounded in the face of the challenges and uncertainties of life as a performing artist.

Campbell also talks about:

• How yoga helped him quit smoking and manage the pressures of an acting career

• Getting over the discomfort of being a man in female-dominated yoga spaces

• How his practice has evolved over decades

• How yoga fosters a sense of presence and connection

• Why more men should give yoga a try

Links:

Campbell Scott's IMDb page https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001714/

Richard Hittleman's Yoga book https://www.amazon.com/Richard-Hittlemans-Yoga-Exercise-Plan/dp/0553277480

Larry’s Yoga for Dudes website https://www.yogafordudes.com/

Way of the Empowered Man Retreat GTY Episode https://www.gtypodcast.com/podcast-episodes/52-johnny-gillespie

Back from a couple months off with a quick update on the summer season with guest host Larry Milburn, former host of Roadie Free Radio and the online site, Yoga for Dudes.

Derek and Larry share their initial thoughts from the Kripalu Yoga Center in Western Massachusetts where they just completed the Way of the Empowered Man led by frequent guest, Johnny Gillespie.

The guys talk about the intense core work of the weekend, the heat, the surprisingly high turnout from guys who are totally new to yoga that joined the retreat, and offer a quick preview for the fall.

Also, Derek is handing the mic to Larry as guest host for the summer as he takes paternity leave with his newborn daughter and wife.

So stay tuned right for Larry’s summer interviews with some great Connecticut-based guys with more stories and offerings, and future new content and programming GTY is developing for the fall.

Be sure to check out our fully redesigned website for more episodes, resources and links to get your practice started.

Ever wondered what it would be like to roll out a yoga mat on your lunch break and check in with your body? Today’s show was recorded at Triangle Manufacturing, a company that encourages just that.

My friend and former guest Larry Milburn was brought in to start a yoga program at this medical device manufacturing firm, and today he introduces us to two company leaders who made it happen: CEO Dax Stohlmeyer and VP of Finance Jeff Simon.

In a way, Triangle is the perfect case study for yoga in the workplace because their team includes both people who are on their feet all day doing physical work, as well as people who work mostly seated at desks.

As you’ll learn in this episode, both types of employees crave movement. And both have experienced profound benefits from these twice-weekly sessions with Larry. Triangle’s yoga program contributes to a “culture of wellness,” and it’s an example other companies would be wise to consider.

The guys also talk about:

• How and why the company brought in Larry to teach yoga

• What yoga has done for workplace camaraderie

• Dax’s experience with yoga as a former professional football player

• Jeff’s experience as a newcomer to yoga

• How yoga and mindfulness make Dax a better leader

Casey McBride is a longtime yoga practitioner and teacher who specializes in working with men and young male athletes.

She joins us to talk about how she found her way to that niche; common themes she sees among yoga-curious men; using props; and how yoga helps her athletes gain strength and avoid (and recover from) injuries.

Casey also talks about:

• The “underground revolution” of young athletes using yoga to gain strength and mobility

• Her advice for guys just starting out with yoga

• Why your ego is the enemy of a great yoga practice

• Why physical therapy alone often doesn’t do the job

• The meaning of her mantra “do just enough” and how that mindset helps her students stay healthy

Today we have a 3-man episode, with two friends of the show joining me to go beyond downward dog and dive into the more philosophical and contemplative side of yoga.

The subject is dharma: what it means to us, why it’s so important, and how to pursue it alongside other guys who share similar values.

Put simply, dharma is about maintaining a practice or a program that grounds you in the present and keeps you focused on what’s actually important to you. And in my experience, yoga is an extremely powerful tool do just that.

Richard and Johnny also talk about:

• What brought them to yoga and mindfulness

• “Dharma bombs”: sudden moments of awareness

• Bringing yourself back to the moment when you’re lost in thought

• Kinship and camaraderie among guys pursuing similar spiritual paths

Ever wondered why I’m so motivated to spread the good word about the benefits of yoga to guys everywhere? This episode lays it all out.

That’s because today the mic is turned on me, as I’m interviewed by my good friend Larry Milburn, on his excellent podcast ⁠Roadie Free Radio⁠.

I share how it all started with an injury to a muscle I barely knew existed, which led to a lot of physical and mental pain. That’s when things got interesting…

I also talk about:

• The injury that led me down a path of loss and growth

• Making the decision to take responsibility for my own recovery

• My early experiences with Bikram yoga

• How injuries from decades ago come back to haunt us guys

• Getting started with Iyengar yoga

• Training with Alison West at Yoga Union

• My advice for getting started with yoga

• The mat and props I recommend

Ed Harrold is a health and performance coach, yoga teacher, and the author of ⁠Life with Breath⁠.

In this episode, he shares how he came to yoga and breathwork as a stressed-out, “broken” middle-aged guy battling physical and psychological demons; how those practices have completely transformed his health and fitness; and how you can start down the same path today.

Ed also talks about:

• The science of breath and the dangers of shallow breathing

• The anatomy of the the psoas, diaphragm, lungs, and ribcage

• Where to start if you want to change the way you breathe

• How he gained flexibility strictly through breathing exercises

• Managing your energy throughout the day through mindful breathing

We’ve heard from a lot of guys about how yoga has helped ease their back pain, work through stress, or improve their relationships.

Today’s episode has those elements, but it’s also something else entirely: the story of Darnell “Moe” Washington, a former gang member who found yoga while serving a sentence of 35 years to life in prison.

It’s the third and final episode in our Prison Yoga Project series, and it’s one of the most powerful conversations we’ve had on the show.

You’ll learn how Moe connected with former GTY guest James Fox while at San Quentin; the mental and physical capabilities he developed through his practice; and how yoga and mindfulness helped him gain his freedom and prepare for the rest of his life.

Bill Brown was 41 years old when he took his first yoga class, and the experience moved him to tears.

You’ll hear why in this conversation, as well as how Bill wound up directing an organization that brings yoga to thousands of incarcerated men and women around the world.

This is the second of three conversations in our Prison Yoga Project series; Bill expands on the group’s work (discussed last episode with founder James Fox) as well as his own compelling personal story.

Bill also talks about:

• How yoga can help people with trauma and dissociation

• Gaining trust when facilitating yoga classes in prisons and jails

• How stress builds in the body over time and how yoga can help guys work through that

• How yoga helped Bill deal with anger in a much healthier way

• Using the force of the ground in your yoga practice

• How Prison Yoga Project has scaled and has even begun working with corrections officers and other staff

James Fox is the Founding Director of the Prison Yoga Project, which he started in San Quentin and grew to 17 states and beyond.

In part one of a three-part series on prison yoga, James tells Derek about the program's origins (he started in a single juvenile detention center); the unique challenges and opportunities involved; and the story of a participant whose rehabilitation and parole was inextricably linked with the yoga practice he learned while behind bars.

James also talks about:

• How yoga helped him get over back pain from running

• How Prison Yoga Project scaled through word of mouth, teacher training, and their book

• How men and women in prison tend to react to first trying yoga

• The trauma-informed approach they've developed

• The role yoga played in a parole hearing for a participant serving a life sentence

Friend of the show Johnny Gillespie joins Derek to talk about the men's yoga retreat he's hosting in February, called “The Way of the Empowered Man."

Johnny is a certified meditation and yoga teacher and the founder of Empowered Wellness Studio. He's also run about 30 retreats in his career.

Johnny and Derek talk about:

• The value of retreats and why there aren't many yoga retreats for men

• The activities and schedule at a yoga retreat

• How yoga can complement weightlifting and other fitness regimens rather than replacing them

• The concept of the "Empowered Man"

• The Kripalu Yoga Center in Western Massachusetts, where Johnny's retreat will be held

In 2017 Derek sought out Alison West, one of the most recognized and respected yoga instructors in the industry, for his 200-hour teaching certification and his first step out of the pain, tension, and overall chronic imbalances that dogged him for over five years.

It was Alison who helped introduce Derek to the infinite potential that yoga offers for developing agency and awareness in navigating the deep challenges with our twisted, asymmetrical, and complex bodies and tapping into the mind-body connection.

Alison West, Ph.D, E-RYT, C-IAYT is director of Yoga Union and the Yoga Union Backcare & Scoliosis Center, and has been teaching yoga for over thirty years. Prior to opening Yoga Union in 1996 she studied at the Sivananda center and at Jivamukti in New York, as well with Eddie Stern and Sri K. Pattabhi Jois in Mysore, India.

During her education and path she continued studying Iyengar Yoga for alignment, working in particular with Kevin Gardiner, the late Mary Dunn, and, later, Genny Kapuler. Alison has also traveled to Pune to study with the Iyengars. She furthered her meditation studies with TKV Desikachar at a retreat at Colgate University in 1993 and went on to the Shambhala trainings in NYC. Her spiritual teachers include Ramana Maharshi and Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj.

She is currently writing her first Yoga book, Yoga for Backcare, which will be followed by Yoga for Scoliosis.

In this episode, Derek talks yoga with two of the most impactful college lacrosse players to emerge from upstate New York in the 1990s: his former teammate and good friend, Todd Burnham – a two-time All-American and 1993 National Champion at Hobart College; and Casey Powell, a four-time All-American and 1995 National Champion at Syracuse University.

Todd Burnham is an expert litigator, entrepreneur, author, and leadership coach who is a founding partner of Burnham Law – an elite litigation firm in Colorado with a team of top-rated experienced associates and paralegals focusing on family law, civil litigation, personal injury, and many other services for those in need in the states of Colorado and Wyoming. In 2022, Todd published his best-selling book Comeback: Epic Rebound Strategies for Business or Personal Adversity, a guide on transforming trauma into triumph through his breakthrough findings and unique insight into six easy-to-execute tactics that have helped countless individuals rebound from adversity more powerful than before.

Casey Powell is considered one of the best to ever play the sport of lacrosse and has spent his professional career traveling the world playing, teaching, and helping spread the game. After Syracuse, Powell became a globally-recognized athlete, playing 15 seasons professionally in the MLL and NLL, and was selected to play on four US National Teams – captaining Team USA in 2006, 2011, and in 2015. He is a member of the Upstate Lacrosse (NY) and the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame and the owner/director of CP Lacrosse which runs camps, clinics, and tournaments nationally. Along with his brothers Ryan and Michael, Casey is a founding partner of Powell Lacrosse.

In this episode, Dean Pohlman, the founder of Man Flow Yoga, shares his path with yoga and the idea to launch an online yoga training program targeted to men who are new to the practice. In this informative discussion, Dean shares how he first stumbled into yoga as a senior in college, the physical benefits of yoga and how it complements any fitness program, and the impact on the lives of many guys. Since launching in 2013, his fitness-oriented, non-spiritual Man Flow Yoga program has sold numerous DVD and online subscriptions, and has amassed over 400,000 subscribers on YouTube where you can access many curated yoga programs to address a range of health and fitness objectives. In addition, Dean has sold over 35,000 copies worldwide of his 2018 book Yoga Fitness for Men: Build Strength, Improve Performance, and Increase Flexibility. Man Flow Yoga has been featured in Muscle & Fitness Magazine, Men’s Health, The Chicago Sun, New York Magazine, and many more major news media outlets.

Introduced to the basic principles of Hatha Yoga by his father while growing up in Little Italy, it wasn’t until his mid-twenties that Frank Mauro began exploring asana postures and the philosophical underpinnings of the practice. In the 1990s, New York was in its heyday with studios opening across the city and giving birth to a new generation of conscious and creative yoga teachers, including a young Frank Mauro. His curiosity and interest in yoga ultimately led Frank to his first teacher training with the internationally recognized Sivananda Yoga Center and then eventually with many world-renowned teachers including Richard Freeman, Rodney Yee, Eric Schiffmann, Judith Lasater, and later in Manhattan with Cyndi Lee at the Om Yoga Center. Frank currently teaches at NY Loves Yoga Studio in the upper West Side of Manhattan.

We have invited back two of our most popular guests, Johnny Gillespie and Neil Taylor, to explore 'What is Yoga?' Johnny, Neil, and Derek discuss several themes around known aspects of the physical practice – including alignment and balance; however, the guys also hit on more subtle themes, such as skillfulness, connection, vulnerability, and wisdom that most probably don’t consider when rolling out the mat.

Neil Taylor is a bodyworker and a meditation and yoga teacher, in the Boston area, and Johnny is based in Wilmington, Delaware. He is the founder and owner of Empowered Wellness Studio and the creator of The Balanced Athlete, an online and studio-based functional fitness program that teaches people how to mindfully move their bodies.