Guys Talking Yoga

In 2015 Phil Sussman was a captain in the US Army who fractured his spine in two places during a training exercise. After struggling through the physical, mental, and existential pain of his trauma, and in his words “hitting rock bottom,” his wife suggested he give yoga a shot. Soon after that first class, Phil’s nascent practice began to not only pull him out of his pain and suffering, but also gave his life meaning and purpose again, ultimately leading him to create a brand, community, and movement called American Yogi.  https://liveamericanyogi.com

Johnny Gillespie is the founder and owner of Empowered Wellness Studio and the creator of The Balanced Athlete®, a functional fitness program that teaches people how to mindfully move their bodies in a safe and more integrated manner. In addition to being a registered 500-Hour teacher with Yoga Alliance, he is credentialed and certified in strength and conditioning (CSCS), personal training with the National Strength and Conditioning Association (CPT), and a meditation teacher trained by David Nichtern, senior teacher in the lineage of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche.  In this brief but packed discussion, Johnny shares his passion and perspective on yoga, fitness training, Buddhism and finding the right yoga teacher and practice. (https://empoweredwellnessstudio.com).

Former emergency room physician, Dr. Ken Starr got introduced to Bikram yoga in 1996 while doing a rotation as a fourth-year med school student at Stanford. In this conversation, Ken, a board-certified addiction medicine specialist, shares how the adaptability of yoga can be a resource and solution for working through the emotional and physical stress that manifests in the body. www.kenstarrmd.com

The pandemic highlighted the accessibility of online yoga as the practice became one of the few options for those remaking their basements into fitness rooms during the lockdown. In this conversation, James Simboli, a coach and teacher at an all-boys boarding school in upstate Connecticut, shares how the pandemic forced him to consider yoga and how his appreciation resulted in the formation of a student-led yoga club that has jumpstarted the practice of many on campus.

Sit or lie back and let Chelsea Duke, owner of Glow Yoga of Eugene, take you through a short guided meditation that helps anyone reconnect after their practice, or any time when they need a moment to check out – and check in.

Chelsea Duke, the owner of Glow Yoga of Eugene, has been leading a range of yoga instruction and training with the athletic department of the University of Oregon since 2013. In our conversation, Chelsea shares how she’s incorporated a style of yoga focused on joint mobility, injury prevention and restorative practices to help men’s teams dominate their game and lives, on and off the track, field, court, and course.

Michael Susi is the director of global wellness at LinkedIn where he created and scaled its health and wellness program to meet the needs of sixteen thousand employees. In this conversation, we talk about his path from coaching and training to leading wellness at the world’s largest professional network and how he reimagined the curriculum by designing initiatives around the pillars of thoughts, breathing, hydration, nutrition, movement, and rest – aspects that are found among the many qualities of yoga.

Ten tips to jumpstart your practice and get yourself on the path to becoming a stronger, wiser, and more balanced self before you know it.

Dr. Dan Bornstein is an associate professor in the department of health, exercise, and sport science at the Citadel, the military college of South Carolina, and leads one of the only graduate degrees in the nation designed to meet the growing demand for exercise science specifically designed to work with military personnel and first responders – those considered tactical athletes by occupation. In this conversation, Dan speaks to the mind-body benefits of yoga and shares how the integrated fitness progress programs used by top sports athletes have influenced the training for special operators and are now becoming a basis for holistic health and fitness for all members of the military.