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September 17th, 2012

Yogi Of The Week: Gregory

Meet Gregory.

At 6’4, 230 lbs., Gregory spent much of his life worrying that he was in someone’s way. Concerned with how much space he was taking up, if the person behind him couldn't see - he just wasn't at ease. With yoga, that anxiety is gone now. A dedicated Forrest yoga practitioner (with an 85" Black Mat PRO to boot), Gregory no longer hesitates to use as much room as he needs to feel free and move freely.

Gregory turned to yoga after being laid off from his job — where he'd worked devotedly for 10 years. He experimented with as many styles of yoga as he could find, and felt most at home with Forrest yoga. Because of his size, Gregory had always subconsciously placed a ‘heaviness’ on himself and always assumed he’d never be able to do handstands or more advanced poses. What he discovered was that he could be both big and heavy, AND light and graceful. Ana Forrest once told him during a tough workshop, “you take care of so many of us, you are such a big presence and person… and so is the world! The world is huge and cares for all of us, yet it still floats in space, gracefully spinning.”

Sometimes things happen for a reason. Gregory’s dedication to his yoga practice has "paid off" in a way he didn’t expect: he is now the Creative Services Director/Artist in Residence for the Forrest Yoga organization. He is feeling lighter than ever with the opportunity to combine his two passions, yoga and art.

In addition to his practice and his career, Gregory is also committed to bringing yoga to the LGBT community. He volunteers through Street Yoga and teaches at SMYRC (Sexual Minorities Youth Rescue Center) in Portland. His passion for unifying and uniting the yoga community and the LGBT community is bringing new tools for transformation and new perspectives for beautiful consideration.

We loved learning about Gregory! And we’d love to learn about you, too. Tell us about yourself on our You Series page: Manduka.com/You.

Every week we're sharing the story of another real yogi in our blogs, emails and even magazines. Maybe soon you'll see yourself here. Or see something in yourself here.

Practice On.

--Manduka