Meet Derek Vanderwarker

We were lucky to catch up with Derek Vanderwarker recently and have shared our conversation below.

Derek , we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

In 2013 I suffered a combination of back, hip and lower leg injuries that took me on a multi-year journey to deal with the pain and exhaustion of working with the tangled mess my body had become. Often juggling more than one rehabilitation program at a time, and the frustration of not being able to walk, stand, or sit without being is pain, drove me to find an approach to healing my body and mind and to get off the endless carousel of doctors, physical therapists, LMTs, and acupuncture offices. I knew yoga could be a path in regaining some of the agency and awareness in my body, so I sought out teachers and studios with a focus on alignment and backcare that utilized blocks, chairs, blankets, ropes, belts, and other props to support proper people working through injuries. After spending time with Iyengar teachers in Boulder and Denver I moved back east and enrolled in a 200-hour teacher training program with studio that had a yoga curriculum that focused on how yoga can support acute and chronic back issues. A year or so after completing the program, and after working on my own home practice in combination with physical therapy and weight training, it occurred to me that not enough men do yoga or talk about how it has helped them. I wanted to help raise awareness and remove some of the misconceptions and stigma around the practice so in 2021 I launched the Guys Talking Yoga podcast to offer a platform to share the stories and success men have experienced incorporating you into their lives.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

On Guys Taking Yoga my cohost, Larry Miburn, and we interview men on how they found yoga and how its made an impact on their lives — physically, mentally, spiritually, etc. We consider the platform more than just a podcast we drop every other week. It’s also become a resource and community, and part of what we enjoy most is connecting with other guys who are into yoga and passionate about their practice and encouraging them to keep bringing more men into yoga. Over the last four years we have interviewed lawyers, teachers, doctors, professors, banking executives, yoga instructors, meditation teachers, actors, military veterans and police officers, college and professional athletes including the former enforcer for the Philadelphia Flyers, and just about every type of guy you can imagine. Topics we have hit include how guys found their practice, what drove them to yoga, how its changed their lives, how to start, evolve and grow a yoga practice, the use of props, finding a studio or teacher near them. Our podcast is on most major platforms including, YouTube, Spotify, Apple, Amazon, etc. For more information and recommendations on yoga equipment, books, studios, workshops and teachers, you can find us at www.gtypodcast.com, Instagram (@gtypodcast), and LinkedIn.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

In general, with the headwinds of life coming at you, staying resilient and persistent on your goal, even it seems years away or out of reach is critical to getting through any challenge or obstacle and ultimately going to be your north star when you get hit from all sides. As Victor Fankl summed it, where there’s a will there’s a way. Second, and specifically in developing your yoga practice, start slow and fall in love with the process not the immediate results you desire. It helps to pay attention to where you feel resistance in your practice. If you’re breathing to hard or feeling more challenged that you should be in a pose, back off or make an adjustment so you are at your edge, with a steady breath, and in control. It takes time but eventually you will develop a sense of agency and awareness you never knew you had in you. Lastly, get curious about the body and be a lifelong student until your last breath. At a minimum everyone should have a basic understanding of the muscular anatomy of the lower and upper body – your legs, hips, core, lower back, upper back, arms, shoulders, neck, etc. When you can identify and feel which muscles are working in a pose a mental map will emerge in your mind of the area you are paying attention to and that sense of interoception will follow you off the mat into other aspects of your life.

Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?

My first yoga teacher, Alison West, one of the most respected teachers in yoga today, had an of old school approach to teaching yoga that demanded consistency, commitment, and clarity in addition to being on time, accountable, and specific with both our words and action. Her 200-hour teacher training in 2017-2018 was no joke and I was still working through my lower leg, hip and back issues so I had a lot of doubt and anxiety that I would not get through her demanding program. That teacher training allowed me to regain my confidence, develop my own practice, work through my injuries, and set the course for great stability and mobility in my body. That experience got me over the hump and set me on my path and mission with Larry to help bring yoga to more guys who are missing out on what the practice can do for them.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Photo by Ray Lamoureaux

Suggest a Story: BoldJourney is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems,
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
Resilience
Where do you get your resilience from?

Resilience is often the x-factor that differentiates between mild and wild success. The stories of

Productivity
Beating Burnout

Often the key to having massive impact is the ability to keep going when others

Leadership Development
Finding Your Why

Not knowing why you are going wherever it is that you are going sounds silly,