Brian Hyman is an up-and-coming Los Angeles yoga teacher to watch. He was just named the new yoga ambassador for lululemon Calabasas, and co-taught a charity event this past weekend with all proceeds going to A Place Called Home. Brian teaches at rehabs in Malibu, weaving together 12-step philosophy with yoga. He also has a few public flow classes at Agoura Power of Yoga and Equinox Woodland Hills. Read our Q&A with Brian and get to know him better.
What makes your style of teaching unique?
I have created and teach a unique 12-Step Yoga class that combines 12-Step concepts, principles, and traditions with dynamic movement, conscious breath, and guided meditation.
These classes open, harmonize, and heal areas of the body where men and women in recovery store emotions and feelings. Focus is on the throat (self-expression, lack of trust, confidence), shoulders (burdens, responsibilities), heart (sorrow, grief, loss), pelvis (sexual issues, conditioning), hips (betrayal, abandonment, judgment), and the core (fears, control, relationships).
What's the most frequently asked question you get being a yoga teacher?
Other teachers seem to ask one another who we study with and where we teach. I think this is a good dialogue when all teachings and disciplines are honored.
Students often ask about alignment. Also, when I read poems or book excerpts during class, students will ask about the authors.
What's the strangest thing a student of yours did, said or wore in your class?
Many students share personal details about their lives with me after class and confess truths never before shared. I am humbled that my classes create a space in which students embrace vulnerability and can become truly honest with themselves and others.
What's the most yogically incorrect, or stereotypical thing you do as a yoga teacher?
Most of what I do in class is what I do out of class. This was not always the case, but over the years, I have worked hard to be the same person I am inside and outside of the studio. For example, regardless of where I am, I often fold my hands at my heart and greet others with “Namaste”; I like to walk around barefoot; I listen to kirtan; and I play the harmonium and chant mantras.
Which profession would your alter ego choose and why?
I would be a dancer. I love how the human body moves – sensual, lithe, fluid; heavy, bold, courageous. Being a musician would be cool, too. I love to create sound.
Who or what inspires your practice and your teaching?
My students are my best teachers and help me remain on my own path to wellness, one day a time. They inspire my practice, teachings, and all my endeavors. Also, my teacher Saul David Raye has paved a Bhakti Yoga path that I am honored to follow.
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