Troy : Somerset Collection

John Vincent

Yoga Shelter

Hey everybody,

My name is John Vincent, or Johnny V if you feel daring. However, this is not about me, its about you. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be here.

I used to have a nice flowing mane of dread-locks, and for some of you, that's all I need to say. I was deep in the use of mind altering substances, pretty much anything that came my way. I am in recovery now thanks to yoga, none of these things define me, and I have found that the power to fly is inside of all of us.

I see that each of our lives is built around a certain belief structure and that each one is different. We all touch, taste, feel, hear and see this world in a unique way that gives us the potential to be individuals. I don't mean we should sit in a room all our lives and think about why everybody is wrong and how much we hate them because they don't agree with us. No way, if we have our own beliefs, that allows us to be creative and work with one another to make this world a better place. As amazing as it already is, the more we experience somebody else's world or their beliefs, it gives us a chance to grow and expand our minds, and oh how beautiful it would be to see all of our worlds collide.

I started my journey as a yogi in late of 2004. At that time, I didn't even know what a warrior pose was, and as far as my individuality extended, you couldn't have picked me out of a crowd. In 2006 I came to the Yoga Shelter to take my first community yoga class and marked the beginning of my new life. I started as a way to quit smoking, and it has been a great success in my life ever since. Now my success as a human being just like all of us has blossomed and become a regular part of life. I have learned so much from working on what I see inside of myself, through great teachers and students, I credit it all to my great love for life. I now have the ability to see this world through my own beliefs and my own individuality. My goal as a yogi is to grow and grow, listening to other people's perceptions and points of view, becoming enlightened on how they interact with me and others until I reach a state of endless knowledge and happiness. Since we can't help anybody if we can't help ourselves, this is my goal as a yoga teacher because I think it would be amazing for everybody to experience this beauty. We are all the yogi, we are all the guru, and I look forward to seeing all of you in class.

From the Yoga Shelter Website: yogashelter.com
http://yogashelter.com/?section=teacher&teacher=44