Читать книгу Sit Down, Be Quiet: A modern guide to yoga and mindful living - Michael Wong James, Michael James Wong, Майкл Джеймс Вонг - Страница 11

MEET THE BOYS

JASE TE PATU

NEW ZEALAND

WORDSMITH. WARRIOR. P.L.A.Y.ER. YOGI.

What’s your story? I’m from humble beginnings. I was raised with my younger bro by my grandparents. My parents split when I was two years old. I only met my mum in 2014. Not knowing your real parents creates some pretty deep self-belief from a young age. I was raised in both the Māori and Anglo-Saxon ways, as my grandparents were native speakers and steeped in the traditional ways of our indigenous people. I was encouraged to try anything and everything. My ‘A-type’ personality meant I achieved quite a lot at a young age. I represented New Zealand in three sports and won a scholarship to school.

All of those achievements left me exhausted, though. I remember being at my 40th birthday and my friend said to me, ‘What are you good at now?’ I realised I had been DOING life rather than BEING it! Two years later and I’m enjoying life much more, having taken my foot off the pedal – more yin and less yang!

What do you most value in others? I admire ‘presence’ in a person. That to me is true connection, true yoga off the mat. Please put your iPhone/iPad/laptop down before you talk to me. I will give you my full attention if you give me yours.

What would make you skip practice? If the All Blacks are playing, I’m out. I’m in front of my mate’s big screen, losing my voice, yelling the house down – shameless!

What advice would you give to someone stepping onto the mat for the first time? Breathe and drop the judgement. We land on our mat with so many expectations – of ourselves, of the teacher. Once we drop the judgement, we are able to be completely in the body and breath.

Which pose do you really hate? Gomukhasana (Cow Face pose). Trying to wrap these big Māori Rugby legs into that posture is not ideal.

People think that, as a guy, I’ll be less interested in the traditional philosophies and prefer doing handstands. When I speak about the Gita or Patanjali’s Sutras or teach a Yin class, people lean in to listen to what I have to say. There’s more to this guy than my tattoos, muscles, handstands and splits.

@warriorjase

Read more at boysofyoga.com @boysofyoga