Читать книгу Sit Down, Be Quiet: A modern guide to yoga and mindful living - Michael Wong James, Michael James Wong, Майкл Джеймс Вонг - Страница 12

MEET THE BOYS

LES LEVENTHAL

CALIFORNIA

PAIN IN THE ASS. CHURRO EATER. SPORTS JUNKIE. YOGI.

What’s your story? I’m officially a gypsy nomad – I’m American and I taught in San Francisco for a decade and then Bali for over three years, and now I’m teaching all over this amazing world, from Australia to Europe to the Middle East – places that have small communities and need the yoga as well as those crazy, large festivals.

What did you want to be growing up? A gold-medal-winning Olympic swimmer because I was good at it and I was raised to believe that winning equals happiness.

What do you value most in others? The truth – it doesn’t waste anyone’s time.

What does a male yogi look like? Like every man that walks this earth. Guys don’t do yoga because they think it’s light and fairy. Not with me. We’re gonna dig deeper. That’s what we come for, to journey to those places.

What are the biggest stereotypes about guys who do yoga? That they’re only good if the man bun looks just right. Yoga relaxes all those external expectations about what I should look like or sound like as a man doing yoga.

What was the biggest challenge when you started the practice? I was smoking again. I didn’t like who I was. I was back out drinking and using when I found yoga. My negative body image and self-consciousness were raging. So, my biggest challenge was just to stay alive and not do further harm to myself. I’ve had some brushes with suicide and this was not a happy time in my life, and the gift and the challenge was that there was no one for me to lay blame on.

There is hope. Transformation is possible. But I can’t just pray for God to do that for me. I have to put in the work.

@lesleventhalyoga

Read more at boysofyoga.com @boysofyoga