Podcast – Mindful Chat #2
I’m Down to Flow with Dyl
Written by Ségolène
Hello lovely Voices and welcome to your first Mindful Chat!
This month, every Wednesday, you’ll be able to listen to a special episode, where I’m bringing on a guest for a little chat. A conversation, something fairly informal and cozy.
Today, I have the pleasure of sharing with you a conversation I had with Dyl Salamon, co-founder of the online Yoga Studio Down to Flow at Home, and Down to Flow Escapes.
We started off by looking back to the events of last year, where with the first lockdown, the Yoga and Fitness industry had to adjust in order to survive.
But I also wanted to know more about what pushed someone who came from “the lift & gains” background to move towards Yoga? And how this transition was experienced from a man’s point of view.
You make what you want from Yoga
During our very colourful and earnest chat, I started to get the idea of what perhaps Dyl found in Yoga. A sense of freedom, of challenge. A loving and supporting community.
But had you told him 5 or 6 years ago that he’d become a full yoga teacher, set up an online studio, plan retreats, lead meditations and promote the importance of wellness and mindfulness in the corporate world through Hasta… he wouldn’t have believed you.
I met Dyl Salomon a few years back, as I trained at the same gym he PT and coached at.
His training regime, and that of his clients was very much focusing on lifting, calisthenics, crossfit… And then one day, as I walked in, I saw that he’d be running his own
Yoga for Lifting class.
It was about showing a different group of people, how beneficial Yoga could be:
– To open up your shoulders,
– To strengthen your hip
– To move better. In a way that fuels all realms of your life.
The “Origin Story” of this Yobility-Master is one for the books… And for this alone, you should listen to him tell his story.
“You make what you want from Yoga. Whatever people want to take from it, if that’s improving them, then that’s bloody awesome!“
This is definitely about Yoga. And it’s also definitely not about Yoga. And Dyl’s perspective is very clear: whatever makes you happy, gets you feeling good in you body, feeling happy – then keep on keeping on!
There is no path that’s better than the other. Not a class that surpasses all. There is not something you should ONLY do. Or if there is, then it’s just DOING YOU.
And that’s what Dyl and his partner teach and encourage at Down To Flow.
From faking his way into his first 200 hour Yoga training, to creating his own studio with partner Molly, to confronting the hypocrisy and “yoga-justice-fighters” on social media: Dyl’s path is unique. His word, dead honest. His language direct, and not sugar-coated.
A keen mover, Dyl connected straight away to the more about the anatomical and the practical movement side of things. And while chakras, kundalini and emotions were originally on the menu for him, he admits jokingly “falling into the yoga trap”. And it didn’t take long before he was ready to open the door to vulnerability.
And, on the topic of vulnerability, and encouraging / teaching men to embrace this part of life, Dyl shared a few words which resonated deeply for me:
“It’s still a long way to get men to really push and put the work in to try and find their vulnerability, also because, it’s not readily found.”
I think it true. It’s not readily found. You have to, yes, put in the work, as in all things. But as importantly, you have to accept the experience. You have to give yourself permission to feel it all: the good, the bad, the random, the ugly.
And then, within this experience, crack the shell open and share. Share what you see, how you see it. What you feel, what you chose and why. This could inspire someone else, lighten your load, or simply, create a deeper connection with someone that matters.
Now, a couple of questions to get your brain and your heart going:
What does vulnerability mean to you?
How will you find and express yours?
There’s no wrong answer, so go ahead and give it a try in the way that feels right for you.
Ségolène
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