March 29, 2023

59: Dylan Bernstein: Maximizing Mental and Physical Wellness Through Yoga and Other Eastern Practices

59: Dylan Bernstein: Maximizing Mental and Physical Wellness Through Yoga and Other Eastern Practices
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Are you looking to improve your mental health and overall sense of wellbeing? Focusing on deep breathing and gentle poses through the practice of yoga may help!

On this podcast, we love to go beyond medication and cognitive behavioral therapy and other traditional modalities in exploring approaches to managing mental wellness.

In this encore episode of Untether Your Life, we discuss yoga as a mental health management tool. To help educate us and our audience, we have invited one of the practice’s preeminent voices, Dylan Bernstein. Nikhil and Dylan met in middle school at Maumee Valley Country Day School in Toledo, Ohio in 1989. This is where Dylan was introduced to yoga and meditation at age 14, from their favorite teacher Jenny Barthold. Since then, he has called upon these practices to engage the body, still the mind, and seek more subtle expressions of self.

He has gone on to teach classes, workshops, retreats, and teacher training in Hong Kong, Istanbul, Bali, and other locations worldwide.

While all physical exercise plays a role in improving your mental health, yoga is particularly helpful as it incorporates breathwork and meditation to help quiet the mind.

Tuning in today, you’ll learn more about Ashtanga yoga, the self-directed practice of Mysore, and some of the ​​benefits of yoga and meditation for not only your physical health but your mental and emotional wellbeing too!

Ultimately, Dylan believes that yoga is for everyone, not just Instagram models in designer yoga pants or devout yogis who can twist themselves into seemingly impossible poses. It’s all about owning your health and doing what works for you, and we hope that this episode will inspire you to do just that.

Topics discussed in this episode:

  • The value of having a good teacher
  • Insight into Dylan’s yoga journey, which began when he was in high school
  • The surprising role Indian comic books played in inspiring his first trip to India
  • How Dylan learned to follow his bliss – as per Joseph Campbell
  • Why he believes that education is key to your personal foundation
  • How the pandemic influenced his practice and brought philosophy to the fore
  • Sacrifice, gratitude, practice, and detachment: what yoga means to Dylan
  • Breath and pose in the practice of Ashtanga
  • Why yoga is often misunderstood as a physical, acquisitive practice
  • An understanding of the self-directed approach of Mysore
  • Dylan’s thoughts on the commercialization of yoga
  • Going beyond the cookie-cutter solutions of medication and cognitive therapy
  • Benefits of yoga and meditation for your mental, physical, and emotional wellbeing
  • How to start your yoga journey, starting with finding a good teacher!

You can stay up to date with Dylan by following him on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠Facebook⁠! You can also check out his ⁠website⁠ or reach out to him directly at ⁠dylanyo@gmail.com⁠

Connect with Nikhil to learn more about his various initiatives:

⁠Instagram⁠⁠

⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠

⁠Twitter⁠⁠

⁠Facebook⁠

⁠Website⁠

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