First introduced to Bikram yoga while working for Akamai Technologies in the early 2000s, Derek Vanderwarker was initially impressed by the physical experience of the ninety-minute, one hundred-degree studio practice: the heat and sweat made for a quick fix after a long weekend of unhealthy choices and helped keep the pounds off. But it wasn’t until sixteen years later when he returned to yoga to untangle the leg, hip, and back injuries that had dogged him for nearly five years, that his practice began to have purpose. In 2021 he launched Guys Talking Yoga, a podcast designed to inspire men to consider the practice of yoga as a door into a better way of living by sharing the stories of other men and the benefits they have experienced along the way.

Derek is a 500-hour certified yoga instructor who did his 200-hour training with Alison West and 300-hour training with Jason Crandell. He is the creator and host of the Guys Talking Yoga podcast.

Book mentioned in this episode: One Simple Thing: A New Look at the Science of Yoga and How It Can Transform Your Life by Eddie Stern.