Citizen Magazine Inner Peace Issue – Doron
Citizen Magazine Inner Peace Issue Interviews Doron
Doron Hanoch spends his days doing what most of us dream of. He is a yoga teacher, who walks the talk. This ex NY photographer talks to us about inner peace, flexibility, spirituality and his soon to be realeased book “The Yoga Lifestyle”.
How has yoga changed your life?
Yoga has been my anchor, my point of sanity. I used to live in NYC, running a photography studio, and it was the practice of yoga and meditation that kept me connected with what is real. I was an artist, a chef, a yoga teacher, things changed, practicing yoga stayed consistent. Health wise, it helped me reduce my asthma symptoms, straightened my spine, and increased my energy. I started feeling like a cat, relaxed but ready for action any time. I got stronger and more flexible, I learned about my body, and started to see the under layers of my mind, which helped soften a bit of the edge I had.
What led you to yoga?
After completing the Israeli military service, I needed answers. Who am I? What does it mean being Israeli, or Jewish. Why am I different than an American or someone else? I took on an adventure, and went to the Far East to find answers. India was my first stop. Meeting a variety of gurus, I was inspired by the way they lived their lives. Some were yoga teachers, but most were spiritual teachers. I stayed in Dharamsala and listened to lectures from the Dalai Lama. I practiced yoga in Rishikesh, and eventually studied Buddhism in Thailand and Japan. Something felt right. I wasn’t sure why at the time, but there was a calling and I had to follow.
You mentioned being a photographer in your pre yoga life. How different is your life today?
I started taking photos while in the military, and kept doing it as I traveled in Asia. Yoga was with me all along. However teaching yoga is different than practicing yoga. Practicing yoga helped me grow, and deal with life as well as myself. It took me a while before I felt I am ready to teach. Maybe it’s because I saw real inspiring teachers in Asia, and they were older, wiser. So I waited, studied and practiced while being an artist. Then at the end of a “teacher training” with Mark Stephens, he offered me to sub his class. That was followed by me teaching while at an art residency and then at Esalen Institute. Teaching somehow came to me, and I followed…
I love the article! It is nice to see unbiased thinking describing the true essence of yoga, while introducing it in a practical way to the average person. It is also a nice insight into your thinking and past. Thank you!
Thanks Gil. Exactly my philosophy – practical ways to live yoga for anyone. Someone asked me today about some classic ways of cleansing in yoga. I choose oil pulling and tongue scraping over swallowing a cloth and trying to control our gag reflex. It should be accessible, other wise it remains theory without practice.
Thank you Doron,
m of meditation, chopping carrots or doing yoga. How we use our mind is what makes it a meditation.” These things are so important because I do it all the time even when I do my walking in the morning. You added: “Then in seated meditation we find stillness beyond the meditation of movement.” There is much more in the article, much more to learn. Thank you.
SARA
I’m sorry but the first part of my comment is missing.So here it is”
I’ve learnt already so many things through this article Especially I liked two parts – when you wrote about the meditation and about having inner peace is the ability to be ok with whatever happens..”.You wrote: Every action in life can be a form of meditation, chopping carrots or doing yoga. How we use our mind is what makes it a meditation.’ These things are so important because I do it all the time even when I do my walking in the morning. You added: Then in seated meditation we find stillness beyond the meditation of movement”. There is much more in the article, much more to learn.Thank you.
SARA
Great interview, thanks for sharing and for your insights!