Matt Dressler

Born nearby in Canton, Matt spent his earlier years growing up in Northern Virginia and Columbus, Ohio — making his way to Brunswick, Ohio in 2010 where he currently resides with his wife, Dara.

Matt’s yoga journey began about 9 years ago when a back injury on Christmas Eve left him couch bound with little to no movement during the Holidays. “After a few physical therapy appointments, I learned which movements triggered my spasms and which helped stabilize my lower back.”

Observing that many of the exercises prescribed to him were yoga related, Matt began following along to yoga DVDs and YouTube classes. “My wife, Dara, noticed the positive changes in both my physical and mental health and decided to try an in-studio class. That inspired me to overcome my shyness and start attending in studio classes as well.”

See Matt's Schedule

What’s Your Favorite Asana?

“Chair pose. It helps to wake up every muscle in our legs. I call it the fountain of youth pose. Chair is my energy level meter. When we hold our first chair in practice, it allows me to gauge how much endurance and strength my body has and I’m able to adjust my intensity for the rest of the practice accordingly.”

What inspired you to become a yoga teacher?

“I wanted to challenge my social anxiety with exposure therapy through the safety of the teacher training course at Modern Yoga. Also, I enjoy the physical challenge that yoga can bring but I don’t want to just do it, I want to live in it. My mind can wander, but when I have a class to teach, I can corral the thoughts and the things I’ve learned recently and use them generatively towards my next yoga class.”

What is one piece of advice for your students?

“Your yoga class can be relaxing, meditative, social, therapeutic, and/or physically challenging. When you want to challenge yourself, do it in a way that you could practice the next day and the day after that. If you decide to rest in child’s pose or come out of a pose that doesn’t feel right, just do it and don’t talk yourself out of your decision.”

What inspires you to get on your mat?

“Knowing that my body will be more adaptable to my daily movements and more accepting of good rest. My mind will also be more at ease after taking time out of the day for myself.”

What other passions do you have (outside of yoga)?

“Many of my passions developed after getting passionate about yoga. Before yoga it was television and my pets. Now, I enjoy hiking, backpacking, camping, fishing and traveling. I’ve recently added running and softball to that list as well.”

Do you have a favorite yoga related book/podcast?

“Light on Yoga by B.K.S. Iyengar and
The Body Keeps Score by Bessel van der Kolk.”

What is something most people don’t know about you?

“I can wiggle my ears! I watched a lot of three stooges as a child and wanted to wiggle my ears like Curly could (not realizing they used invisible strings to make his ears move). I would sit and try for hours to move my ears…and then one day, I could!”

“I also just completed the motorcycle training course and received my license to ride over the summer. I am hoping to purchase a motorcycle in the next year or so (after researching the perfect one!).”