- Name: Clayton Horton
- Birth date: 10 September 1965
- Height: 6'2" (188 cm.)
- Weight: 150 lbs. (68 kg.)
- Website: www.greenpathyoga.org
Clayton is originally from Oklahoma, but has since lived in San Diego, San Francisco and, now, Boracay. When he isn't off traveling, that is. He is an Ashtanga yogi and is the Director of Greenpath Yoga. He is also a "kirtan artist, amateur musician, writer, waterman, and world citizen". He boasts that he can give a yoga class in Portuguese.
Ladies, he's single and straight. Although not in these pictures. He's very bendy.
Bhairavasana (Fierce Shiva Pose). Taken at Florianopolis, Brazil in 2000.
Q: So have you always been a bendy person? I mean, were you always flexible? I can't even touch my toes which, I think, is one of the reasons why I am intimidated by yoga.
A: I used to play soccer and train triathlons in my late teens and early 20s, so I used to have tight hamstrings and hips but, after a few years of consistent yoga practice, the stiffness melted away.
Q: How did you get started in yoga? I can understand why girls get into it - but men? I had such a difficult time getting my boyfriend to a class. He went once, then never again. So I'm interested in finding out how a hot-blooded hetero male decides that he wants to do yoga, let alone make a career out of it. How did you get hooked on yoga? If it was for the hot girls, is that enough to sustain an interest in it? What did your family and friends say when you started doing it?
A: When I was 16, I used to get up before sunrise and go to swim practice. We would always stretch before we got into the water, so that was a head start, I guess. Then in college, I began to study Eastern Philosophy. I soon found myself at the college yoga class.
Yes, there were lots of hot girls in the class, and the teacher loved me and always used me as a demo. It was an Iyengar-style yoga class and she suggested that I try Ashtanga yoga. So I tried an Ashtanga workshop and never looked back.
As far as what my friends and family thought as I was getting into yoga, it was not such an issue. Actually, my Mom took me to my first yoga class when I was 21. I knew yoga was cool, so I did not look around for approval. Suddenly, yoga became popular and the rest is history.
Need some help, Clayton? It seems that you are in a bind. Har har. Marichyasana. Taken in Florianopolis, Brazil in 2003.
Q: Tell us more about your yoga journey.
A: My first yoga classes were Hatha yoga at Baron Baptiste’s parents' studio in San Francisco. Later, I studied Iyengar, then Ashtanga in Northern California.
Soon I began to hear all these stories about “Guruji” Pattabhi Jois. All these stories of him and of Mysore. India sounded so mysterious and adventurous.
Guruji, as Sri Pattabhi Jois is known to Ashtanga devotees around the world. (Internet file photo.)
I was at a point in my life where I was looking for a real teacher. I saved up as much money as possible by working as a waiter in restaurants. Then I sold my 1967 VW camper van, and went to India for an indefinite amount of time.
Right before I left for India, I met a mysterious man in Fairfax, California named Greensufi who would, later, end up being my close personal guru, friend and teacher for over 14 years. I met Greensufi and Pattabhi Jois in the same month in 1996.
My first trip to India was for eight months in 1996 to 1997. I spent four months in Mysore, studying at the “old shala” with Guruji and Sharath in Laxmipuram. I stayed at the famous Kaveri Lodge Hotel, in a very small room on the rooftop, where I paid 50 rupees a day for four months.
Studying with Guruji was pretty magical. His smile and his commanding yet compassionate voice was what I remember the most. We would arrive at 4:30 AM to practice at his house. We would ride our bikes to escape from packs of wild dogs running around the streets of Mysore.
I got so sick on that trip, I actually thought I was going to die. But I survived. I went back home to California when I ran out of money and, slowly, started teaching yoga thereafter.
Q: What is the biggest obstacle that you've had to hurdle in becoming a yogi?
A: The biggest obstacle that I had to hurdle in becoming a yogi was learning about and experimenting with bramacharya (celibacy). In my early 30s, this was very difficult.
Being a student of the Greensufi for 14 years was actually one of the most difficult things for me, ever. Have you heard of a Tiger Mom? He was a Tiger Guru - pushing me, encouraging me, not letting me “sleep”, as he would say. He was kicking my ass all the time. Busting my ego right and left. Behind every good yogi is an amazing guru. I have so much gratitude for his presence in my life.
Q: I hope you didn't think you could just casually drop the word "celibacy" and leave it at that. Of course I have to ask you more about it. How long did you practice bramacharya?
A: I'm not telling.
Q: Fine. Is it necessary to becoming a good yogi?
A: Sexual energy and your vital pranic energy are one and the same. It is difficult to do your practice, as well as many other things, if you don't have enough energy.
Q: Ah, that would explain a lot of things...
You mentioned doing a lot of sports when you were young. Are there any other sports you engage in now?
A: As a kid and teenager, I played American football, soccer, golf, tennis, and I was captain of my high school swim team.
Surfing and swimming are my loves. I took some kitesurfing lessons in Boracay. Maybe I will pick it up permanently when I am an old man. <laughs>
Vishwamtitrasana. Taken in Boracay in 2009.
Q: I know you're a pescetarian. How long have you been one and why?
A: Actually, I am vegetarian. I've been a vegetarian since I started practicing yoga, which was in the late 80s.
Sometimes, I eat some fish. I don’t eat fish that are endangered – or fish that I think may have come from a source that trolls the bottom of the ocean and kills other species.
Eating a lot of meat keeps your mind heavy, and consciousness at a low frequency.
To live on a vegetarian diet skillfully, meaning, eating the right combination of foods for you, can be very beneficial. Some individuals and cultures are actually quite uneducated, fearful and inexperienced when it comes to an Earth-friendly, plant-based diet.
Experiment with vegetarianism and see what happens.
Q: <gulps> So you think any true devotee of yoga must really give up red meat?
A: Most accomplished spiritual adepts eat a light and plant-based diet.
The livestock industry is the largest contributor of global greenhouse gas that is causing global warming. The livestock industry is also a very locally toxic and cruel business.
For those living in super cold climates, like the Eskimos, they should stay with eating fish and deer for their survival. In other areas, like the Philippines, vegetarian, vegan and raw food diets are quite accessible. But, if you are going to experiment with such diets, follow the advice and guidance of someone who is thriving on such a diet.
Body types, blood types, culture and climate must be taken into consideration when designing a diet that works for you.
Q: <skeptical> Have you ever had foie gras?
A: Yes, years ago. My parents used to have a French restaurant in Oklahoma.
Q: And you never get a craving for burgers?
A: No.
Q: Is there one thing you're abstaining from that you'd really, really love to have again?
A: Not that I can think of.
Q: And this is why you are a yogi and I am just, well, me.
Let's go back to the bendy question. How long did it take before you reached the kind of flexibility that you have now? I ask because I wonder if there is hope for me to be able to do a decent front bend.
A: It took about two years of consistent practice to be as bendy as I am now.
Q: And how long before you could do a jump-back and jump-through?
A: About six months or a year of regular Ashtanga practice.
Q: That's a lot of commitment.
'See, I have next-to-zero upper body strength and a stiff lower back and hamstrings, but I've always wanted to be able to do Ashtanga properly and it can be discouraging when everyone is performing super human feats and I can barely touch my shins...
Yeah, kinda like that. Pasasana (Noose Pose). Taken in Florianopolis, Brazil in 2000.
A: You need a lot of help and love. <laughs>
Everyone has to start with where they are - with humility, self-acceptance and non-judgement. Commit to a regular practice and go for it. Team up with some girlfriend to inspire each other, have a crush on that hot new yoga teacher in town, make a bet with your boyfriend who can go to class the most. Whatever it takes.
But be gentle with yourself. Many people come to Ashtanga and attack it like a sport or a career. This can be very dangerous because it is a very strong practice, like playing with fire. I know you love extremes so find a good teacher that can guide you appropriately and who is not afraid to say, “Gai, chill – come back tomorrow, that’s enough for today.”
Q: Right. I wouldn't worry too much about that. So, how many times a week should one practice?
A: Two to three times a week, then take it to three to five.
Q: Which instructors or yoga shalas can you recommend in Manila?
A: Urban Ashram, Stillpoint, Ekagrata Sala, I Go Beyond Yoga, Bliss, Yoga Manila are some studios that I have worked with and trust.
I am happy to see yoga exploding here in Manila. It is like 2002 in San Francisco when new studios were popping up all over town.
Q: We've had this conversation before but, for the sake of this interview, could you please tell us how it is that you ended up on our shores? It must have been around the time I stopped doing yoga (I was practicing with Bela Lipat). Tell us how you came to the Philippines and why you've stayed. Are you learning Tagalog or any of our other languages?
A: I am learning a few Tagalog words here and there. "C.R." [abbreviation for "comfort room", meaning "toilet"] and "sarap" ["delicious"]. <laughs>
In 2004, I met Bela Lipat in Mysore, when I was studying with Guruji and Sharath. She invited me to Manila to teach the next time I was passing through Asia on my way to India from San Francisco. So my first visit to the Philippines was to teach at Bela's Sai Shanti Shala in San Lorenzo Village, Makati, in 2005.
At my workshops there, I met some key and amazing people: Hoze [Arando], Mo-ching [Yip], and the old Yoga Manila crew.
I went to Boracay on that trip, to stay and teach at Mandala Spa. I was spellbound and hypnotized by the beauty and vibe of Boracay and ended up coming back every year and staying for longer periods of time.
I love the Philippines, and I look forward to traveling all around the country and seeing and experiencing as much of it as possible.
Padmasana (Lotus Pose). Taken in Boracay in 2009.
***
If you'd like to practice with Clayton, these are some of the places where you will find him this year. He's a very busy man.
- Purple Valley Retreat Center in Goa, India from March 31 to April 13.
- FLOW SurfYogaSamba in Baler, Philippines from April 28 to 30.
- Month-long course for dedicated students and teachers in Boracay. From May 6 to June 1.
- Shenzhen, China from June 16 to 20.
- Pure Yoga in Hong Kong from July 20 to 22.
- European summer: Austria, Holland and Germany.
- Clayton has also been teaching in yoga studios around Manila. For his full calendar, please see http://www.greenpathyoga.org/www.greenpathyoga.org/Calendar.htm