Yogaland Podcast23 Heinä 2025

From Opera to Om: Matthew Shaw on Mental Health, Reinvention, and the Power of Retreats

This week my guest is Philadelphia-based yoga teacher, Matthew Shaw. Matthew joined the Jason Crandell Yoga Method team as our Lead Teacher Training Mentor this year and has been a longtime student of Jason's.

What I didn't know until a few weeks ago is that Matthew spent 20 years in a previous life as a successful opera singer, performing on major stages across Europe—including Germany, Austria, and Hungary.

In this conversation, Matthew shares how, in the second half of his career, just as he was really taking off, anxiety and depression decided to tag along. He talks openly about imposter syndrome, how he found solace through yoga and Western meds (you know I love my meds so I'm here for it!) and how his whole journey lead him to where he is today.

We spend the second half of the conversation focused on retreats, why they are so vital, and how he creates intentional, supportive spaces for his students to both adventure and reset.

We talk about:

Why success didn’t solve his self-doubt—in fact, it made it worse
The cultural pressures of perfectionism in classical performance
His transition to becoming a yoga teacher and community builder
The joy he finds leading yoga retreats around the world
Why retreats offer so much more than a temporary escape—and how they can ripple outward to impact our daily lives

You can find shownotes here: yogalandpodcast.com/episode362

We've got two YTT events coming up! Module II of Jason's 300-hour begins August 20th. You can get all of the details and join us here: jasonyoga.com/300

And if you are considering becoming a yoga teacher, join our 200-hour waitlist! I will send you details and interesting content as well as details about the training. Get all the info here: jasonyoga.com/200

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/yogaland.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tämä jakso on lisätty Podme-palveluun avoimen RSS-syötteen kautta eikä se ole Podmen omaa tuotantoa. Siksi jakso saattaa sisältää mainontaa.

Jaksot(444)

Boat Pose Is Not an Ab Exercise

Most yoga teachers cue Full Boat Pose as an abdominal exercise. It isn't — and once you understand why, you'll also discover Low Boat Pose: the most underused core exercise in yoga.Full Boat Pose (Par...

9 Kesä 14min

The Real Reason Your Hamstrings Are Still Tight — A Mobility Breakdown for Teachers & Students

Most people assume tight hamstrings are a stretching problem. They're not. Hamstring tightness is almost always multifactorial, which means the solution requires a broader range of strategies — not mo...

2 Kesä 17min

Yoga Teachings That Have Endured — 10 Years and 8 Million Downloads Later

Wow wow wow -- it's been 10 years since the launch of Yogaland! It feels like it's been a heartbeat and also a lifetime. There's been so much learning, growth, and love while making these episodes for...

20 Touko 1h 2min

Instability and Love: A Conversation About Family, Addiction, and Recovery

This week's podcast is such a special one because it focuses on our family. Jason sits down with his brother, Todd, to talk about growing up together, the chaos of addiction within family, anxiety, se...

9 Touko 1h 45min

What Science Actually Says About Getting More Flexible — No Cherry Picking

As yogis, we’re certainly aware of the many benefits of stretching — but are you aware of what the research actually says about how to stretch effectively? Or how to evaluate that research honestly? O...

21 Huhti 27min

Yoga(ish): Moon Joy, the Overview Effect, and Why Astronauts Sound Like Meditators

What happens when two yoga teachers fall down a NASA rabbit hole and can't stop thinking about non-duality, The Overview Effect, and Grandmother Moon? This episode of Yoga-ish — our more personal, les...

15 Huhti 44min

Why Community Matters for Yoga Teachers

If you've ever felt lonely as a yoga teacher — you're not alone. And that's exactly what this week's podcast is about. Teaching yoga is one of the most isolating jobs most people never see coming. You...

13 Huhti 16min

The Four Factors That Actually Control Your Flexiblity

You've been told to stretch more. You've tried the releases, the routines, the one weird trick. And you're still not as flexible as you want to be. Here's why: flexibility isn't one thing — it's four....

13 Huhti 34min