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.

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