Finding Purpose

By Steve Szakal

May 29, 2025

Thirteen years ago I was sitting on my couch feeling broken and beat up. I

felt I needed to do something to make me feel better. I don’t know why but I

stood up, put on my shoes and ran up the road. I think I ran two miles that

day. My mind felt clear and my lungs and legs felt like they were on fire. A

thought came to me that maybe I needed to do something hard. running

seemed the most simple and easy thing to do. I would train for a marathon.

The Philadelphia Marathon was a year away and I started my training on

that day with that two mile run. Over the next few months I would put my

body through hell. I had no idea what I was doing and suffered every injury

you can possibly have as a new runner. I ran a half marathon about 6

months into my training and the next day I couldn’t walk. I needed to

replace running with something hard and I knew there was a hot yoga

studio near my house. I signed up for the class and had no idea it was a

Bikram Yoga. If I was looking for something hard to replace running I

definitely found it. The heat was almost unbearable but I managed to get

through that first class just like I got though that first run. This was the start

of my love for yoga.

I Practiced yoga regularly and also took my running to the next level. I ran

several marathons and then got into ultra running. I have run seven 100

milers in the last ten years and many other distances in races all over the

country. Yoga and ultra running began to merge into this singular mindful

practice. Six years ago I felt like I needed to have more purpose in my life.

I’ve always loved giving advice to other runners and I loved to talk about

yoga. I suddenly felt like I needed to teach. I asked a favorite teacher of

mine if she would train me. Over the next few months she trained me to

teach the Bikram sequence. I started teaching at the studio that I first

walked into a few years earlier. For the first time in my life I felt like I was

doing something that mattered. I taught as much as a could to hone my

craft.

I took a Vinyasa training and started teaching that along with Bikram. My

life was essentially yoga and running. It was becoming my identity and for

the first time I felt like I knew who I was. My life changed when I was given

a yoga book called Ghosh Yoga. It was a book of postures written by Ida Jo

and Scott Lamps. I recognized many of the postures from the Bikram

sequence but there were so much more. I practiced all the postures and

began to teach them in the way they instructed in the book. A few years

later they would hold a 200hr Foundational Teacher Training. It was an

incredible experience and I learned so much from them. I learned how to

communicate effectively and speak clearly so my students can safely

perform the postures. Upon completing that training I started teaching

classes based on their system. The way they taught felt very natural to me.

It was a simple way to teach yoga. A year later I would take their 300hr

Advanced Teacher Training. This training was very demanding and

challenged me in ways I have never experienced. We went deep into

meditation and pranayama breathing along with learning advanced physical

postures. This training changed my personal practice and my teaching

forever. My teaching is now based on what I can take away not what I can

add on. The art of subtraction is a very important part of my philosophy

around yoga. My class is now very simple and direct. We begin with

pranayama breathing exercises to connect the mind with the breath and

body. The physical postures come next and I only teach movements that

are functional and simple. The physical postures will not only improve your

strength and mobility but the act of being still will strengthen your mind. I

end my classes with mindful breathing and meditation. I want my students

to experience yoga the way its described in the Yogic Texts.

I am teaching at this years festival on Saturday and Sunday. I am having

my “Expanding Your Practice” workshop. In this workshop for all levels you

will learn how to focus your mind and body in a simple way that will enable

you to turn inwards and maybe discover something new about yourself. I

grew up in the Scranton and have lived in the Philly area for 25 years. It is

a great honor to teach in my hometown. Hopefully I will see you at Montage

Mountain.