Vinyasa, Restorative, Yin, & 200-Hour Teacher Training Faculty
Matthew Bowman
He/Him
Matt Bowman is a professional dancer and 200-Hour Yoga Alliance Registered Teacher. Before completing his yoga teacher training (YTT) in 2017 at the Source Energy Yoga Studio in Lakewood, Ohio, Matt earned his BFA in Dance at The Ohio State University from 2011 to 2015. Matt has completed additional trainings in Restorative Yoga. As a former full-time company member with the Dancing Wheels Company for six seasons, Matt has also learned how to adapt dance, yoga, workouts, and other somatic practices to individuals with disabilities of all kinds, in keeping with Dancing Wheels’ mission of promoting physically integrated dance.
Matt teaches several styles of yoga, including vinyasa flow, slow flow, and powerful vinyasa flow, slow deep stretch, and restorative yoga. He's also an integral part of the Danja Yoga 200-Hour Teacher Training program serving as both a facilitator and mentor. He has considerable experience teaching adaptive or accessible yoga classes from his time teaching for and directing the School of Dancing Wheels. Always seeking to further his pedagogic practice, Matt allows his dance training to inform the flow of his classes with fluid and dynamic sequencing. While knowing how to utilize and challenge the full range of an individual’s physical facility in class, Matt also understands as a teacher that a solid foundation is important to a sound practice, and so he encourages students to try new things, repeat what they don’t like, and aim for balance in all aspects of their self—yoga practice included.
In 2016 I moved to Cleveland to dance full-time with a professional, touring dance company. As a complimentary practice to dancing, I began concentrating on my yoga practice. I realized that I wanted to share the way yoga made me feel with the rest of the world, and participating in my 200 hour yoga teacher training was the first step in that journey.
I am a Yoga Alliance 200 hour Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT), and hold an additional certification in Restorative Yoga.
I like to remind my students that each time they visit an asana in practice, it is an opportunity to experience that pose deeper than the last time they practiced it. Practicing on autopilot means that they might miss many of the finer details—even if it’s something invisible, like a new energetic sensation—whereas practicing mindfully can provide a new experience each time.
My favorite yoga pose at this time is Virabhadrasana B (Warrior 2) because the pose allows me to feel simultaneously grounded and strong while being open and continuing to grow in all directions.
My favorite yoga related reading is The Book of Chakra Healing by Liz Simpson. While not all-encompassing in terms of chakra knowledge, I appreciate the variety of exercises it provides, meditative practices related to each chakra, and the focus on well-being coming from our living as an integrated whole self.
Most people might not know that I am an excellent cook. Feeding friends and loved ones good food makes me happy!