Cheating, Divorce, and Yoga bags?

Paul thomas here the founder and designer behind mantisyoga ( I purposefully left no space between the words.. Reminds me of Sanskrit)

I wanted to fill you in a bit about myself.  Hopefully, not too much information, but I wanted to share a bit more of the story with you on how I got into yoga/teaching yoga and why I started designing yoga bags.

I started practicing yoga in 2011 after what I call a life crisis hit me unexpectedly when I found out that my at the time wife of 10 years and mom to our 3 kids had been having an 2 year affair with a “friend” of mine and in fact was pregnant with his baby-Whoops!  Bam!

Needless to say this news brought me to my knees and I felt as though the entire world around me and everything I “believed” in and  worked for completely was destroyed.

I won’t go into all the details- Dang, there are so many… Maybe, another time we can get into that… For now I will just say… at times I thought Jerry Springer was gonna call me to get his show back.

After feeling totally sick for about a month I decided I needed to do something and sought out therapy by calling around after about the 5th call I connected with Becca from Metta (http://www.mindfulnessutah.com/becca-peters/)and something on the phone just felt welcoming and right.

I did not know it at the time (Her Mindfulness Center did not exist back then) but Becca is a therapist whose beliefs and philosophies are steeped in Buddhism and yogic practices.  At that time in 2011, I had no idea what Yoga was other then the one time I tried it on a P90X video in my family room.

Rebecca took one look at me and said you need MOVEMENT will you try yoga?

I replied I will try anything to feel better, she said I needed to practice self-care and go to yoga ~ I went that day at my Gym and did “Gym Yoga”.  After the practice I had a feeling of relief that I could not describe. I went back again and again and never stopped at certain points during the 2 year divorce and custody and court battles- I found myself practicing Bikram yoga six times a week.  The heat and the structure of that class at that time was the only thing that kept my mind present and focused and made me feel light and begin to feel whole again…

Some nights I could not sleep- So I would drive to the Bikram Studio and sleep in the parking lot so that I can go to the 6 AM yoga class.

Up until that point in my life I had never found any place where I was fully accepted and fully supported by the yoga people this feeling that was cultivated and sense of community was amazing… I will never forget the one time I was in Camel Pose and I fell out crying, left the room and fell to the foor of the lobby in a sweaty hot mess sobbing. The girl behind the front desk picked me up and gave me a big hug… A total stranger hugging me when I was dripping buckets of sweat, balling.  That Hug made me feel soo good and relieved. Who does that? I thought? Yogis do that I told myself.

I wanted to become a yogi- I even remember googling “What is a Yogi” “How do I become a Yogi” Do I need to eat Kale and drink Kombucha I thought? Humm. Both of which I like now. Ha!

I began to immerse myself in yogic philosophies and books. “Meditations from the Mat” by Rolf Gates became my daily go to. Then the point came where I decided I wanted  to take a teacher training to learn more about yoga my first 200hr 1 month long training was at the Pavones Yoga Center in Pavones,Costa Rica. 2013

We practiced and learned Kirpalu based Hatha and Yin Yoga and meditation with a focus on multi dimensional yoga training in the jungles and ocean scapes  of Pavones and it was amazing.

I later took classes at Baptiste yoga studios in Park city Utah and loved the vigor and feeling of empowerment the practice gave me.   I decided to take a Baptiste level one training since then I have taken Baptiste level one level two and the art of assisting in February of 2017 and I’m well on my way to getting my  Baptiste certification. That being said I love and respect all forms of yoga and I’m curious about every type that is available.

Baptiste yoga taught me to “let go or be dragged” and taught me to forgive and move on and to remember that you are not your past! and you get to choose to stand in front of your past and let it be.

During this time of my “Call to Practice”( Why the Sling I designed is called this) and self growth I began to notice what yogis were using to carry their gear around. I looked around and noticed that the bag  solutions for yogis were, well, kinda lame.

Having observed this lack of really functional stylish yoga carry gear, I wanted to share my expertise in designing bags with other yogis.  I knew that I could make products that would enhance people’s ability to incorporate yoga into their everyday lives, as well as make traveling to yoga destinations easier.  Designing bags for yoga would also give me the opportunity to hopefully make a living doing something I feel passionate about, something that inspires me.

However, that meant that I would have to become a part of the “yoga industry”, an industry that sometimes seems to be in conflict with the basic teachings of yoga.  We can all agree that practicing yoga isn’t about having more “stuff”.  Do we really even need mats to practice?   The truth is that you can practice yoga anywhere, with only yourself, your breath, and a solid connection to the earth.

That said, we must consider the demands of “Modern Life”.  Many of us seek out yoga to bring calm and still to our hectic lives.  We do use tools and products to help us incorporate yoga into our days and weeks.   As I thought about this, I knew that if I was going create a product, it had to be high quality and durable.  I would be creating something that would last a lot longer than pair of spandex pants or a tank top… Damn, ALO is asking like $150.00 for a pair of pre-ripped leggings.

Anyways, If having a well made bag stashed in your car that’s stocked with all your yoga essentials means that you’ll be able to make that 5:30pm class right after work, then that bag has served a really important purpose.  If you have just the right duffel to pack for your next yoga retreat or teacher training, that bag is also serving a greater purpose.  If your sweaty yoga cloths and towels are protected in a washable portable sleeve, well, that’s just better for everyone.

In hind sight this brand was in the back of my mind during these years of attending teacher trainings, yoga festivals like Wanderlust and of course while attending  yoga classes at different yoga studios in my own area as well as around the country.

It was thru this series of aha moments and I began to sketch out concepts and ideas and began to proto-type some of my concepts and ideas so the products that you see today really started and 2011 but through a series of twists and turns I had to put my ideas and concepts on the back burner untill  December of 2017, I finally got out of my own way and decided that the time was NOW to create something that will allow me to share my own personal passion of yoga and bag design with the yogic community that I love and first and for most create Mantisyoga as a means to give back to beautiful organizations like the Africa Yoga Project  (https://www.africayogaproject.org/) which contribute back to the greater good of the planet by creating global well being leaders in and around Africa thru the power of YOGA!

So, it is with much Gratitude to the Power of Yoga that I launched this brand called~ mantisyoga and its first product offering the “MANIFEST SERIES”

Here is to self love, self healing and self growth and self awareness. Here is to taking care of yourself first so you can radiate that out and help take care of others around you and rediate that out into your relationships, your communities and ultimately the world!  and above all here is to the practice of yoga! all 8 limbs of it!

Thank you for taking the time to read this and I humbly ask you to check out mantisyoga and our Kickstarter campaign below.

https://kck.st/2qCYreD

We will create the gear to help you go on the yogic journey!

Lots of love,
Paul Thomas
Founder/Designer/Student of Yoga
[email protected]
www.mantisyoga.com
 

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