#58 – Keen on Yoga Podcast with David Roche

David, at 78 looks back over his rich life, already having
outlived his prognosis with a terminal form of cancer. This
episode was therefore extra special for us; deeply poignant and
touching at moments, joyous at others, and, if nothing else,
seriously thought-provoking.


After growing up gay in a Georgia, USA, where it was not a
welcome choice at the time, he escaped from military school
(where his step father sent him – to make him a
man), by faking a broken-jaw in a compulsory boxing match he
was forced to undertake.


From then on, he pursued his main love of dance. Studying under
the foremost disciples of Martha Graham in New York, he became a
professional dancer and then a teacher , finally moving to
Adelaide, Australia where he ran the dance department.


After deciding to marry and have a family, he finally stumbled
upon Ashtanga late in the day – at 48 years old. This
makes him probably one of the oldest teachers ever to achieve
certification. For many years he travelled and taught – he was
one of the first teachers to go on the road, His
teaching incorporates the lessons gleaned from his career as a
dancer, choreographer, and, artist.


More recently, needing to settle down, he headed up the Jois Yoga
Shala in Sydney whilst still visiting Mysore each year for 3
months (up until last year), to study and assist Saraswati teach.
David is a highly sensitive and thoughtful individual, quite
unique to this modern age, and it has been a pleasure to spend
this time with him. We, in fact, recorded this episode twice,
after technical issues got in the way of our first attempt.