“I’m wearing women’s pants right now” Jody Williams tells me. “You can’t find cheap men’s yoga pants but women’s’ stores carry lots. I used to wear gym shorts for yoga, but I tried my ex wife’s yoga pants on one day and  realized they were better.” 

Tank tops and a good headband complete his list of basic yogi clothing. Don’t forget about the mat, though. “I get most of my clothes secondhand, for environmental reasons, and just because it’s cooler to be in unique clothes, but I spend money on a good mat. It can save you from tearing a hamstring, it can save your back.”

Proud fashionista, Jody is an even prouder dad. “It’s the most important thing I do.” His business, Ocean Yoga, is named after his daughter Ocean. Also a chef, he works as the kitchen coordinator at Bridges to Hope Food Pantry.

He left a lucrative job at Mile One cooking for rock stars and having an office for this food bank job, deciding a life of service made him a better person, yogi, and dad, having more family time now and putting his beliefs into practice each day.

A  Buddhist for 20 years, Jody loves the teachings of Chongyam Trungpa, author of Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism, which cautions against confusing feeding the ego with trappings of spirituality for the pursuit of true inner peace.

He’s very proud of his men’s yoga program, a non -competitive and non-judgemental space for men who might be intimidated by yoga to give it a try. “It’s a place for men to get together that isn’t defined by alcohol and sports.”

On the Mat Outfit:

The Living Rock tank top is from a CBS company.  The yoga pants are from Dominion. “Yoga is not about your shape, or about fashion. It’s about cultivating awareness.”

Off the Mat Outfit: 

Stretchy drop waist jeans are perfect for impromptu yoga jams; a scarf and hat dress up a simple grey t shirt. “Getting dressed each day is your chance to be an artist. Be creative, be weird, be yourself. I’ll wear lots of different looks, pretty much anything except pyjama pants in public. I draw the line there.”