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Dylan Zukowski
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Hi there! Dylan here! Thanks for dropping by!
Being that you've made it all the way to this page, I'm guessing you want to know a bit more about me, my journey, how I came to yoga, and what makes me think that I'm qualified to teach you anything.
All very valid inquiries, let me assure you.
But it may take a bit, so bear with me.
Once upon a time...
I'm kidding!
I suppose that we can start in the beginning. Or the semi-beginning anyway.
The beginning-beginning would be my very first kind of yoga class taught on the TV during PE in high school, but that's boring and mostly irrelevant.
What's important is to know that I did play soccer, once upon a time. From 9 years old to 16 years old. I rode horses. I swam at the beach. I was never a super fit child, but I was active enough.
From 16 on, I lost that. I started working and didn't want to go to soccer practice.
I got sick and lost a lot of weight, to which everyone looked at me and commented about how shallow my cheeks were. I remember saying to myself: "I don't think I look that much different. Was I just really fat and no one told me?"
Then I went to college, and you know what happens in college. The Freshman 15. Well, I didn't quite put that on in one year, but I did make it back up to my pre-illness weight by the time I was 20.
Then I moved to France. I turned 21. I started drinking all the beer and eating all the baguettes without a care in the world. (Please go enjoy the baguettes. They're fabulous. No gripe against the baguettes. Or the beer for that matter, though French beer is not the greatest to be honest. Try Belgian.)
I moved home to finish college. Continued drinking all the sangria and eating all of the carne asada fries.
What is a calorie? I couldn't have told you.
My roommate taught me how to sauté spinach. I was 22. This was my life.
Bartending, drinking, eating, sleeping, tanning, and an occasional youtube yoga-booty-lates workout. Why? Because yoga bored me.
I moved back to France in 2013, 20 lbs and a lot of alcohol heavier.
~ I want to make a point here. It wasn't the number of lbs that mattered to me. 20 lbs on me may look very different to 20 lbs on you. For some of us 20 lbs is huge, for others it's nothing. Pay no mind to the number. ~
Now where were we?
Ah yes, France. 2013. I moved to a tiny village called Mont-de-Marsan to teach English.
It was in this town, with ample free time, no money, and a growing distaste for the way my belly overhung my jeans, that I decided it was time to make a change.
I remember the moment exactly.
I was standing with a tall, thin, friend of mine, bra shopping in town. I tried on the bra closest to my size, but it was clearly not designed for a bustier woman.
The straps dug into my shoulders, the band disappeared into my back fat, and looking in the mirror, I saw my belly hanging out of my low-rise jeans. (Admit it! You had them, too!)
I went home that day and searched for an ab workout on youtube, because obviously that's what one does when they want to lose their belly pudge.
The first class I found, "15 minutes Abs and Core Workout Full Class Planks Variations" from Ali Kamenova Interval Yoga (go check her out!), started me down a completely different path than the one I was on - a path to health, happiness, and the pursuit of whole-body wellness.
I also learned how to cook!
From a former bartender, night-owl, and carne asada fry devourer (the lady at the restaurant recognized me by my order, that's how bad it was) who couldn't get up before 2pm and had no aspirations in life, I am now a nature-loving, diurnal, vegan, health-conscious yoga teacher.
Oh yes! Yoga Teacher.
I thought you'd ask about that!
Honestly, discovering yoga has changed everything.
Discovering Interval Yoga, first, and then expanding upon that discovery to other teachers and other styles has made a huge impact on the trajectory of my life.
So, from January 2014 until Fall 2016, moving four times in two different countries, I worked on my at-home yoga journey, on my mat in the tiny space next to my bed, solely for the purpose of staying fit.
I made sure to make it to my mat every day. I never considered meditation. My yoga practice was my workout. Period. Done.
And this worked. It helped me to create a habit. I still make it to my mat nearly every day, and it has become a non-negotiable part of my life.
But it was only for the fitness benefits at that time. It was only so that I could give myself permission to eat the amount of food I wanted to eat.
(This is no longer how I view things, and I can help you make the shift, too, of seeing food as fuel and not something to be guilty about, but that is for later.)
This gets a bad rap in the yoga world. Sometimes yogis don't like the idea that people come to yoga solely for the fitness aspect.
I am here to fight that. I came to yoga for weight loss, and now I am here to help you succeed at your weight loss journey, through yoga.
I digress.
In Fall 2016, there was a shift. The teachings of yoga had snuck their way into my psyche and yoga became more than just a workout. I started thinking about meditating.
There was an opportunity to participate in a Yoga Teacher Training with Brett Larkin, who is an incredibly successful online yoga instructor.
I jumped at the opportunity.
I started meditating. Sometimes. Off and on. Occasionally.
July 2017, I graduated from that program with 200 hours under my belt and am now a Yoga Alliance Registered Yoga Teacher.
June 2018, I launched my very own Youtube channel, Yoga Infusion.
In 2020 I completed my Advanced 300 hour YTT with the very same Brett Larkin, and participated as a Teaching Assistant for her trainings.
I am now a 500 hour Registered Yoga Teacher.
In 2021, I completed another 200 hour training with Brett Larkin and the amazing Guru Singh, this time for the study of Kundalini Yoga from Kundalini University.
I am a business owner, entrepreneur, and online yoga instructor with hundreds of followers just like you.
And I came to yoga for weight loss.
Now, I come to yoga for strength building, whole-body wellness, self-love, self-care, and weight maintenance.
Because yoga is still my main form of fitness. But it is so much more than that as well.
If you're ready, I am here to lead you to your mat, to feel better, stronger, and more confident in your body.
It is a process and I will guide you through every step of the way.
It can be scary. It can be uncomfortable. It can be awkward.
But oh can it be glorious.
And it's a whole lot of fun!
So what do you say? Are you ready to make a change, and have a fantastic time doing it?
Thought so!
I'll see you on the mat!
Being that you've made it all the way to this page, I'm guessing you want to know a bit more about me, my journey, how I came to yoga, and what makes me think that I'm qualified to teach you anything.
All very valid inquiries, let me assure you.
But it may take a bit, so bear with me.
Once upon a time...
I'm kidding!
I suppose that we can start in the beginning. Or the semi-beginning anyway.
The beginning-beginning would be my very first kind of yoga class taught on the TV during PE in high school, but that's boring and mostly irrelevant.
What's important is to know that I did play soccer, once upon a time. From 9 years old to 16 years old. I rode horses. I swam at the beach. I was never a super fit child, but I was active enough.
From 16 on, I lost that. I started working and didn't want to go to soccer practice.
I got sick and lost a lot of weight, to which everyone looked at me and commented about how shallow my cheeks were. I remember saying to myself: "I don't think I look that much different. Was I just really fat and no one told me?"
Then I went to college, and you know what happens in college. The Freshman 15. Well, I didn't quite put that on in one year, but I did make it back up to my pre-illness weight by the time I was 20.
Then I moved to France. I turned 21. I started drinking all the beer and eating all the baguettes without a care in the world. (Please go enjoy the baguettes. They're fabulous. No gripe against the baguettes. Or the beer for that matter, though French beer is not the greatest to be honest. Try Belgian.)
I moved home to finish college. Continued drinking all the sangria and eating all of the carne asada fries.
What is a calorie? I couldn't have told you.
My roommate taught me how to sauté spinach. I was 22. This was my life.
Bartending, drinking, eating, sleeping, tanning, and an occasional youtube yoga-booty-lates workout. Why? Because yoga bored me.
I moved back to France in 2013, 20 lbs and a lot of alcohol heavier.
~ I want to make a point here. It wasn't the number of lbs that mattered to me. 20 lbs on me may look very different to 20 lbs on you. For some of us 20 lbs is huge, for others it's nothing. Pay no mind to the number. ~
Now where were we?
Ah yes, France. 2013. I moved to a tiny village called Mont-de-Marsan to teach English.
It was in this town, with ample free time, no money, and a growing distaste for the way my belly overhung my jeans, that I decided it was time to make a change.
I remember the moment exactly.
I was standing with a tall, thin, friend of mine, bra shopping in town. I tried on the bra closest to my size, but it was clearly not designed for a bustier woman.
The straps dug into my shoulders, the band disappeared into my back fat, and looking in the mirror, I saw my belly hanging out of my low-rise jeans. (Admit it! You had them, too!)
I went home that day and searched for an ab workout on youtube, because obviously that's what one does when they want to lose their belly pudge.
The first class I found, "15 minutes Abs and Core Workout Full Class Planks Variations" from Ali Kamenova Interval Yoga (go check her out!), started me down a completely different path than the one I was on - a path to health, happiness, and the pursuit of whole-body wellness.
I also learned how to cook!
From a former bartender, night-owl, and carne asada fry devourer (the lady at the restaurant recognized me by my order, that's how bad it was) who couldn't get up before 2pm and had no aspirations in life, I am now a nature-loving, diurnal, vegan, health-conscious yoga teacher.
Oh yes! Yoga Teacher.
I thought you'd ask about that!
Honestly, discovering yoga has changed everything.
Discovering Interval Yoga, first, and then expanding upon that discovery to other teachers and other styles has made a huge impact on the trajectory of my life.
So, from January 2014 until Fall 2016, moving four times in two different countries, I worked on my at-home yoga journey, on my mat in the tiny space next to my bed, solely for the purpose of staying fit.
I made sure to make it to my mat every day. I never considered meditation. My yoga practice was my workout. Period. Done.
And this worked. It helped me to create a habit. I still make it to my mat nearly every day, and it has become a non-negotiable part of my life.
But it was only for the fitness benefits at that time. It was only so that I could give myself permission to eat the amount of food I wanted to eat.
(This is no longer how I view things, and I can help you make the shift, too, of seeing food as fuel and not something to be guilty about, but that is for later.)
This gets a bad rap in the yoga world. Sometimes yogis don't like the idea that people come to yoga solely for the fitness aspect.
I am here to fight that. I came to yoga for weight loss, and now I am here to help you succeed at your weight loss journey, through yoga.
I digress.
In Fall 2016, there was a shift. The teachings of yoga had snuck their way into my psyche and yoga became more than just a workout. I started thinking about meditating.
There was an opportunity to participate in a Yoga Teacher Training with Brett Larkin, who is an incredibly successful online yoga instructor.
I jumped at the opportunity.
I started meditating. Sometimes. Off and on. Occasionally.
July 2017, I graduated from that program with 200 hours under my belt and am now a Yoga Alliance Registered Yoga Teacher.
June 2018, I launched my very own Youtube channel, Yoga Infusion.
In 2020 I completed my Advanced 300 hour YTT with the very same Brett Larkin, and participated as a Teaching Assistant for her trainings.
I am now a 500 hour Registered Yoga Teacher.
In 2021, I completed another 200 hour training with Brett Larkin and the amazing Guru Singh, this time for the study of Kundalini Yoga from Kundalini University.
I am a business owner, entrepreneur, and online yoga instructor with hundreds of followers just like you.
And I came to yoga for weight loss.
Now, I come to yoga for strength building, whole-body wellness, self-love, self-care, and weight maintenance.
Because yoga is still my main form of fitness. But it is so much more than that as well.
If you're ready, I am here to lead you to your mat, to feel better, stronger, and more confident in your body.
It is a process and I will guide you through every step of the way.
It can be scary. It can be uncomfortable. It can be awkward.
But oh can it be glorious.
And it's a whole lot of fun!
So what do you say? Are you ready to make a change, and have a fantastic time doing it?
Thought so!
I'll see you on the mat!
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