For more than 28 years, London-based yoga teacher, personal trainer, Dad and all-around lovely human Ude Okoye has been giving back to his community. When he’s not modelling our brand new Yogamatters Men’s Eco-Collection, he’s adding purpose to his practice and inspiring men everywhere to seek wisdom and empathy no matter what kind of day they’re having or situation they are faced with. Ude believes you can find calm and peace in everyday connection.

What motivates and inspires you every day?

“As much as I love yoga and learning and teaching and dancing and eating, I really love connecting with the simple things I do everyday. It’s the relationship to all things that I’m really passionate about: to food, to movement, to even not moving – to my couch or the objects we have at home. Like, ask yourself these questions: ‘Is your couch comfortable? How does that make you feel or affect your spine? Are you sat near a window?’ All of these details matter and paying attention to these details isn’t time wasted. It’s about taking the time for yourself and making that important. My inspiration also comes from my children: playing with them, learning with them and providing for them.”

Yogamatters Eco Short Sleeve Yoga T-Shirt, £24 and Eco Drawstring Yoga Shorts both in Black, £29

Why is it important for yoga to be diverse and inclusive?

“Diverse yoga means that you bring a wide variety of people and ideas together and this creates movement and growth. As a teacher, I’ve noticed how the ideals in ads or on social media have actually reinforced stereotypes and separation. I remember when I first started out as a yoga teacher, I built a website and used images of friends instead of myself. “As a man of my size and as a black yoga teacher, I was definitely aware and worried about not fitting the bill – I just didn’t believe that anybody wanted to see images of me in yoga asana for commercial purposes. We as a global community definitely need to move out of our comfort zone in the way that we view yoga and what the person that comes to the mat looks like. Similar to yoga poses that challenge you, we need to challenge ourselves to be uncomfortable and discuss the issues that matter. It’s only when you’re uncomfortable can you really create change and growth.”

How do you see the yoga and fitness industry changing for boys and men of all ages? What would you say to encourage men to practice yoga?

“When I started practising yoga a lot of teachers would not take the time to describe the movements as exercise. It would often be treated like this kind of magical activity and I think that might distract some people from the benefits. I think that this is the real opportunity for growth in yoga and fitness. Yoga practice is a practice of self love but so is going to the gym. As a personal trainer, yoga instructor and a bodyworker there are truths that exist in the body, and the body and mind are connected. There is a connection with positive physical habits and mental health. If you just think about yoga as an opportunity for you to be connected to yourself, or even just a practical one of improving your posture or noticing when your body needs a stretch or you need to work towards sitting up taller – that’s what it is about: knowing yourself.

Yogamatters Eco Short Sleeve Yoga T-Shirt in Navy – £24; Eco Drawstring Yoga Shorts in Navy, £29 and Yogamatters Aqua Evolve Yoga Mat – £60

How do you help your clients, friends and family embrace mindfulness, mental health, movement and stretch?

“With my clients I tried to approach them as individuals and let their specific practice develop through trial, error and conversation. It’s very dependent on the individual: their personality type and physical type. Often asking people to be more empathetic with themselves and others helps build more connection. The other thing is trying to find out what makes that individual motivated to practice. We don’t all have the same goal. So, I listen. I take the time to sit with them and find out what they want from their practice. I do my best to help them create a passion for the activity of practice and not necessarily the goal of achieving.”

One golden piece of advice for fellow yoga teachers? For your students?

“For my teacher community: be yourself, believe in yourself and educate yourself – there is so much power in investing in you. For my students: find a class that you enjoy and that makes you wanna come back again and again.”

What makes you come back to your mat and your yoga practice?

“I have always been a creative person and really enjoy the practice of exploring things and at the same time my mood or my happiness has always been tied to how I physically feel. This combination makes yoga a must do for me. It’s not only something that I can do before I go for a run or the gym or play sports with my friends, it’s also something that I use when I’m stressed, finding it hard to focus or even when I need to recover from an illness or injury. I see yoga as the filter that helps me clearly visualise where I’m going next.”

Yogamatters Eco Short Sleeve Yoga T-Shirt in Navy, £24; Eco Drawstring Yoga Shorts in Navy, £29 and Yogamatters Aqua Evolve Yoga Mat, £60

Which details impressed you the most about the collection?

“I really enjoyed the outfits I’ve got to wear for the Yogamatters Men’s Eco Collection photoshoot. I’ve been wearing them since for home workouts and for my online client meetings. They are super comfortable to practice it and fit me really well. I have very wide, square shoulders and often have issues finding the right men’s workout gear. Yogamatters Men’s Eco Collection allows me to move through my practice easily and is super comfortable – I could easily spend the whole day in them.”

Yogamatters Eco Short Sleeve Yoga T-Shirt – Black, £24

Which item from the range did you love the most and why?

“The one item that surprised me most was the yoga wheel. After using it on the shoot I think it’s a great tool to help keep me focused and interested in my posture and adding a sense of play to my practice. I sometimes like just having a go-to workout or posture tool that I enjoy using, that’s fun and keeps me moving forward more than a strict routine.”

*Yoga wheel will be available soon.

Find out more about Ude at udeokoye.co.uk and Boys of Yoga
Follow: @ude_okoye

– with files from Emma Jefelt and Glynnis Mapp Jacquard