Episode 93
54 mins
Mark Workman - Daoism, Yoga and The Outback
Mark Workman has lived as a solitary Daoist monk for 16 years in Outback Australia and has followed a traditional Daoist path as well as living a Yogic lifestyle. In that time he practised yoga therapy, taught Yoga and Qi Gong and also taught various forms of meditation.
Mark’s approach to Yoga is intensely practical. He has used Yoga to deal with major physical and psychological issues in his own life and is passionate about passing on what he has learnt to others.
Mark had his leg amputated in 2017 and during a long stay in the hospital, he adapted yoga to the physical and psychological needs of amputees and people suffering mobility problems.
In this episode, we learn about Mark's background growing up in Sydney, before he left for the outback at the age of 16. We hear how he cultivated an early interest in Zen Buddhism, Christian Theology and Daoism. We learn about the circumstances leading to his leg being amputated, and how he found he could use his knowledge to help other amputees.
Links
Mark's Website: https://yogaformobility.org/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmLyrY6-PvDEB-rUtwi8m_A
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/yoga4mobility/
This episode is sponsored by Yoga Australia:
https://www.yogaaustralia.org.au/
https://www.instagram.com/yogaaustralia/
The opinions expressed in this podcast do not reflect the view and opinions of the sponsor.
Highlights
Click on a timecode to play from that time in the recording.
2:00 Mark tells us about his background growing up in Sydney.3:32 Leaving home for the outback at age 16
4:21 The path that lead him towards "spirituality"
9:00 The things that put him off secular Christianity - what took him towards more "physical" practices.
13:00 What drew Mark to yoga.
13:53 Mark's key teachers
15:20 Living as a solitary Daoist Monk
18:10 A solitary isn't a hermit.
20:40 How did Mark land upon Daoism as his "main" form of study.
23:16 How Mark lost his leg.
27:53 How was Mark's experience sharing his practices with other people?
29:53 Support us on Patreon!
31:31 Empowering yourself after an amputation. On being labelled as disabled.
33:30 Adjustments that are required after becoming an amputee.
36:48 How much did Mark have to figure out for himself?
40:12 Don't go in with an agenda for someone else and their condition.
41:29 Why Mark doesn't like the word spirituality.
43:29 Did losing a limb change Mark's attitude towards the practices he was doing?
50:09 On gratitude practices.
52:45 Mark's one core lesson.
54:13 Our next episode with Amy Weintraub
Friends of Flow
