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PERSONAL JOURNEYS
Flo Master
Flo Master has traveled the globe as a featured dancer and personal trainer
for singer and songwriter Usher. Flo can commonly be found training with the
Ultimate Fighting Championship elite in Redondo Beach, California. His joy,
humor, and passion inspires everyone he meets!T.E. How did you get into yin yoga?
F.M. I had 11 knee surgeries from overtraining and dancing. I was like, “I need
to figure out what I’m doing wrong.” When Bruce Lee broke his back and the
doctor told him he would never walk again, that he’d be paralyzed for the rest
of his life, Bruce Lee didn’t accept that. He got his ass up. He figured out how
to do it, and then he got back up kicking everyone’s ass again! [laughter] So I
was like, “I got to find that Bruce Lee state of mind. I need to figure out what’s
going on.” So, I stumbled upon yin yoga in The Ultimate Yogi program. I was
like, “This is what I’ve been looking for all my life!”T.E. How did your body feel after doing the yin yoga?
F.M. Having had so many knee surgeries, I was always stiff. I couldn’t bend my
knees. I couldn’t get into positions that I wanted to get into while fighting,
dancing, running, and playing. I couldn’t do any of that well with my kids. So I
started getting into the yin poses and holding the stretches for a long period
of time. Everything starts loosening up, and then I could squat more. I could
dance longer. I could get out of bed feeling loose. I’m like, “Oh, my God!
This is like drugs, right?! This is like drugs to me, like somebody just put some
WD-40 into my joints! [laughter] When I don’t do yin I’m like the Tin Man from
the Wizard of Oz. When I do yin yoga, that’s like when they put the oil in the
Tin Man to make him move. So I was like, “I have to keep up with this.”T.E. Did you ever get Usher to do yin yoga?
F.M. There’s a funny story with Usher because he had a bad back, really bad,
and he had to perform. I said, “Dude, the problem is you don’t stretch.” He
said, “I stretch a little bit.” I’m like, “No. You don’t stretch the right way.” I said,
“You know what? I’m coming out there, I got the perfect guy for you.” So, I
brought The Ultimate Yogi yin yoga DVD up to his hotel. We popped it in, and
we did your whole yin yoga. And let me tell you, when he got on stage that
night, he was doing stuff that he never thought he could do before! He could
literally not stop jumping. I was like, “What the hell is wrong with you?!” He
got off stage and he said, “Flo, thank you.” And he bought into the yin yoga
thing, and he’s been doing it ever since.