Celebrating Magnificence in Our ‘Ohana: David Sanders

David Sanders

Flow-mo, Heart-mind Yogi

“There is no part of my life that has not been touched by yoga philosophy and practice. I attribute astounding physical, mental and emotional health and well-being to my lifelong devotion to the art and science of yoga. I owe my life to the teachers that have come before me,” says David Sanders, one of our beloved yogis who has taught at Still & Moving Center since its early years.

David attended his first yoga class in 1973, while he was a junior at San Diego State University. When he opened his eyes from the final savasana and seated meditation, he remembers thinking, “This is the coolest thing I’ve ever experienced!” He felt immediate benefits from the nourishing movements, the attention to breath, and the stillness of meditation. It wasn’t until decades later that a rather synergistic happenstance landed him in a position to teach yoga himself. 

Meanwhile David graduated with a business degree, worked briefly in his father’s mechanical shop, then encountered a friend who offered him a position in an emerging software company. David, already developing a practice of saying ‘yes’ to life’s offerings, stepped into the world of computers, eventually founding his own software business. While puzzling through computer code, David began to experience being “in the flow,” similar to the way he had felt in his yoga class, or during certain seamless travels around the world. He began to feel curious again about the peace and ease he had experienced at his first yoga class. 

“When we’re driving a car we have to look up, not down at the  ground to where our tires are going. We must lift our gaze. If we’re looking down at the ground we’ll miss where we’re going,” says David. 

In 1995 David made a five-year plan to land himself in Hawaii. For the following years he held the intention of his move, even making a vision-board. And just within the 5 year mark, the software company he had founded merged with a New York company, releasing David from his duties in California and freeing him to move to the Big Island. Three months later, the internet bubble collapsed: a detrimental shift of events for the software industry. Through “luck”, David was already on the Big Island of Hawai’i, nestled in at a yoga retreat.  

Coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous.

– ALBERT EINSTEIN

On the Big Island David dove deeper into yoga, meditation and later massage therapy, which he began practicing professionally. He discovered the importance of letting go of resistance and accepting what life brings. He believes these are key tools that can help us step into the free-feeling flow-state. “When we’re in the flow,” David says, “everything feels right, as if we are living our true nature.”  

After nearly a decade on the Big Island, David moved to Oahu where he continued to follow the path of saying ‘yes’ to opportunities that arrived. Soon studios began asking asked him to teach weekly yoga classes, and he did. 

One day at the Honolulu Club, David wandered into a Nia class that Renée Tillotson was teaching. Struck by his posture and presence, Renée immediately asked whether David taught yoga. Yes! She told him about the studio she had recently opened. Within a few weeks David was walking through the doors of Still & Moving Center to teach his first class with us. 

Now, nearly eight years later, David remains a vibrant spark in the Still & Moving community. He continues to teach yoga classes and to participate in the weekly Satsangs and Gems from the Wisdom Traditions conversation circles. He even edits Sill & Moving Center’s Gems recordings and gets them up onto the website for broader circulation and enjoyment.

David Sanders is a brilliant exemplar of what it means to embrace life, flowing with a balance of accepting… and letting go. David knows how to take it easy and move into slow-mo. Let’s call his mojo “Flow-Mo”!