The Willful Warrior
How Leland Holgate had to end up with nothing to truly discover the power of yoga
When Leland Holgate was first introduced to yoga at the age of 19, he used it to heal his body after a catastrophic watersports accident, in which he broke his neck. But it wasn’t until he lost everything to addiction, that he started to really appreciate the full power of yoga. After finally beating a 10-year drug and alcohol addiction, which began when he was struggling with his mental health, he decided to start studying yoga seriously. “When I was young, I just saw it as a cool technique to help me heal my body,” he says.
“It wasn’t until Leland Holgate lost everything to addiction, that he started to really appreciate the full power of yoga.”
“But when I finally beat the drugs, I reached the point of sheer desperation that Osho (an Indian mystic) talked about. Yoga doesn’t truly begin until you’ve got nothing. Something just clicked in me and I decided to not just practice yoga but learn how to teach it.”
From that point, he dedicated himself to learning yoga, Qigong and breathwork and he is now a 500-hour teacher trainer, who teaches seven forms of yoga. And he is now studying towards a double doctorate in neuroscience and psychology so he can help more people improve their health through breathwork and yoga.
Holgate is also the founder of The Willlful Warrior movement, as well as a leading expert in breathwork and resilience. Through his programmes, mentorship, and Medicine Wheel ceremonies, he has helped thousands of veterans, executives, and high performers break free from stress, trauma, and self-sabotage.
He is the creator of the forthcoming nonprofit Awaken the Warrior Within Foundation and author of the upcoming book The Willlful Warrior: The Breath That Brought Me Back.
Known for his mix of scientific precision and raw honesty, he shows people that true resilience comes from remembering the power to heal has been inside them all along.
Find out more at: thewillfulwarrior.com
Om Magazine
First published in November 2009, OM Yoga magazine has become the most popular yoga title in the UK. Available from all major supermarkets, independents and newsstands across the UK. Also available on all digital platforms.
