In Edition 4 of the “People Who Practice” Yoga Series, I talk to my uncle, Gregg Good, about why he started a home practice, how he keeps his practice consistent, and how yoga compares to his former practice of judo.
My uncle, Gregg Good, is now a practitioner of yoga.
He’s also an incredible musician and trumpet player and teacher, a former practitioner of judo, a great walker — when he visits from Michigan, he and my dad love to explore Loudoun County on foot. He’s a dedicated reader of 19th century novels (particularly George MacDonald), a wonderful father, grandfather, and (of course) uncle.
Like my dad, Uncle Gregg spent his early years in York, PA. He received his BM in Music Performance and MM in Music Education from Eastman School of Music. He taught for the bulk of his career in Grand Rapids, MI at Cornerstone University where he remains affiliated as Associate Professor Emeritus. Gregg continues to teach students trumpet — his life-long passion.
For the past couple years, Gregg has been learning a new skill — a home yoga practice.
Check out the full People Who Practice Series here!
I’m not sure if he knows this, but Uncle Gregg is actually the inspiration behind the ‘People Who Practice’ series.
He has a dedicated practice that takes place entirely at home, and more recently, he’s started to practice with a partner, my incredible Aunt Deb (read the interview below to learn more about her story).
Since he started to practice, Uncle Gregg and I have chatted about the ways that yoga has been a positive addition to our lives, respectively.
When we talk about his practice — particularly the private nature of it — these conversations speak to the power and individuality of yoga itself, that practices can and should vary because, well, people have different needs.
Gregg notes that when we practice at home, we learn to listen to ourselves somewhat differently than when we’re in a studio. We truly build from the inside. And a long-time practitioner of judo, he makes really interesting comparisons between Judo and yoga — both ancient art forms that aim to synergize mind and body.
Name
Gregg Good
When did you start practicing yoga?
About two and a half years ago, I started considering yoga as a possibility. Annually, I make a week-long trip to visit your family in Virginia. It has been a great way to stay in touch with your father (my brother Tim) and the rest of the clan. After watching how much you and your mother enjoyed yoga, I thought I would give it a go. Why not? You were both in great shape and had plenty of energy.
Being somewhat apprehensive about practicing it in a class-setting, I asked your mother if she knew of any yoga apps that would work well on an iPad. I followed her advice and downloaded the app she recommended. That is the same app I currently use.
I know that you used to practice judo. How does this compare to yoga?
Whereas judo was something I practiced with my children as they were growing up in a class setting, I practice yoga privately. It was important to my wife and I that our children could defend themselves. So judo, a defensive martial art, was perfect. After watching from the sidelines for several years, I thought I could benefit from judo as well. The next nine years in the dojo were wonderful. It was a family-fun-time three times a week. We learned judo in a class setting and as a family.
Yoga has been a more private endeavor, but for the last year, my wife Deb has joined me in our private yoga practice. By the way, she is a 3-year cancer survivor with a rare and aggressive form of breast cancer and now has the great report of “no evidence of disease.”
Chemotherapy and radiation were an essential part of the treatment plan, but yoga has been great follow-up treatment for both of us. Personally, yoga helped me deal with the stresses of that time of life. Therefore, I would have to say that judo and yoga are both great stress relievers.
Chemotherapy and radiation were an essential part of the treatment plan, but yoga has been great follow-up treatment for both of us. Personally, yoga helped me deal with the stresses of that time of life.
On Judo
Judo also differs in that it is more injury-prone. After a hyper-extended elbow, a patella injury, and thirteen stitches over my eye, it was time to move on with what was still functioning. Practicing yoga initially aggravated my lower back, which was already a problem, but over time, it has become much better than before I started practicing.
Yoga seems to heal the body and the mind.
One final difference between the two is competition. By nature, judo is competitive, especially in a match setting. In yoga, there is a nice kind of competition. One competes against oneself. To be better at a pose or to have better balance than yesterday or last week is the motivation for me.
What does daily or weekly home-practice look like for you? What style(s)?
I like to get in at least 2 sessions every week. Some weeks more are possible and some weeks less. The less is a problem, because there is less accountability when one is not in a class setting. As to types of yoga, I like combination sessions the most where balance, relaxation, and flexibility are equally stressed. However, one nice thing about practicing privately is that I can read my own body’s needs. For example, when relaxation is required, I will do an entire session geared toward that.
Is there anything you find challenging about either a consistent home practice or just practice in general?
The discipline to just do it. One must always remember the benefits. Also, if my wife and I are practicing at the same time, we occasionally bump into each other when one of us becomes dyslexic as we look at the iPad. Occasionally we do kindly point out some things in a pose that the other does not catch. That becomes humorous. We laugh a lot and that gets us by the challenge of the moment. Is laughter allowed in a class setting? Our dog Duke really gets in the way, but how can we not love him.
For someone who’s just getting started with yoga (or a home practice), what advice would you offer?
Find an app or YouTube session that is best for you and give it a go. Start with the very basics and do them well. As mentioned above, read your own body and tailor your practice to that day. That is one of the beauties of private practice. And finally, if you find discipline to be a problem, the class setting is probably best for you. You will meet a lot of terrific people, just like I did when learning judo.
What’s the biggest change — physical or otherwise — you’ve noticed since you started to practice yoga?
That’s pretty easy to answer. I feel better in every way.
What’s your favorite pose…or poses?
Half shoulder-stand but extending it. It is probably closer to plow. For me, that one is easy and relaxing. It’s the only one I can do better than my wife!
What benefits does yoga offer to you, off the mat?
There are so many that I will just list them: better focus, feeling more at ease with myself and others, my music making is always better for at least 24 hours since trumpet playing requires extremely strong core muscles, lower blood pressure, better cholesterol (the numbers don’t lie — from 180 to just above 150 without meds), and enjoying life more.
[I have] lower blood pressure, better cholesterol (the numbers don’t lie — from 180 to just above 150 without meds), and enjoying life more.
Anything else you’d like to add?
Yes. Thanks to my brother Tim for allowing me to invade your house every October, and I am especially glad that you are now a private practitioner of yoga. Also thanks to Jacquie Fox-Good (Anya’s mother) who has been the best example possible and guided me to a yoga app that was just right for me. Thanks to Nate Good for all of his music. He really should write some background music for yoga. And thanks to my niece, Annie (sorry Anya, but that’s who you still are to me), for being an inspiration like your mother.
