Rondy Isaac: Yoga Master, Black Magician
If a brother goes to Master Yogi Rondy Isaac looking for a “tough workout,” Rondy soon redirects the young fella’.
“Students who come to Barbershop Yoga — and stick with it — they realize that 80–90% of the benefit isn’t anything physical that happens on the mat.”
Rondy, when he was younger, learned about the mental and spiritual aspects of the game the hard way.
“Listen, like a lot of these guys, I was a high school athlete. Competitive, too. Still remember inventing these silly 1-on-1 challenges against the elite stars from my day. I’d always lose against one dude. See, but he was never competing against me. He was competing against himself. That was his secret. That’s why he always beat me.”
It wasn’t until he grew as a yoga teacher that he understood his youthful shortcomings.
“And now I see it with the brothers coming into the studio or the park. There’s an immediate relaxation they get because everyone looks the same. But when the first session starts, folks will stay in their own zones. Not talking. Sticking to their mat.”
Then something remarkable happens with Rondy’s yoga practice.
“See, they go through a challenge. They come out having experienced the stress and breath as individuals. But by the end, because they’ve shared that experience together, we reach solidarity or communion . . . Something changes.”
The social dynamic at the beginning of Rondy’s intro session sounds very different than the one at its end.
“Yoga brings everyone to the same wavelength. After our physical harmony, they open up. They’ll go up to strangers, ask them about their jobs, share personal stories. I get to see community and brotherhood develop — right before my eyes.”
Yogis like Rondy exhibit the Magician Archetype. A good Magician guides other men into new states of awareness, higher levels of achievement. Modern Western society sorely lacks the communal “Rites of Male Initiation” that defined traditional cultures in Africa and Asia.
Even at the Olympics in Tokyo, we see an evil antithesis to Rondy’s yogic coaching. As world-class, generational athletes retire from the games to protect their mental health, we see the fruits of coaches and trainers manipulating, even abusing athletes past breaking points. These “evil Magicians” look to advance their own glory, at the cost of their wards. Their self-centered desires pit teammate against teammate. They withhold necessary knowledge and push destructive competition — at great human cost.
We encounter “evil Magicians” in our day-to-day, too. They’re the know-it-all co-workers who lord their knowledge over everyone else. They’re the doctors who mock their patients behind their backs or obscure the truth about prognoses. They’re the prosecutors who twist the law to further their political ambitions, bullying “suspected criminals” to get the conviction at any cost.
After years of teaching yoga around the world, Rondy has evolved a different approach.
“Taking yoga ‘off the mat’ and into your life cuts deep, man. It’s about true mindfulness. It’s about being brutally honest with yourself. It’s being true to your word.”
His students learn to let go of their egos.
“You’d be amazed about how many people come, psychologically stuck. Maybe they can’t get that next job. Maybe their relationships always fall short. Yoga removes the block.”
The real Magicians know this: Your biggest roadblock, your true enemy, lies within.
Overcome yourself.
Overcome your enemy.
