EarthRise Yoga is Derek’s personal synthesis of movements derived from twelve years of devoted yoga practice, combined with his studies in various martial arts and dance systems. While there is never a set sequence, key elements of an EarthRise Yoga practice include: joint dexterity, core strength, balance, muscle isolation, plenty of flow and, of course, breathing. Each week the theme and playlist changes to keep a fresh perspective on movement potential. Derek strikes a balance between rigorous discipline and attention to detail while maintaining an air of humor and humility. An EarthRise Yoga class is never a competition, though a serious undercurrent exists to introduce the new yogi to the focus and clarity attained through yoga while keeping the seasoned veteran engaged and content. At the same time, the easiest way to approach any pose is being engaged with a smile, and Derek promotes as much of it as possible.

The origins of the name EarthRise Yoga comes from a book by mythologist Joseph Campbell, The Inner Reaches of Outer Space:

‘Black Elk’s word, ‘The center is everywhere,’ is matched by a statement from a hermetic, early medieval text, The Book of the Twenty-four Philosophers: ‘God is an infinite sphere, whose center is everywhere and circumfrence nowhere.’ The idea, it seems to me, is in a most appropriate way illustrated in that stunning photograph taken from the moon, and now frequently reproduced, of an earthrise, the earth rising as a radiant celestial orb, strewing light over a lunar landscape. Is the center the earth? Is the center the moon? The center is anywhere you like. Moreover, in that photograph from its own satellite, the rising earth shows none of those divisive territorial lines that on our maps are so conspicuous and important. The chosen center may be anywhere. The Holy Land is no special place. It is every place that has ever been recognized and mythologized by any people as home.’