The days are getting hotter here in Taghazout, and we’re putting down (or trying to…) the L’Auberge famous brownies and getting ourselves summer ready! To lend us a hand, this June we’ve got Broga® returning to our Amouage shala with Founder, Matt Miller, teaching for Fitness Week.
From college American football and professional bodybuilder to Lulu Lemon Ambassador and creating Broga®, Matt ‘The Pillar’ Miller seems like the perfect guy to whip us into shape. But before we grab our gym kit, we wanted to hear more a little more about the man himself!
What got you into yoga?
You can blame that on Lulu Lemon! I was working on the Channel 4 series “Fat Fighters” in 2002/3 and got a call from their head office saying they wanted to meet me. I discovered they were thinking of launching their first store outside North America in London and they wanted me to be one of their first ambassadors. At the time I was competing as a professional bodybuilder and training clients – the farthest thing from a yogi. But she convinced me to become the first male ambassador for Lulu Lemon Europe, and the only non-yogi in the ambassador team! So I thought “I’m going to have to do yoga!” – and that started my journey.
How did you come up with the concept of Broga®?
My first yoga experiences were private lessons and classes with my fellow ambassadors. I was instantly hooked and wished I’d come across it 15 years before as an American football player. After those sessions, I started to regularly go to classes, but I hated them! Nothing about the yoga I was practising was built for people without an insiders knowledge or an already flexible frame. This inspired me to create something more suitable for men/fitness-minded people, and those new to yoga or making a connection with their bodies. Broga® was born in those early years of me teaching free classes at the Lulu Lemon showroom and getting feedback from yogis.
What do you enjoy about teaching Broga®?
Broga® is the gateway from fitness to yoga. So my favourite thing about teaching is taking people whose goal is to be more flexible and reduce their physical pain, that may have doubts about yoga, and making them into converts. It’s amazing when a sceptical person tells me three months after their first class about the dramatic positive change Broga® has had on their life, or that they now have the confidence to rock up to any type of yoga class.
This is your second time at Amouage. why do you like it as a place to teach?
I’m incredibly honoured to be back at Amouage on several levels. As a holiday it ticks every single one of my hard to please American needs and exceeds them! I love the all-inclusive vibe and its structure means you’re immediately friends with everyone. It feels less like a hotel and more like you’re at your super rich friend’s beach house for a chilled out party. If you’re a single traveller it’s ideal! And finally, I love the idea of a healthy fitness holiday. Surfing is such a great workout, plus yoga and delicious healthy food – I mean that’s just heaven. And if you fancy taking it easy, you can do nothing but sunbathe and drink poolside!
What can our guests expect from your class?
From a morning Broga® class at Amouage you can expect a proper workout that’ll tone muscle, build strength and open tight shoulders and hips to set you up for a successful surf day. So the classes will be quite sport focused. Plus they’ll be a great counterbalance to the gentle sunset vinyasa flows hosted by the Amouage in-house teachers!
What’s your favourite pose and why?
I’m big on the basics. I always tell people downward dog is the “mother pose” since there is so much goodness happening in your body all at once. I like struggling through the first downward dog at the beginning of a class and then feeling the huge difference in my comfort and alignment in the posture towards the end of class.
If you’re up for getting yourself summer ready with Broga®, check out our Fitness Week Special Offer for some Moroccan surf, yoga, sun and fun!
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