My Yoga Redemption: Stonewall Sports Gay Yoga in Cleveland Breathed New Life into My Downward Dog

Hey, adventurers! It’s Upton, your l favorite homo explorer, back with a tale of stretchy triumph that’s equal parts sweaty, sour, and surprisingly sweet. I’ve been on a yoga journey lately—think less Eat, Pray, Love and more Sweat, Curse, Laugh—and after a string of flops, I finally found my zen with Stonewall Sports Cleveland. Spoiler: they didn’t just save my soul; they saved my wallet too. Here’s the story, served raw and gay as hell.

Gay Yoga Fails: A Brief History of Me Sucking at Namaste

Let’s rewind. I’ve tried a few gay yoga classes in the community before. While they initially seemed exciting and appealing, like a fresh summer romance, they quickly lost their charm. One left me feeling unsafe, another felt overly rigid, and I swear the instructor was secretly running a cult for kale-obsessed heterosexuals. They were novelty acts, with one in particular that I was quite loyal to. However, one day, they let me slip through the cracks, and I found myself waiting to be pulled back up. When it became clear that wasn’t going to happen, I decided to change my approach. Do I miss the old one? Sure, but as a southern belle once said, you can’t make a red polka dot blue! (Okay, I just made that up, but it sounds like something people might say, right?)

Heading to the first class!!

Enter Stonewall Sports Cleveland. I’d heard whispers of their yoga program—LGBTQ-friendly, community-driven, no bullshit—and figured, why not? Problem was, their season registration was officially closed when I finally realized I needed an alternative. But I’m nothing if not persistent (read: desperate), so I shot them an email, spilling my yoga sob story like I was auditioning for Queer Eye meets Extreme Home Makeover. I half-expected a polite “sorry, babe, try next time,” but these guys? They didn’t just say yes—they bent over backward to make it work. They welcomed me in ways I'd never gotten before.

The air was really cool and uncrowded. I noticed it was a lot different right off the bat from the previous yoga classes I’d been to. It wasn’t a tight, cramped space. It was wide open and free. As I looked around the room, I saw all kinds of people—trans men, trans women, cis men, cis women, and everything in between. All colors of the rainbow were represented. As I sat there beginning to stretch at the start of the class, I turned to my left and started a conversation with a woman named Meredith, whose wife oversaw the volleyball league for Stonewall Sports. We’d communicated earlier that day. I’d expressed interest in participating in volleyball as well but didn’t necessarily have a ton of friends just because of time constraints. I mean, let’s be real, guys. I go to school full-time, I come home, I run the business full-time, and in addition to that, I work full-time during the day. I manage the business full-time at night, I go to school full-time, and I’ve got a squirming pug that demands full-time attention. My social calendar wasn’t exactly bursting with free time.

Upton's Tree of Life Graphic Tee - Pride - Free Shipping - Bella Canvas Luxe

Buy Now

A Yoga Room Like No Other

As the class started, I turned to face the yoga instructor and noticed it was a little bit different. The room was so large. He wore a wireless headset, and to his left and right were two other yoga instructors. As the class went on, it became clear that they were doing modifications of the yoga moves. One showed an easier version, and the other demonstrated an insanely hard one that I didn’t even bother to try. As the class started, the first song the teacher put on was Rufus du Sol, and I felt instantly at home. He’s one of my favorite artists. He made it clear throughout the course of the class that just because it was something he was doing didn’t mean it was something we had to do, and that this was our Saturday morning yoga practice—do what felt comfortable. That was amazing because, like, recently I’ve been having problems with my hip. I think it might be a bone spur, and honestly, I’ve been putting off going to the doctor because I don’t want to face the possible bad news of impending surgery. Since I got sober, that’s just something that has always terrified me, but eventually, I’m gonna have to face the music. In any case, the freedom to modify the yoga poses and an instructor in the front showing me how to do so was incredibly nice.

Finding My Groove (and My Playlist)

Halfway through the class, we’d all begun sweating somewhat, and it was clear that the atmosphere was much different than anything I was used to. For one, I wasn’t staring at any nude butts; secondly, the music—I think it was about halfway through the class—Goldfrapp came on, and it occurred to me that, wow, this was pretty much my playlist song-for-song. I felt at home. Everything was different. Even the breathing. In other yoga classes, we’d do different breathing techniques, but going into this one, we did one I’d never tried before. It was called Ocean Breath. Even the name sounded relaxing, so going into it, I was all about it. The instructor explained to us that it was something that compressed the parasympathetic nervous system and led to deep relaxation. It was an incredible experience.

The Yoga Class, Free Agent Spots Available! Sign up at the link below!

Reflections Beyond the Mat

Overall, just looking around the room and seeing this sheer variety of people, seeing the generosity of Stonewall step forward when I’d been left behind in other aspects—it hit deep. Recently, in my therapy with Yub Kim, who is also taking new patients- I’ve come to the realization that I place a lot more premium on what people think of me than what I think of myself. This is a character fault I’m gonna have to continue to work on. It’s so hard—you frequently find yourself second-guessing, especially when you’re facing the pressures of possibly being alone. I’ve always been that way. I guess it’s just good that I’m realizing it now. He made the suggestion of taking myself out on a date once a week to build self-resilience. I thought this was a great idea. So, who knows? Maybe next Saturday after yoga, I’ll not only be getting a good stretch in—Max and I might go out for an ice cream cone. The point is, the path that you’re on doesn’t mean it’s the path you have to stay on. Sometimes you’ll find yourself walking down a road and realizing it’s just not quite right. And you might need to change courses, sometimes abruptly. It doesn’t mean you’re giving up, it doesn’t mean you’re a failure. It just means you’re finding a better fit for you.

Want to get involved? Visit Stonewall CLE