A lifelong athlete, Derek Vanderwarker grew up in Connecticut playing ice hockey and lacrosse from the early 1980s. He participated on various county, state, and national championship teams at the high school, college, and club levels.

He was introduced to the 26-posture hot yoga format of Bikram in 2001 while working for a tech company in Boston. He ultimately found the prop-oriented, therapeutic approach of Iyengar Yoga helpful in overcoming lower back pain and chronic hip and leg injuries. Recognizing the potential of breath work, core training, and somatic awareness, Derek became motivated to learn how yoga could help retrain his body to better manage—and avoid—injuries on the field, the court, and the ice. This led him to pursue Vinyasa and alignment-based teacher training certifications with nationally recognized master teachers, including Alison West (200 hours) and Jason Crandell (300 hours).

To complement his yoga training and anatomy studies, Derek has continued his fitness education through Integrated Fitness with Stefan Knight, Pilates fundamentals and CoreAlign certification with Carrie Lamb, and Yoga Biomechanics with Jules Mitchell.

In addition to his yoga and fitness background, Derek has led camps and coached and officiated youth lacrosse and hockey. He was also a teacher, coach, advisor, and dorm parent at Avon Old Farms School in Connecticut.

He currently lives in Greenwich, Connecticut, with his wife and family.

Learn more about Derek, his story, and the origins of his podcast, Guys Talking Yoga, from this March 2024 episode.