I used to have panic attacks. The kind the struck with such ferocity and frequency that I was convinced I was dying. My arms and face would go numb, the room would spin with vertigo and every ounce of my being was thrown into primal survival mode.

I’m not sure why I went to my first yoga class. I know I used a sleeping bag pad as a yoga mat and I’m pretty sure I put a hole in the wall trying to kick up into a headstand way before I should have. That was well over a decade ago, I couldn’t walk the next day and I was changed forever.

I’m not going to over romanticize the journey and say that the issues were resolved right away. I’m not going to lie and say that the panic disorder and depression aren’t waiting just outside my door some nights. And despite the images portrayed on social media, it isn’t always pretty. But I will say that this practice has given me the freedom to move without the anchors of fear and anxiety that used to keep me pinned to the floor. I will say that using the tools of yoga, I have been able to move through this life with more freedom, courage and peace.

One of the first things that people recognize of Adam Whiting is his laugh. Students say that they can hear it rolling down the street as they approach the studio to practice one of his classes. His smile is generous and immediate and his passion for yoga is contagious. Adam leads classes, workshops and trainings that are full of anatomical precision, intelligent sequencing, and potent philosophy. He has practiced and trained in various styles of yoga, including Tantra, Ashtanga, Anusara and Vinyasa. His musical training is integrated throughout his teachings in spirited kirtans and soft serenades in savasana.

Since 2014, Adam has been living in Sydney, Australia teaching as the Lead Facilitator for Power Living Australia Yogaa. In the three years he has been in Australia, Adam has headlined Wanderlust yoga festivals, celebrated World Yoga Day by practicing asana on top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, sang Kirtan at the Sydney Opera House, taught workshops all over Australia and New Zealand, and guided hundreds of students through 200 and 500 Hour teacher training programs. He has appeared in the publications Yoga Journal Australia, Happi Yoga and Collective Hub. He is currently back in the recording studio writing and producing a new album with James Lyell from Flight Facilities, scheduled to be released in early 2018.

In January of 2018, Adam will be returning to the United States to continue to travel and teach while leading Teacher Trainings and various events at Charlotte Yoga.