Meet the [Guest] Teacher: Happy Jack

Jack Boken, also known as Happy Jack is a musician, yoga teacher, life coach and all-round inspiration. He is one of the most infectiously positive vagabond yoga teachers and has a growing and thriving yoga community around the world. We’re excited to have him join the Lumi community not just at his ‘Lead With Your Heart’ workshop on 4th October, but also a guest teacher on Monday 21st September at 6:30.

We caught up with him recently to find out about his journey to becoming Happy Jack:

Tell us a bit about your journey? How did you become ‘ Happy Jack’

After ten years in corporate Canada/USA, I decided to leave that lifestyle behind and pursue my true passions of yoga & music. For the past five years now I have been traveling and sharing yoga & music with communities around the world.

When I was a small child, my parents nick-named me ‘Happy Jack’ because I was always so happy & smiling. As I grew up, I slowly lost this smile as a result of life challenges – until I found yoga. Through the practice of yoga, I peeled away all the layers that were hiding my Happy Jack essence and I was back! Now I travel the world as Happy Jack, sharing my story and inspiration with others 🙂

Baron Baptiste is your primary teacher, what messages do you carry with you in your classes/workshops? 

I have completed nearly 2000 hours in yoga teacher trainings, and most of these are with my primary teacher Baron Baptiste. If I were to describe my main message in one word, it would be CONNECTION. Workshops and classes with me are truly an opportunity to connect with others. In society we have become so task-oriented and driven that we miss out on so many opportunities to share and connect with others.

You are a citizen of the world in more ways than one. Where’s home for you?

I consider my two homes to be Canada & Finland. I was born and raised in Canada and also spend a great deal of time in my mom’s home country of Finland. That being said, since I left John Deere and the corporate world – I have not had a permanent home these past years. I’ve travelled to nearly 30 countries, connecting and sharing with amazing communities around the world. As I write this message I’m in the Zurich airport, and London is my home for the next month. Also I am nearing the stage in my life where I’m ready to set some roots and I’m excited to see where I end up 🙂

You’ve overcome a lot of challenges/obstacles in your life and are an inspiration to so many people, what words of wisdom would you give to our community? 

Yes I am grateful for all of the challenges I have experienced in my life – alcoholism, drug abuse, obesity, divorce, workaholism & cancer. I learned so much from these experiences and they allow me to connect with others who have experienced challenging situations. My main message to others is to LEAD WITH YOUR HEART. This is the theme of my workshop I will be sharing at Lumi Power Yoga, and also the title track of my original song I will be sharing with your community. When we lead with our heart, rather than doing what others expect of us or what we ‘should’ do, we can truly love our life

You’ve taught in several different countries and have a global yogi following, what should our yogis expect from your workshop?

Yes I have shared this LEAD WITH YOUR HEART workshop around the world, and this experience is truly available to all levels of experience. Just last summer in Copenhagen I had a 77 year old lady join who had an amazing experience – in addition to the young advanced yogis who also gained so much from our experience together.

What you can expect from our time together is: Baptiste Power Vinyasa Yoga, Live Music, Transformational activities, discussion and connection within your community in a beautiful way

Yoga is such a large part of your life – both practice and teaching – are there any poses that you still find challenging?

The first pose that comes to mind is pinchamayurasana (forearm stand). I am currently working with a shoulder injury (which is proving to be my greatest teacher), and I have to adapt many poses to ensure my shoulder is protected. Pincha is the pose that challenges me and my ego seems to have some attachment to mastering it. Also I have learned that there will always be some pose that I aspire to do, and so I am simply grateful for what I am able to do today

For a daily dose of Happy Jack follow him on his blog here or on Twitter. And be sure to book your place in Jack’s class on Monday 21^st September at 6:30PM (regular class passes apply) and/or sign up for his Lead With Your Heart workshop on 4^th October.