Reverse Warrior

Yoga instructor Matt Bedrosian on his own road to nirvana and how he is inspiring others to find theirs.

If you’ve read The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell, it is easy to understand what kind of person Matt Bedrosian is. He is what the author refers to as a “connector”—someone who thrives on introducing others for beneficial synergy. He has done that throughout his career metamorphosis, from high-powered, fast-paced Hollywood agent to high-energy, low-stress yogi.

In his first incarnation, Matt, an agent at Paradigm, helped writers get scripts made into movies. “I loved aspects of it,” Matt says, “but I started to feel a somewhat negative and desperate energy shift from the people around me as the nature of the industry was changing. There was always a carrot dangling in front of us that we couldn’t quite catch.”

Matt knew he could not maintain that level of stress, so when he turned 45 he started trying to figure out what really made him happy. His wife, Kim, encouraged him take a yoga class. A 6’4” skier, Matt had always embraced cross-training.

“It seems like as I get older, I can’t do the things I used to. It’s like, what is my release now? What am I going to do with these achy knees?”

Turns out, after taking some classes at an Encino studio, Matt fell in love with the practice—and the mindset—of yoga. “There are very few places you can go in LA,” Matt says, “where you don’t have to put on airs.”

Soon he began to envision his own studio. “I knew I could be happy if I created a space where people who wanted to elevate themselves could,” says Matt. “I had visions of a community studio where like-minded people could find and inspire each other.”

Matt dove in headfirst to teacher training, ultimately leasing a space on the Boulevard and opening Forward Fold. His designer wife helped make the space an “urban refuge,” with dimmable lighting, soundproof walls and floor-to-ceiling windows facing a lush garden.

Matt is beloved by his students—not just for his teaching techniques but for the personal touch he gives each class. Remembering names, details and special talents, he relishes at putting like-minded people together. He even has classes dedicated to the arts.

During one recent workshop, “Yoga for Writers,” he instructed students to write in a journal and have a discussion afterwards. “I think people are dying for a supportive art community,” shares Matt, “and I love that I get to contribute to a space that leaves people happier at the end of the day.”