Teachers

Duncan Wong - Founder of Yogic Arts™

Growing up with the influences of the Asian arts in the Delta rice lands and vineyards between Napa Valley and San Francisco, California, Duncan Wong's life's path of the intensive study and synthesis of yoga, martial arts and massage, can be traced back to this region; where he would go on to spend twenty-five years exploring and refining his awareness and ability in the ways of self defense and self reflection, resulting in the formative process, that is Yogic Arts.
This span of his life's training ranged in experience, from family Gung-Fu teachings and early street fighting and competitive combat, to elements of Buddhist Ki training, old school 'true' martial arts lifestyle training, and empty mind meditations with his current Korean Buddhist sword master of the past fifteen years, Kwahn Jang Nym, S. J. Su, whom he received his black belt degrees from and his greatest Buddhist and life affirming influences. Having deep roots in the Bay Area, he draws from his own family lineage of Zen and Christian roots, having uncles whom were Zen priests and Trappist Monks.
By the age of sixteen, he was to come full circle, by discovering the balancing and purifying practice of Ashtanga yoga in San Francisco, after having embarked on an independent life of travel across North America by motorcycle, wandering the landscape, training in martial arts and contemplation, deep in the seclusion of the Sierra mountains. Establishing his yogic roots in the Ashtanga Vinyasa lineage of Sri K. P. Jois, Duncan walked the dual-edged path of yoga and martial arts throughout his late teens and twenties. It was during this formative period in his life, that Yogic Arts was born from his balancing of these practices. His traditional Korean Kuk Sool Won martial arts system included, from its Buddhist history, a great emphasis on healing through acu-pressure and herbal moxibustion applications. In fact, his grand master's were enlightened acupuncturists, and revealed to him early on, by their example, that the healing and killing points are the same; further exemplifying that the intentions behind our actions, naturally establish the course of our destiny.
He also observed that the Ashtanga yoga master's possessed a great ability to manipulate the joints of the spine, which seemed to be a consistency among the Western master's, whom formed the senior student body of grand master Jois. From the age of twenty, Duncan pursued his exploration into the healing arts, by studying the disciplines of Shiatsu and Thai massage therapy, which formed his famous dynamic Thai Vinyasa adjustments, which he continues to teach and train as his main form of adjustments today, blending them into his foundation of Ashtangic joint alignment and Kuk Sool energetic pressure-point techniques. He attributes his main technical massage training to his body healer mentor, Master Toth, whom he spent a decade studying under in San Francisco during his twenties.
His greatest single insight into the truth behind Yogic Arts came to him during a training session in his San Francisco Dojang, or practice space, with his master, when in a moment of slowing and softening the combat drills, he realized that the work was precisely and totally a form of advanced Thai-Shiatsu therapy. It is this 'awakening' that forms the essence of his 'hands-on' teachings today.
At the age of thirty, he relocated his life and practice to New York City, under the auspices of his philosophy guru's, Jivamukti system co-creator's, Tripura Sundari and Deva Das, whom he continues to study under and travel with internationally. After establishing his Ashtangic home base at the Patanjali Yoga Shala in New York City for seven years, his greatest daily Vinyasa, or internalized flow of personal insight, has been handed to him by his Western Ashtanga teacher, Eddie Stern; whom taught him to "Internalize your efforts." Over the past decade, he has studied in India under his main Ashtanga guru's, Sri K. P. Jois and Sri Sharath Rangaswami, who authorized him to practice and teach their work, and developed in him a solid foundation and deeper appreciation for this path of constant surrender. His list of celebrated performing artist students, whom have risen to the top of their field's, through their karma's and talent's, which includes Sri Sting, Master Madonna and Blessed Bjork, reflect his own commitments to the excellence of his life's work, and who also serve as his life mentor's.
On the deepest level of existence, Duncan's greatest insight and enlightenment has come from his enlightened Siddha Yoga guru, Sri Swami Chidvilasananda, Gurumayi, whose dhrishti diksha shaktipat, or direct spiritual awakening through gaze initiation, accounts for the pranashakti, or vital life-force that he allows to flow through him and his teachings.
Duncan now lives in Shanghai, China, where he makes a home with his life partner, Tiffany, whom he attributes his main source of daily inspiration, which supports his passion for teaching his Yogic Arts; the confluence of reuniting the sacred paths of yoga, martial arts and massage throughout the Asian and global community. 'Raise up your spirit through practice and service.' -Wong-san