Keeping the Beat
Bryan Gwin is a music producer with roots in Seattle, Washington and Nashville, Tennessee. He found yoga as his favorite way to keep in shape, and centers through gratitude in prayer on a daily basis. When he’s not exploring the outdoors, you’ll find him writing music or balancing on his hands.
What gets you out of bed every morning?
My alarm! But if you are asking what motivates me to get out of bed and live life, that would be life itself! I try to start each morning in prayer and meditation and take on the mindset of thankfulness. Life is a gift! I want to be thankful for it at all times.
What is the most important part of your daily routine or “O”?
Here’s my day in a nutshell: I wake up, pray/meditate, go to work (my work day also consists of lots of yoga and handstands at parks), yoga/exercise, make dinner, relax, work on music, longboard, then go to sleep.
The most important part of my day is prayer and meditation. This sets my whole day with intention and gets my mindset in the right place for the day.
What’s something special or unique about how you plan your day?
I think the fact that I pack a lot of activities into my day while working a full time job. I have multiple passions and I like to try to use my time wisely and put my energy into the things I love doing or want to progress at.
Whose daily routine or “O” would you most like to see?
I would love to see Mozart’s “O” because he was one of the greatest musicians ever to live and back in his time he was not world famous for doing it. I like to believe he did what he did almost purely out of passion.
Best piece of health advice you’ve ever received?
“Stay consistent.”
I think this is where most people fall short. Lots of people will start a diet or an exercise with great intentions and go really hard right out of the gate, only to find themselves quitting shortly after. I believe that even if we do a lot less, but do it consistently, the results will be much better in the long run.
If you only did 10 push-ups a day but did that for the rest of your life, it would be better than working out five days a week for two years then stopping altogether. Find a routine that fits your lifestyle and that you know you can stick with, then keep at it!
Favorite part about living a healthy lifestyle?
Feeling it. You don’t just feel it physically, but mentally and spiritually as well. Its all connected. Our bodies are one of the greatest gifts we have been given. If we take care of them, the natural benefits are astounding.
Describe your sleep ritual.
I usually go to bed between 11PM and midnight. I like to get 9 hours of sleep each night, but usually that doesn’t happen (ha!). I don’t really do anything special to prepare. Sometimes I will spend some time stretching before bed, but usually my ritual is just climbing into bed and closing my eyes.
Tell us about a time you were stuck in an unhealthy cycle and how you got out of it. What was the main inspiration for positive change?
I honestly have always been healthy and active ever since I was young. Whether through playing sports, lifting weights or adventuring outdoors, I never had a moment where I woke up and thought, “Man, I really need to change my lifestyle.”
I think the closest thing I had to that is when I started changing my eating habits. As funny as it is, I just watched a bunch of food documentaries on Netflix and they pretty much changed my mind about food overnight. Since then I have done my best to eat healthily. When I am at my best I like to eat Paleo. I find that, for me, it is the best style of eating to build lean muscle quickly.
If you could give one piece of health advice to your future kid(s), what would it be?
Practice, practice, practice. If you don’t start, you will never see results. Outside of that, I would say to find a healthy habit that you actually enjoy.
To me, it’s not enjoyable to go to a gym and throw weight around. Finding handstands and yoga has been a huge game changer in my life. I actually can’t wait to “workout” now! But this will be different for everybody. Find what you love and keep doing it!
Favorite Vegetable:
Broccoli.
Personal Motto:
Love will unite us.
Bryan Gwin is a Music Producer & Yoga Practitioner. For more inspiration from Bryan, check out his music at Maiken and follow him on Instagram and Twitter.