Clayton Horton

Clayton Horton is the Director of Greenpath Yoga. He has been a student of yoga for over twenty-three years and began teaching in 1996. Clayton has studied with both masters Sri K. Pattabhi Jois and the Greensufi for for a period of over fourteen years.

A Passion for Yoga

For Clayton Horton, already in his early twenties it was obvious to him that yoga was a passion. He began to realize that he had an aptitude to go very deep into the study of yoga with its physical and spiritual aspects. At the same time he knew that is was his life’s work to make this world a better place.

Search for a Guru

Driven to find a real guru and he ended up meeting both of his teachers, Greensufi and Pattabhi Jois in the same month of 1996. After his first trip to India, he returned to the United States and it became that he wanted to share yoga with others for a living rather than anything else.

Teaching yoga worldwide

Clayton’s route into the life of a global yogi teaching yoga around the world came through friends that he met along the way who invited him to teach in their studios. In 2000, he was invited to the Yoga Sangam Yoga Conference in Santa Catarina, Brazil, where he ended up teaching for six years in a row. In the meantime, he was travelling to Mysore, India to study with Pattabhi Jois, where he was meeting people from all over the world.

Bela Lipat from Manila, Philippines invited him to teach at her shala the next time he was travelling to Mysore and that began his journey of travelling and teaching at various studios and locations.

In 2006, a greedy landlord, wanting to double the rent of his studio (Greenpath Yoga in San Francisco) led him to close the studio, thus giving him more freedom to travel and teach yoga in other interesting places around the globe.

Clayton thinks it can only be a great thing if we start to see more and more global yogis travelling and teaching. As he says

“The world needs some good guidance from individuals who have experiential knowledge of spiritual and physical healing and growth.”

For Clayton travelling and teaching in many different countries helps in the realization that we are all ultimately the same, despite economic, cultural and social differences. In essence this is seeing oneself in all beings and seeing all beings in yourself as mentioned in the Bhagavad Gita. A definition of the classic “Namaste” salutation is “I see you” and “my heart feels like yours”.

Yoga and Travel

Travelling has allowed Clayton to experience many of the gifts that planet Earth has to offer. He has had the opportunity to see urbanized areas of the world in which are polluted beyond belief as well as ancient and underdeveloped parts of the world that are having difficulty integrating to a modern world of plastics, toxins and unsustainable consumerism. But not all poor countries share these problems, as Clayton notes he has also seen ancient and modern communities that are progressive, sustainable and in balance with nature. Knowledge of these different conditions has allowed him to prioritize what he shares with others and has encouraged him to live by example to the best of his ability.

Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga

His practice and teachings are rooted in the ashtanga vinyasa tradition and daily meditation. He is a member of the Yoga Society of San Francisco Brahmananda Ashram and a Founding Board Member of the Green Yoga Association.

His teaching style is traditional yet light hearted and relaxed. Clayton believes that by practicing and living yoga, we can transform ourselves and the world around us.

From 2001-2006, Clayton operated Greenpath Yoga Studio in San Francisco, California. The studio was one of America’s first green and environmentally friendly yoga studios and was an inspiration with its progressive yoga programs, philosophies, events and authenticity.

Clayton received formal authorization to teach Ashtanga Yoga from the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute of Mysore, South India in 2003.

He continues his study at the K. Pattabhi Jois Ashtanga Yoga Institute under the direction of Sharath Jois. He is also a global yogi, travelling regularly to Asia, Europe and South America to teach workshops, trainings and retreats.

For more information about Clayton or his classes and events, Make an Enquiry.