Helios Walker has the physique of a god. Fittingly, he shares his birth name with a bona fide immortal. In Greek mythology, Helios is the personification of the sun. Momma and poppa Walker christened their son after the heavenly body-inspired figure.
img: Liz Zaharski
“My parents gave me and my two siblings unusual names,” tells Walker. “I think they wanted to encourage us to embrace our uniqueness and divinity.”
Walker is living up to the moniker. “I’ve always been a very active guy. My dad trained in lots of martial arts, and he taught me self-defense as well as mental focus and breathing techniques. That explains why you might find me vigorously jumping rope, lifting weights, or pounding a punching bag. Striving for improvement in the external and internal self has always been a way of life for me.”
Yoga was introduced when Walker was young. “As a child, my mother introduced me to some yoga postures. We also meditated and fasted. In my adult life, I re-discovered yoga after two car accidents in college. It was a way to start healing my body and managing the stress I was feeling then.”
“Since meditation and physical activity have always been important in my life, yoga drew me as it combined the two, and offered room to develop myself in myriad ways. Yoga hooked me when I had an emotional breakthrough in a vinyasa class. At the time, I was doing a job for money only, and was afraid to leave and try something else. I felt a release of that fear and an awakening of my intuitive side. Soon I left that job and haven’t desired to return.”
You can find Helios Walker teaching at Kindness Yoga. For class schedules, KindnessCollective.com