I love Yogi Cameron. There, I said it.
In fact, I love him so much that I deleted my favorite episodes of Law and Order SVU on my DVR so that I could fill it up with more episodes of A Model Guru, his reality show produced by Veria Living Network. In each episode, he takes on a new client challenged by a health issue; using Ayurveda and yoga, he gets them on the road to recovery.
Some of us may remember Yogi Cameron, aka Cameron Alborzian, from Madonna’s high-production music video for “Express Yourself,” where he appears as a steel worker who, well, expresses himself sensually. He was also featured in one of Guess Jeans’ most memorable print campaigns from 1988-92. In fact, he was one of the first male supermodels, working the runway for such notable designers as Versace, Gaultier, Dior, and YSL. Yogi Cameron is beautiful to the point of distraction—in the physical sense, yes, but what radiates even more comes from within. His stunning good looks are eclipsed by his peaceful energy and brilliant presence.
Yogi Cameron was born in Tehran to an English mother and an Iranian father. The revolution broke out when he was ten years old and his parents quickly sent him to boarding school in England. Having had a close family life, the move was a big change. “It was an impactful moment that showed me that even if you have all the love in the world, something else can come along in life and change your circumstances dramatically. You have to trust something more divine than human beings.”
In 1986, after attending a sports college to study sports medicine, he was approached while walking the streets of London by a scout who asked him if he wanted to model. “I said, “Sure!” It was a time-filler which went on for 12 years,” Cameron explains. His success in modeling led him to a benefit show in South Africa where he met Nelson Mandela. This was another turning point in his life, “I looked around at all these great people in one room and thought, ‘We have come to this moment of transition where Mandela has just been freed from jail after 27 years, and has become the President of South Africa.’ He was a very peaceful man. I had done everything I needed to do in the fashion world. I needed to find my purpose.”
At first, he didn’t know what that purpose was. He worked in a restaurant for a spell, and then became a yoga teacher. Still searching, since he knew of Ayurveda, he found a school in Southern India and was accepted to their program. “I left Western life behind for about seven or eight years. I learned Ayurvedic medicine. I learned the yogic path and was taught by a guru. I decided to come back here five years ago because my guru, Dr. Vasudeva, the guru of Arsa Yoga, sent me,” Yogi Cameron explains, “I didn’t want to leave because my teacher was there. I thought ‘I’m here and I’m happy. And I’m happy with just being happy.’ And my teacher said, ‘That is why you have to go. You were a model not out of choice; you were given that face so that you can influence Westerners in a way that I can’t. You can influence young people, old people; they will relate to you.’”
Despite his reluctance, once in the US, Cameron’s new career path unfolded before him in a way that was in alignment with his yogic path. He currently has a roster of celebrity clients and has made appearances on TV shows including Dr. Oz, the Ellen DeGeneres Show, and The Today Show. He makes over people’s lives with sincerity on A Model Guru.
When I asked him how Hollywood has affected him, he smiled and said, “It’s a great place to do your practice. Spiritual practice isn’t something that requires you go hide. You can live your life. If you are a Himalayan monk, you live a different life, you have different challenges.”
The effect of Yogi Cameron’s spiritual practice is clearly evident, largely is due to discipline. He says, “Discipline is the backbone of progress. Make something important to you, and you will get it done. If you don’t make it important, it won’t be. If somebody’s life is football and it’s important to them, then they didn’t miss the Super Bowl. They were there, and they probably prepared for it. They watched the pre-game, but they missed a whole lot of other things. Make it important and you will get it done.”
The thing that I am most impressed by, as I sit with Yogi Cameron, is the same thing that makes him so compelling on A Model Guru—his presence. One of the most touching episodes is when he works with a young autistic boy. The compassion he shows, not only to this child, but to his family, is powerful. He articulates, “I didn’t treat him like he has a disease. It is just an energy shift. So I just tuned into his energy rather than have him tune into my energy. I looked to see where he was, jumped in there with that energy, and I interacted with him.” He continues, “As a society, we can be egotistical and will want to stamp our authority on things, forgetting that we are not experts. The Divine is the ultimate expert. It is within each of us; we’ve just got to use it, rather than say no, it has to be done this way. We don’t ultimately know how it should be done, so we just jump in, and we move, and the Divine moves within us.”
Humility, Compassion, Discipline, Humor—Yogi Cameron embodies it all, making him even more beautiful inside than he is on the outside.
Yogi Cameron’s teachings are available in his two books published by Harper Collins. The Guru in You is a primer of basic ayurvedic and yogic principles and a manual for incorporating them into everyday life. His most recent book, The One Plan: A Week-by-Week Guide to Restoring Your Natural Health and Happiness, is a step-by-step plan for embodying and practicing Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras in daily life. You will also find a plethora of information on his website at yogicameron.com.
Daily Practice for 9-to-5ers
The greatest benefit of a career is the ability to incorporate personal routine into a professional routine. The greatest obstacle is that work and the commute take up such a large portion of the day—sometimes as many as ten or eleven hours. The following routine is suggested for those who work in a 9-to-5 job or something similar.
Morning
Wake between 5:00 and 7:00am. Leave enough time in your morning to have hot water, practice cleaning and oiling rituals, and to also practice postures, breathing, and concentration exercises.* This will likely require at least 45 minutes or an hour to practice with proper awareness and conscientiousness. If your morning commute schedule already requires you to get up intensely early and leaves you no time, attempt to at least practice breathing in the car, on the train, or in whatever mode of transportation you use.
Late Morning
If possible, try to wait at least three hours after waking up before eating, even if doing so takes place at work. It is ideal to wait before eating, for digestive strength increases with a bit of activity in the morning.
Afternoon
If you take a lunch break, spend at least five or ten minutes of it sitting in silence. This will help you to process your workload from the morning and center yourself to be fresh for the remainder of your time before going home.
Evening
If you don’t get home until 7:00 or 8:00pm, or even later, work a light meal into your commute so that you don’t have to eat so close to bedtime.
Nighttime
Try to spend at least ten minutes in silence before turning in for the evening, and build your willpower against destructive habits like an intake of alcohol or other stimulants, an excessive amount of time in front of the TV or computer, or even an excessive amount of time talking or reading. Go to bed between 9:30 and 11:00pm.
If you find that you have no time at all in your life, then the way you utilize the time in your life probably needs revising. There should always be time for health and spiritual endeavors.
- Cleaning and oiling rituals, postures, breathing, and concentration exercises, as well as “foundation-building practice,” are all explained in detail at yogicameron.com.
Dale Nieli (MSW, hypnotherapist) is a certified yoga teacher and fitness expert whose decades of study provide continual inspiration in her practice of guiding people in full-body holistic fitness.
Dale Nieli MSW, C-IAYT, CHT has a powerful gift for helping people discover sources of pain and stress, whether the source is physical, emotional, or spiritual. She is a compassionate transformational guide for people when they are in crisis points in their lives. Dale is skilled at facilitation with people at all stages of recovery, from those who are beginning their own path to those deepening their long-term sobriety. Her work allows people to release patterns of long-held tension that become lodged in the body, holding them back and often leading to symptoms such as fatigue, sleeplessness, and anxiety. Dale helps people remove these barriers to health in order to experience increased energy, enjoy sound sleep, and to feel peaceful, more at ease, and even full of joy.
In her work one-on-one and in groups, Dale uses her intuitive skills to help people integrate body, mind, and spirit in order to actualize their full potential. Some of the interconnected techniques she uses include the therapeutic application of yoga, trauma release work, somatic experiencing, vagus nerve regulation, psychoneuroenergetics, sound healing, user-friendly mindfulness meditation, aromatherapy, hypnotherapy and affirmations, pressure points and hands-on healing, breath training, therapeutic movement, energy work, intuitive healing, and mind-body fitness.