Before he began practicing and teaching Ashtanga yoga, New York native Eddie Stern searched for his identity in the city’s 1980s punk scene, playing in the scum-rock band Chop Shop. Wearing a theatrical mohawk, he frequented Manhattan’s clubs, including A7, CBGB, Danceteria, the Peppermint Lounge, and The World. “New York was dirty, dangerous, and on the edge of the insane music creativity of the late 1970s,” Stern says of the era. “Its songs filled me with a sense of freedom and possibility—and confirmed that I didn’t need to fit into the status quo in order to have fulfillment in my life.” (He describes his profound connection to music, and how it led him to yoga, on Ep. 43 of our Time Sensitive podcast. For even more, listen to him on Ep. 16 of At a Distance, as well.)