Yoga teacher turns passion for health into valleywide classes

Students' pace determines level of workout

special to viewMarty Jacobs, right, works into a heart-shaped stretch with yoga instructor Susan Hayes.

He grew up in the early 1970s, spent 30 years as a vegetarian, often in Birkenstock shoes, and readily admits to a hippy mentality. So, what's Marty Jacobs, the former owner of four local Great Earth Vitamins locations, up to these days?

He's now a broker, selling products to health food stores like Whole Foods. He's also teaching yoga, something he began doing three decades ago.

His foray into the health food world began early in his adulthood.

Jacobs, now 60, had health problems as a young man. They weren't bad enough to keep him from earning a business degree, and it even had a benefit.

"I failed the Army physical, which was good, because I probably would have gone to Vietnam," he said.

But his condition led him to read all he could on living a natural lifestyle. That led to working in a health food store in Santa Monica, Calif. Just down the street was a Great Earth Vitamins store. In 1978, the vitamin store owner asked him to launch a franchise location in Las Vegas. He ended up having four.

"It was all about sharing health," he said.

By then, Jacobs was already into yoga and was certified as an instructor. It was a passion he continued throughout his life.

These days, he's teaching the discipline to those of baby boomer age and also to as many as 60 seniors at the Adult Day Care Center of Las Vegas, 901 N. Jones Blvd., adultdaycarelv.org. For the latter, he teaches a class that's done sitting down.

"My joy is chair yoga, working with people with a lot of disabilities," he said.

Jacobs also teaches more traditional yoga through Blue Sky Yoga, blueskyyogalv.com, inside the Arts Factory, 101 E. Charleston Blvd., and at the Willows Community Center, 2775 Desert Marigold Lane.

Jacobs urges participants to "just do what you can." Results will be noticed within a month, he said.

Gail Strum met Jacobs recently when he filled in for her regular yoga instructor.

"He's absolutely awesome," she said. "You can tell he takes yoga to heart."

Linda Ryke has known Jacobs for 20 years.

"He's able to break through the ego-self," she said. "He makes people feel at the place they need to be at the moment."

Contact Summerlin and Summerlin South View reporter Jan Hogan at jhogan@viewnews.com or 387-2949.