Student finds pride, purpose in yoga

Autistic high-schooler enjoys teaching classes in Boca

Boca High student Michael Gorlano has flexibility, poise, balance — and autism.

And as he demonstrated on Thursday, he also has the ability to guide 1,000 of his fellow students through a series of yoga poses that kept everyone moving through the 83-degree heat.

Yoga on the football field has been a Boca High winter tradition since 2011, when there were 35 students in the school’s yoga program. Now there are 300.

The other 700 were students who wanted to try the moves. They included 44 students from the yoga program at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.

In previous years, teachers had led the

yoga flow. But on Thursday, six students who have become certified yoga teachers, including Gorlano, offered instructions on the grass.

“Yoga helps me let go of any drama,” Gorlano said. “It’s the best thing if you’re having a rough day.’’

It wasn’t always easy for Gorlano. His mother, Randy Gorlano, said he had to get a tutor to help him learn the correct sequencing of the poses and how to pronounce the poses in Sanskrit.

Yoga’s popularity continues to grow across the country. A 2016 survey by Yoga Journal and Yoga Alliance found there are 36.7 million American yoga practitioners, a surge from 20.4 million in 2012 and 15.8 million in 2008. Those age 18-to-29 comprise 19 percent of yoga students, while 30-to-49-year-olds make up the biggest chunk at 43 percent.

Students such as Gorlano who want to become certified instructors must spend two weekends a month over the course of seven months in an intensive study program. He also had to pass written and verbal tests, said Catherine Payne, Boca High’s yoga teacher.

The certification includes a familiarity with anatomy and physiology as well as the history of yoga and its philosophy. Teachers also must be able to demonstrate poses and communicate clearly.

“I told him I wasn’t going to be lenient,” Payne said. “He passed with flying colors.”

Randy Gorlano said yoga has given Michael a purpose and a sense of pride.

“It’s been the greatest feeling in the world,” his mom said. “It’s become his passion.’’

TAIMY ALVAREZ/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Michael Gorlano, a certified yoga instructor and Boca High School student who is autistic, leads hundreds of students in a yoga class on the school’s football field.