Check Out Mark Devenpeck’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mark Devenpeck.

Hi Mark, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
In 1982, at age 7 my only brother and I were hit by a car at 55 miles per hour on a bike with no helmets. During those days in September I remember being in the ER and ICU, coming in and out of consciousness and seeing the “light”. This accident would trigger an onslaught of things from gastrointestinal issues, a brain injury that involved relearning to read, migraines as well as spinal issues. Pain became a way of life and Tums/Rolaids and Tylenol were a common daily regime. This day in September of 1982 became the defining moment that has been weaved throughout my entire life experience.

My journey into wellness and healing truly began at the age of 19 when I was at my orthopedic surgeon to discuss options for a hairline fracture in a couple of my lower back vertebrae. This was a result of my spine being weakened in the car accident from age 7 but things didn’t come to a head until an extreme physical activity triggered the fracture.
The female surgeon took me aside and said “I don’t think we should do a fusion on L4 and L5 because you are young, your body could possibly heal with acupuncture, physical therapy and or chiropractic treatment. Please don’t tell the other doctors in the practice I am recommending this, otherwise I will be let go.” After this medical encounter I dove into doing all the things the surgeon had suggested and within a year my spine had mostly healed..
I worked for a couple years in Philadelphia in Corporate America in 1998 and continued dance training at night. One thing lead to another in life and each move, from NYC, to Philly to Southern CA would lead me into a deeper connection to healers and movement. I explored Reiki, Cranial Sacral Therapy, Polarity therapy, I sought out people who had devoted every moment of their life to self exploration and healing. After auditioning for the CAL State Long Beach Dance Department and getting in, I would later be on Scholarship at the American Dance Festival at Duke, I wasn’t ready to go back to NYC after only being in CA for 3 years. So with my business partner and friend Newton Campbell, we opened Triad Yoga & Pilates Labor Day Weekend, 2002. Integrative and alternative medicine have been the backbone of my life experience.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
On December 11th, 2011, at 36, while I was in an advanced yoga training with Maty Ezraty and while holding a pose for an extenuated time, I was adjusted and this adjustment most likely triggered a tremendous blood flow to my brain that seemed to have activated a blood vessel break in my brain. It’s believed the weakness in the blood vessel may have been triggered by the car accident when I was 7. In yoga terms it was an unexpected Kundalini Rising that almost lead to death. I survived. From my vision being affected, to perpetual Tinnitus(ringing of the ears) to short term memory issues, life changed overnight. My physical body took time to repair as far as strength and flexibility. My classes no longer were what people had known me for. But in turn, my real journey with yoga began, The one of mindfulness/awareness and the one that made me seek out the elders and people I had always wanted to train with like Mark Whitwell, Angela Farmer and Cyndi Lee. My healing and movement mentor Jayne Persch would help tremendously in my come back.
The days of me being around anyone aggressively teaching movement of any sort, Yoga, Pilates or dance were done.

With any small business you either pull it together during a financial struggle or fold. For Triad we really felt the recession of 2008 and Covid of 2020. Covid was the ultimate game changer, Business models were completely changed and yoga in LA and Orange County has never been the same. The beauty of coming from an entrepreneurial and creative mind allows for a more natural evolution when challenges arrive and shifts need to happen.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
In September of 2002, my business partner Newton Campbell and I opened Triad Yoga & Pilates within the business district of Irvine/Newport Beach Back Bay area. Coming from corporate backgrounds we both saw how there was a tremendous need for lifestyle adjustments to meet the demands of corporate life stressors.

We have specialized in Corporate Wellness/Events, Retreats, Teacher Training and yoga in educational settings and state of the art online classes. We were the first business to have a kick off event for CHOC (Children Hospital of Orange County) Complimentary and Alternative Medicine, now Integrative Health. I’ve been on Good Day LA, taught at international corporate conferences and international yoga festivals with Newton Campbell. I taught for a decade at Equinox Sports Club Los Angeles, the Flagship location.

I personally have specialized in mindfulness and incorporating it into a meditative and healing yoga practice. I also studied at Dukes Integrative Medical Department, specifically for Mindfulness for Cancer. Use of the singing bowls and sound has become a big part of my yoga classes at this stage in life. Yoga from the great tradition is unique and catered to each individual. For me in our modern day life, mindfulness can used to process the way we move and think. My hope is that students then can apply the information learned about themselves and transfer it to the other aspects of life , including work, relationships and over all awareness of reactions. When mindfulness and awareness are applied in life, the effect upon our nervous systems has profound positive benefits . I’m so proud of the lives that we have touched and changed over all these years. What sets us apart besides our background and technique, is our level of caring and commitment that quality of life is everything and each person matters that comes into a session.

Can you share something surprising about yourself?
There is one family story that has been the benchmark of my strong constitution and strength in facing the adversities of life. My great grandparents came home during Christmas eve of 1932 to find their house with a ballroom in Cooperstown NY burned to the ground as well as all their cash burned up in the so called “fire proof safe”. My Great Grandfather without shedding one tear looked at my Great Grandmother with the three children in the horse and carriage, snow falling down and said “Grace, we are going to fine, we are all alive”. If they were able to come back from that and not fall apart, I’ve always realized I can come back from anything because faith, character and resolve will eventually prevail.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.triadyogaca.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mark_devenpeck/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mark.devenpeck/
• Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/mark-devenpeck-7578b818
• Other: https://www.newton-campbell-yoga.com/

Image Credits
Shawn Smith, Joanna Rodriguez