Student of the Month - Jack Sholder
When you have the happy opportunity to meet Jack Sholder on the yoga mat at Iyengar Yoga Asheville, you may be surprised to learn that, although he has made 15 feature films in various genres, the genre he is best known for is horror. Yes, horror, as in “Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge.” A gentle, tall man with a shy smile, Jack is pretty surprised himself that he spent part of the past 35 years making “these kind of” movies, several of which, including “Nightmare on Elm Street 2,” were box-office hits. He explained, “Horror suits me because it’s transgressive and I don’t always like to follow the rules. Plus I have a slightly odd sense of humor so it all fits. ”
Before launching a successful career in horror movies, Jack was an Emmy Award-winning film editor in New York while working on short art films; in fact, he began his career trying to turn a verse play by Yeats set in 15th-century Ireland into a 20-minute film. Moreover, Jack has always been drawn to French cinema. “There is a humanism and richness of character that I find enormously moving and inspiring,” he clarified. “As someone who somehow fell into horror/thriller genres as a way into directing features, the most important thing for me has always been character, to create ones that in some way mirror real life.”
Although his entry into making these kinds of movies may have been serendipitous, he approached the craft with the same unwavering focus of excellence with which he approaches the other interests in his life. He admits he gets a little “obsessive and competitive” about his various passions. For instance he studied classical trumpet when he was in high school in Philadelphia and was considered very talented; Jack explained that, “it was clear to me that I was not great, so I switched gears and pursued writing, and later, film. I didn’t want to play second trumpet,” he said with a grin.
Jack excelled at athletics, too; he was a serious squash player for many years. Curiously, it was another athlete, an Olympic one, who introduced him to yoga. Gold medal Olympic diver Greg Louganis was teaching yoga in Malibu years ago when Jack lived in L.A. Jack’s wife Robin was taking classes with him and Jack accompanied her one time. “Honestly, I had no interest in going a second time, preferring, like a dog, to chase a ball. I knew then that, while I was fairly strong as an athlete, I was not flexible.”
About a year ago, Robin, who had taken a yoga workshop with Elise Miller at One Center Yoga, signed up to attend a weeklong retreat with Elise in Mexico. “My wife asked me if I wanted to attend, fully expecting I’d say no,” Jack recalled. “She did mention the retreat would be held overlooking a beach. I surprised us both by agreeing to go. If she’d said the retreat was in New Jersey, I never would have gone. And the food was excellent! I really took to the retreat. I have a bad right shoulder and the week of yoga helped. I actually came to enjoy savasana.”
On returning to Asheville, Jack did a search on Google to find Iyengar teachers because he was so impressed with the precision of Elise’s instruction. When he found Iyengar Yoga Asheville, he signed up for classes. “I am the last person in the world to picture myself sitting cross-legged and Om-ing,” he admitted, “and outwardly I don’t appear spiritual. But I’m interested in learning to be more aware in my body, and I like how I feel after class—calmer, more mentally focused, and more physically upright. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to do a headstand, but, hey, I am figuring out shoulder stand! The Iyengar teaching style is a good fit for me. I feel cared about and know that the teachers are looking out for me. No one is judging me, and I try not to judge myself.”
Jack recognizes firsthand the value of what truly experienced teachers bring to a subject. In addition to his work as a director of movies and television shows, he developed and directed the Motion Picture and TV Production Program at Western Carolina University for 14 years. He modestly reports, “I learned how to be a really good teacher and I really enjoyed working with students.”
Jack admits he is a beginner in yoga and that he sometimes “feels a bit like the studio mascot because I’ve got so much to learn.” But he acknowledges that yoga is not a competition: “Although I like to excel, yoga is a place where I can check my ego and judgments at the door. Although I’m new to this, I’m understanding how it’s possible to find the balance point in a pose so that the pose becomes easier and you can really be aware of your body—without judgment.”
Jack is a modest man, for sure … and a determined student. It will surprise no one if one day soon, in a yoga class near you, you find him standing on his head. And smiling.