If Peter Manchak hadn't moved to the Santa Ynez Valley three years ago, he might still be searching for a venue to teach and practice his yoga, and he might still be yearning to travel to Spain where he could nourish his talent on the flamenco guitar. Instead, he has found a niche here where both passions are flourishing. ìI have the best of both worlds, he says.

Manchak's Yoga House in Santa Ynez offers daily classes to about 150 students, incorporating a variety of yoga styles to students of all skill levels. He often plays his sarode or another instrument at the start of his classes, offering a taste of his exotic musical style. His multicultural band, Luna Gitana,î allows him to fully express and explore a genre he calls gypsy rumba music. The band has become increasingly popular, captivating audiences at Fiesta in Santa Barbara, local weddings and parties, and at Valley wineries.

The lifestyle Manchak now enjoys is worlds apart from the one he once knew a decade ago. Working with his father inventing technologies for protecting the environment from hazardous wastes in landfills, he found himself inundated with stress. One morning he woke up and suffered a terrifying panic attack. ìI felt like I was going to die, he says. I felt so vulnerable, so disconnected from the world. It was then he realized he needed to make some major changes in his life.

Manchak took his first yoga class in 1993 while living in Santa Barbara. He was captivated, partly because Eastern religion and philosophy had already made a strong impression on him as a child during the ten years he lived in Indonesia and Malaysia with his family. He became deeply involved in yoga, attended daily classes and workshops and sought the guidance of yoga experts as he worked to expand his understanding of this ancient practice. His life gradually changed, from one consumed by fighting to one that was all about being able to let things go. Yoga also created a new body for me,î he says, I'm a new person.

He began teaching yoga about three years later. His students were enthusiastic, and soon he was receiving requests to lead classes. After moving to the Valley, he discovered there were no Vinyasa yoga classes offered here, and he felt compelled to make it available to others. He began teaching at the YMCA and at the Veteran's Hall. My classes were packed,î he says, and it was then that he decided to open a yoga studio. I'm honored and blessed, he says, to be working with such wonderful people.

Manchak's musical career began at around the same time as his introduction to yoga. He enjoyed improvising on the guitar, and when people said his work sounded a lot like flamenco guitarist Ottmar Liebert, he bought the musician's CD's and studied them. He listened to many other flamenco artists as well, and learned from their work. He bought a traditional flamenco guitar and followed his own musical evolution which culminated in the creation of Luna Gitana, which means gypsy moon.

The three-person band incorporates music from Spain, Africa and Northern India, played on guitar, drums, and ancient instruments. Five months ago, Manchak bought a sarode, a 26-string instrument created in Afghanistan over 1,000 years ago, and began studying with Montino Bourbon, master yogi and sarode player . Haunting and resonating, it's an ancient instrument used for healing. Manchak emphasizes that his yoga and his music are complimentary. Much of our music is powerful yet gentle, he says, and it's a lot like the mood of yoga.

Manchak also continues to explore new artistic avenues. His latest endeavor is a series of statues relating to yoga. He and artist/yoga teacher Debbie Ward developed the idea after two years of sculpting and material research. A few weeks after the first statues were released, the State Street gift store, Spirits Path, purchased exclusive representation of the pieces for the Santa Barbara area.

He has found himself here in the Santa Ynez Valley, and hopes that more people will come to the studio to learn the many benefits of yoga. Does Manchak still wish he could go to Spain? Hardly. When we're playing at wineries around here,î he says, I am in