From drug addict to (famous) yoga instructor: it’s Vinnie Marino, featured on CNN {Video}

He’s a big sweetey. Always with a gentle smile. He’s a leader, and he’s tough as nails. And, as he explains above, with a little (okay, a lot) more work, yoga can do for us what we’re looking for in drugs.

Intro, via Seane Corn:

“Couldn’t be more proud of my BFF Vinnie Marino!! This CNN piece is about his journey from drug addiction to recovery to discovering yoga to becoming the fabulous, irreverent, big-hearted yoga teacher he is today. Check it out!! xx”

Click here for elephant’s “I Heart Vinnie Marino’s Yoga Class.”

This week, we meet recovering drug addict Vinnie Marino, now one of the most sought-after yoga teachers in Los Angeles.

(CNN) — Vinnie Marino grew up in the 1960s and says a “restlessness” drew him to reading about Buddhism, practicing yoga and eating a vegetarian diet.

But, while in high school, he also found drugs. After dropping out of college, he moved to San Francisco, where, he says, “My first week there I was introduced to shooting cocaine.” Eventually, heroin helped calm his “crazy cocaine brain.” He stayed in the downward spiral for years before fighting to get clean.

Here are five questions for Marino:

Click over to CNN for the full article.