“I do” – Love at First Yoga – My Journey

Becoming a student of Yoga

Once upon a time, I was backpacking in India and decided to try a 10 day silent meditation retreat at Tushita in the Himalayas.

I thought that such a feat would be nearly impossible for such an incessantly talkative, extroverted, enthusiastic person such as myself.

It was surprising to me how easy it was to melt into the Simple Life.

I knew immediately how important this experience would be for my life.

It was challenging at times, don’t get me wrong, but I was in deep gratitude everyday for having discovered this practice of Being in my early 20’s.

On this retreat, they offered Yoga practice everyday.  

From the first downward dog I ever took, I knew:  This was it.  FULL YES.

I fell head over heals in love with Yoga.  Everything about it. The movements, the breath, the philosophy, the community of truth-seekers.

Truly, madly, deeply in LOVE.

As soon as I started loving and practicing Yoga, I felt openings and awakenings in my body and almost instantly the mind benefits started to creep in.

With more space, flexibility and awareness of my body, I learned to heal 16 years of chronic pain in my IT band – in my outer knee and thigh.

I also began to feel a lifetime full of indecision and the dances with depression begin to loosen their grip.

Resilience continues to grow strong all the time.

Poly-Yogamous

The next move on my travels was Thailand, where I met Lily of the Blooming Lotus.  Again, instant Love.  We kept in touch and I always knew that I wanted to learn more from this incredible embodied and wise Yogi.

Over the next many years I became a true Yogaphile: I really gave time to and tried Anusara Yoga, Hatha Yoga, Kundalini, Satsang, Yin, Restorative, Bikram, Hot Yoga, Ashtanga, Mysore practice, Iyengar. 

You name it, I tried it. Mostly…

Travelling for Yoga, taking as many classes and workshops I could, reading all the books.

I studied thousands of hours with countless teachers, masters, took endless trainings and workshops…

We know that life isn’t always easy.   Buddha’s first noble truth state that “all beings suffer”.  Its part of the package of being gifted this embodied life.

Yoga always helped make things better.

Yoga started to make my life easier and more enjoyable. 

It started to help me become more resilient and to help me overcome the bouts of depression that have been a signature part of my life throughout my child and adulthood.

Becoming a Yoga Teacher

After living for some time in Bali, teaching Pre-Kindergarten at the Green School (I’m actually a qualified and certified Primary school teacher!), 

I decided it was finally time to take my Yoga to the next – level with a Teacher Training course.  Of course Lily was top of my list of who I wanted to study with, even though I had only met her for a few days 6 years before.

The teacher training blew my mind and my teachers invited me to assist and work with them.  

Shortly thereafter, I moved to Thailand and started running classes, then retreats at the Blooming Lotus.

Dream come true.

For me, despite the statistics that share that there are anywhere from 2450-650,000 Registered Yoga Teachers in the US alone, I’ve always know that if its my dharma, or sacred purpose to teach, the universe will guide me.

I guess I’ve become a little woo-woo like that.  But it’s proven true.

A few years later, my teachers decided that it was time to move to Bali and open a beautiful new centre and world there.  We parted paths.

Becoming a Yogi-Preneur

This transition invited me to step up in to a new role – as a Yogipreneur – a Yogi + Entrepreneur, to take over the space in Thailand and create my own flavour of offerings.  

Another dream come true!

This has been a really challenging part of the journey. 

The beginning of our paths with Yoga is often a lot of Love + Light.  Which is great.

Eventually though, we need to sustain the practice, sustain the learnings, integrate the lessons…

So, it’s been 3 years now of running a business, and I’d say its been mostly rewarding.

I’ve learned sooooo much.  I’ve made countless friends, connecting with incredible people from all over the globe, I’ve help ed to positivly impact the lives of thousands of people. I’ve been able to live in paradise and practice Yoga and meditation in peace.

Running a business is no piece of cake. Its been very demanding and at times, I even forget that I’m a Yogi first. 

I’m doing my best, and definitely feel like I’m earning the equivalent of a Masters degree in Spirituality and Business.

Mostly though, having a business demands that I step out of my comfort zone and learn things that are not in my so-called “Zone of genius”.

For this I am grateful…and challenged.

What’s next for me?

No matter what happens in terms of my career or trajectory as a human being….Yoga and Meditation are next for me. 

If life has taught me anything, it’s that everything changes.

So I don’t know that I’ll be teaching Yoga in this way for the rest of my life, and I don’t know if it’ll be here in this paradise.

Yoga teaches me to be present, to be grateful and  love what is, and to accept change with grace.

Again, not always easy. 

Yoga is a practice.  It’s not something you do, then tick off the list.  

I think of showers in the same way.  Great! I had a shower today – that doesn’t mean I won’t need one again tomorrow or in a couple days right?!

Yoga is something you show up to in every moment, day after day after day.

Teaching Yoga does not mean that I have mastered it.  It simply means that I am dedicated to being a student of life, dedicated to facing my shadows, to learning, to growing and to evolving

Yoga is my forever teacher,  in the good times and the bad.

Yoga always helps to remind me of who I really am, beyond the stories and emotions.  It helps guide my way home.

I feel beyond blessed and grateful to dedicate my life to practicing and sharing Yoga, opening my heart, discovering deeper dimensions.  

And I vow to continue to evolve and grow, and become a more balanced and diverse person,  teacher and entrepreneur along the way, so long as that is what feels like the highest good for all, 

Til death or beyond…do us part Yoga.

Thank you for all that you give me.

In a nutshell, Why Yoga?

Hatha Yoga combines movement, conscious breathing, and mindful awareness and presence to offer physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual practices that connect us to the deepest aspects of our selves and our true nature.

The Benefits of yoga are boundless and include alignment, balance, strength, flexibility and connection to nature, community and our highest selves. 

Yoga helps me so much to navigate the reality of what presents in each moment. Its help me to know what the “highest alignment” is in each given situation, and it helps me to the see a true reflection of the roots of my suffering more clearly.  It improves each present moment most especially when I am in a really dedicated space of active practicing.

Life is still life. Up, downs, waves, emotions, times where I feel alone, time where I feel not enough. But every time an emotional fluctuation arises, it lasts less long and I can see the progress and resilience, I can feel it…

Yoga is the one thing I can absolutely commit to for the rest of my life. And I love nothing more than sharing this passion for the Practice, for being a student of life ever-after, and for living the ever – evolving dream of sharing this love with you all!

Yoga literally means “union” or “to yoke” our everyday selves with our highest most divine selves. Yoga is a powerful tool that teaches us how to live a life of balance, peace, harmony, strength and flexibility on all levels. The practice of yoga helps us become stronger, more open, free, happy, flexible and balanced, physically, emotionally and spiritually. Through yoga, we open ourselves to the infinite possibilities of life, allowing us to connect more deeply with ourselves, nature and community.

A Discipline Practice

A Disciplined Practice of yoga has the transformational benefits of deepening our connection to the body, mind and spirit, supporting us in living and loving long, vibrant, happy, healthy and fulfilling lives.

Yoga teaches us the art of letting go, letting grow, letting flow.

We move our bodies to move energy and restlessness to ultimately still the mind and enter the bliss of meditation, wherein our individual consciousness can merge with the ultimate or spiritual oneness consciousness, leading to our remembrance that we are not separate from that which appears to be outside of our own minds.

In practicing yoga, we become humbled and cultivate our trust in the body of wisdom that is sacred and vast and greater than our individual selves.

The Shift

We are invited through our practice to look at the reflections life shows us in the form of experiences, the people we come across, emotions that enter.

We practice the art of receiving, giving, continually striving for an open heart especially when it wants to close.

We come to believe seemingly impossible to be possible and begin embracing feelings of gratitude for the perfection of it all either way

From wherever we are at,  breaking through our somewhat uncomfortable comfort zones of who we think we are, the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves that we believe – “I’m not good at yoga”, “I’m too stiff/ old/ etc.. allows us to have the biggest heart, mind and body openings and shifts in our attitudes, mindsets, behaviours and thoughts.

Becoming more consciously aware, more mindful, in the choices we make everyday, from diet and lifestyle to the company we keep, so that we are living in full truth, love and integrity, is another great ripple effect of the practice.

Yoga helps inspire a deeper connection with mother nature and her cycles.  Perfectly orchestrated symphonies of synchronicities and coincidences being to more readily flow and stream through life.

And most importantly,  at the end of the day, Yoga is simply a practice.

So all you really gotta do is show up.

Be present.

Allow.

Let go

Breathe

and

Be.

Do you love Yoga as much as we do?  Let us know in the comments section! 🙂

Enjoy this short practice that explores a simple standing sequence to build strength in alignment, flow with the breath and movement and openness in the hips and heart.

Top 10 Pure Flow Yoga Retreat Insights:

A Yoga Retreat is a great opportunity to unplug, unwind and focus on the true you, as you take a break from your day-to-day responsibilities and regular routines of life.  A retreat is unlike a holiday in that it requires discipline and showing up, finding the balance between practice and pause.  It’s an opportunity for you to deepen your connections and understandings of Yoga and yourself, in an exotic, gorgeous and exciting paradise while meeting great new people from all over the world.  You may love it so much that you keep coming back every year.

1 – Yoga is the gift that keeps on Giving:  You may come home Transformed

Warning: Going on retreat may cause serious side-effects including and not limited to feeling more:

Aligned, transformed, Refreshed, Invigorated, Relaxed, Calm, Soft, Kind, Warm, Bright, Spacious, Light, Slowed down, Connected to yourself, Creative, Embodied, Focused, Clear minded, Strength to overcome new challenges, Resilience, and heightened sense of flexibility, both in the body and in the mind.

2 – Expect the Unexpected and Remember… 

What matters in life, is not necessarily what happens, so much as what happens next.  In other words, what matters is how You respond or react. 

Let’s begin with one of my favourite Rumi poems:

This being human is a guesthouse. Every morning a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor. Welcome and entertain them all! Even if they are a crowd of sorrows, who violently sweep your house empty of its furniture, still, treat each guest honorably. He may be clearing you out for some new delight. The dark thought, the shame, the malice. Meet them at the door laughing and invite them in. Be grateful for whatever comes. Because each has been sent as a guide from beyond.

– Rumi

The Yin / Yang of Koh Phangan:  The magic of our location on the crystal-quartz island of Koh Phangan is that it is remote, stunning, high vibrational and so it attracts yogis, meditators, fasters, artists, travellers from around the world and party animals too!  Koh Phangan as you may know, is home to the monthly Full Moon Party.  Generally, we are not so affected by these parties, but there are loud weekly music dance parties and all vices in our bays as well.  Generally there are all-night parties Friday and Saturday. It is a unique situation in that you can wake up at sunrise, do your practice and then go dance all day, or you can stay up all night.

Keep this in mind.  Notice what arises within you.  There may be judgment, aversion, frustration, celebration, fascination; apathy…Again, everything that presents is just an invitation to know ourselves more.

“Everything in your life is there as a vehicle

for Your transformation. Use it!” – Ram Dass

3 –  Sankalpa – What is your Intention?

We can think of the Universe as a very sophisticated GPS system.  Our jobs are to input our final destination address and then put our cars, ourselves, into gear, letting the Universe navigate us and take care of the details of how we are going to get to where we want to go.

Reflect on why you have chosen to come on a retreat at this moment in your life:

Take some moments to meditation or write about what has inspired you to join us here in Paradise on a retreat.  Why you are coming and what do you hope will be the outcome of your experience?  What are you hoping to feel during or after the retreat? 

4 – Come with a Beginners Mind and Readiness to Play:

Some of us are New to Yoga, and some of us have been teaching for 20 years.  Remember that the process of yoga is infinite, boundless, and vast beyond our wildest imaginations.

Not knowing is the gateway to knowing.

When we come with our minds already full there is no space for the new, no space for transformation and expansion.  So the invitation here is to be child-like:

Receptive, open and playful. 

Science proves that we learn and heal best through play.   We ourselves are amazing laboratories for experimentation and self-discovery.  So let’s play!   

Beginners Mind – According to Zen Buddhism, when our rice bowl is full, so to speak, there is no room for more. Thus in order to stay open and keep learning, we must continually empty our bowls. Throughout your time here, we invite you to meet each moment with a child-like sense of awe and wonder, in a spirit of openness, curiosity and playfulness as we explore and discover our personal patterns and edges.

5 – Be Curious!

Life is an endlessly fascinating play with relentless waves of ups and downs, lefts and rights, and all arounds. 

You may be coming with expectations of how things should be, or perhaps you have just had a blissful peaceful experience in mind. 

The reality is, things happen.  Always. They don’t always go according to plan. 

Maybe the boat driver is trying to rip you off, or you get sick when you arrive, maybe you meet the person who will change your life forever, or maybe not, maybe this whole non-hot water shower non- flushing toilet thing is really out of your comfort zone, maybe you don’t sleep as well as you wanted one night because you’re getting bit by one mosquito too many. 

The point is, no one knows exactly what is going to happen next, EVER.  In accepting whatever is happening in this moment as perfect, we can use whatever is happening as a teaching to help us evolve.  Challenge, resistance, everything is conspiring for our betterment.

6 –  Do your Best: Be Willing to Learn & to Show up

Transformation is a reflection of our willingness to connect, to let go, to aspire to realise oneself.

In other words, you get out what you put in. Use this as an opportunity to go deeply into self-reflection so that you can empower yourself to recognise and begin shifting patterns that no longer serve and integrating ones that do.

Alot of success is simply about showing up. 

There are going to be times when you’d rather be laying on the beach than being present in class.  Normal.  We encourage you to use this resistance as your teacher and to continue to show up for yourself and do the work. 

Committing to the journey and doing your best will really support you in fulfilling your intention.

7 –  85% of our Students are Solo Travellers.

You are not alone!  There is community here! 

We are all coming to these retreats to find more balance, to love ourselves more and to awaken.   In this we really find common threads to connect and support each other. 

Each group dynamic is so unique, some groups fall totally in love with one another, and other times there is frustration and annoyance, or feelings of being triggered.  Always though, each participant leaves the group feeling expanded and connected and more self-aware. 

We don’t always get to choose the lessons we learn, but wow!,  if we can stay open to those lessons, and reflect on why this person or that challenge may be in our presence now, it can allow for amazing shifts. Imagine the freedom and expansiveness of considering the possibility that everyone and everything that presenting in your reality right now is somehow a reflection of something with you.

8 – Trust the Process & Take NOTHING personally:

The image most people have in their minds of a retreat in paradise is often peaceful and blissful, and ultimately this is the destination!  But, the journey can be also be bumpy at times.  Immersions offer a safe space to look at our murkier bits, to give our shadow sides space and time to emerge and release.  Sometimes we can feel social and other times we can feel to be in a quieter space. 

Remember this can be a really sensitive time for you and the others. We can never really know where another being is coming from. Remember to take nothing personally.   Whatever is going on with someone else, is not about you!   Respect where you’re at and where others are at and take nothing personally. 

9 – Nurture yourself & Allow yourself time to Simply BE

What happens off the mat is as important as what happens on the mat.

What we are learning in our journey of Yoga is what our bodies and minds need to balance.  So reflect on what you need to find more balance in your body, in your heart, in your mind, and in your spirit and take advantage of this time to honour, listen and nurture yourself.  Get massages, take naps, spend time alone, be barefoot and most importantly

Allow yourself time to SIMPLY BE.  

We are doing a lot:  Moving our bodies, filling our minds, breaking through comfort zones, meditating and looking within….

We also have some free time.   The tendency we often time have as humans, is to fill these empty spaces with: distractions, habits, addictions, and BUSYNESS.   

Watch your actions, your words, and your behaviours and do your best to align these with your highest intentions.

10 – Practice Gratitude Everyday

“When you realise there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to You”. – Lao-Tzu

Gratitude – thankfulness, appreciation for the simple pleasures, for your life’s blessings, for all that you receive – is said to the most powerful of prayers and the highest vibration we can emit to help us manifest a life of happiness and alignment. 

At the end of each yoga class we will take a few moments to feel gratitude.

When we start this practice, we may feel challenged or inauthentic, finding it easier at times to grumble and groan rather than think of what we are grateful for.  The hardest part is just beginning. 

So let’s start now.  

Today, I am grateful for…

Perhaps you can feel grateful for the people in your life, the feet that support you, your morning coffee ritual.  Anything.  What most people I know begin to find, is that this practice has a magnetic momentum.  As soon as you start, more and more things will come to mind that you can feel grateful for, even and especially the shadowy bits that have challenged you a long the way.  

This is such a powerful tool for shifting you mood, your moment, and ultimately you life! 

Please feel welcome to begin creating a list of all the people and things, big and small, for which you are grateful and be sure to thank yourself for being here

and from me… thank you so much for being here now and for all that you are and continue to be!

Namaste