I was only nineteen when a friend dragged me to my first yoga class in Laguna Beach, but I didn’t truly fall in love with the practice until three years later, when I discovered Vinyasa. I loved the variety of poses, or asanas, that were taught, the way they flowed so beautifully together, and I mostly loved how the practice made me feel. I initially started going to yoga because of all the superficial desires that many of us have, like wanting to be stronger, more flexible, healthier, etc. As expected, I began noticing gradual changes in my body, as well as a multitude of other positive effects after a relatively short amount of time. Looking back, I was so excited to discover this new obsession, however, I was completely unaware of how deep this whole yoga thing was about to take me.
After just a couple months of maintaining a consistent yoga practice, my physical body was feeling strong and limber, but something else happened that I didn’t expect. My mind became more peaceful and present throughout the day, even during events that would have normally caused me to stress out. I began to grow more patience, contentment, and even a greater tolerance to life-stuff. Experiencing all these positive effects not only deepened my curiosity about the practice but also drove me to become a teacher.
When I attended my first yoga teacher training at twenty five, I got a taste of exactly how much more there was to yoga than just contorting your body into multiple shapes. I learned detailed posture alignment, how to regulate the energy throughout my body, and that there were seven other limbs of yoga besides asana. Finding out that yoga was so much more than the poses was a wonderful realization that opened my eyes to the world of the subtle body and the idea that we can truly shape our own reality, one present moment at a time.
The following year, I decided to take my education to the next level and attend my second yoga teacher training in Bali. At the time, I thought it would be similar to my first training experience, but it ended up being the most intense five weeks of my life. We spent countless hours studying, practicing asana, and meditating with nothing but the sound of birds, dogs, and the occasional motorbike. This all took place in a beautiful upper-level bungalow in the middle of the rice fields, with the most breath-taking 360 degree view. My last week of training was the most mentally and physically grueling, spent entirely in silence, and sitting in meditation seven hours a day, which we had been preparing for over the prior weeks.
Throughout our week of silence, each and every one of us was having our own very unique experience. Time felt surreal, it was like a never ending battle within my mind. The objective was to have a one-pointed focus, and then adjust the focus back each time my mind wandered off. All we had to do was return to the present moment, over and over again. It was such a simple task, yet it was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I found it interesting to see how my thoughts kept intrusively popping into my mind, constantly distracting me from my focus. As challenging as this was, each correction I made actually started to positively reshape my own thought patterns around myself and the world around me in a very powerful way.
By the last couple days of our week of silence, I started to feel dramatically different than in the beginning. My thoughts jumped around less frequently, and I was able to stay in the present moment for longer periods of time. I had pushed through some major barriers in my mind and with consistency, I got better at escorting my ego to the back seat. It was this experience, more than any other, that helped me fully understand meditation’s role in yoga, and why it is so important to dedicate time and energy toward sitting quietly with my mind.
Since my training, I have watched my own practice evolve into less of a physical challenge and more of a mental one. The way my body flows between postures is much softer, simpler, and with the intention to balance out my life every day. Some days, that looks like taking a strong level 2 vinyasa class, and other days it looks a lot more still and grounded, spending time in meditation. I’ve found that these tools help me overcome my own personal obstacles, find clearer answers, and allow me to go to a place in my mind where I am the most at peace. When life gets challenging, or when my mind gets loud, all I have to do is reconnect to my breath and my one-pointed-focus to mentally transport myself back to that beautiful bungalow in Bali.
Asana may have been my first love on my yoga path, but it was meditation that allowed me to discover more inner peace, and connect deeper to source energy and my soul. This path and the experiences like the ones I shared taught me that true strength lies in the mind and spirit, and by cultivating stillness, we can become more self-realized and therefore, navigate life with more grace, resilience, and freedom. I hope my story inspires you to explore your own practice and to discover the profound peace, clarity, and balance that yoga can bring to your life.
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