Yoga, Health, and Wellness Articles + Recipes

When I bumped into a friend at my favorite local coffee shop a few weeks ago, I was excited. I hadn’t seen this friend all summer long. What’s been new in his world, I wondered? What has he been solving, moving toward, creating? How are his kids? Yet what unfolded between us was humdrum, socially-polite, and altogether boring.

In our day-to-day lives, it’s all too easy to get caught up in what others want for us. Well-meaning or not, these “other voices” can stick in your head, and if you’re not careful, you won’t be able to recognize your own, at least not as readily. By now you probably know that yoga is about the process of listening to your wisest self. It starts by hearing our bodies— hearing the knee that is out of alignment, stopping yourself from forcing a joint that just won’t bend that way. But eventually, that act gives way to a deeper listening, one where you can hear your own, deepest wants.

“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.” – Oscar Wilde. I love this spot-on observation by one of the most outlandish “livers” of all time. It seems to perfectly express the epidemic anxiety felt by most yogis, artists and seekers, i.e. those wired for more than the status quo. For us that have the taste buds for exhilaration and real life, nothing less will do. And when that fullness of living feels in any way out of reach, angst and frustration are the natural resultants.

What does it mean to "Go Your OM Way? Where to begin? To me, this hashtag directly translates to follow your passion or trust your heart. We receive so many conflicting messages from the world, be it from our parents, our friends, our workplace, or our community in general. Often, our true passion or dharma in life becomes subjugated to the expectations of others and we find ourselves living a life that doesn’t feel authentic.

Are you living your life to the fullest? Have you done the work to uncover your beautiful shining light? Living your most authentic life? And, if so, are you sharing it with the world? Consider this: you already possess the power and strength to do whatever it is you want to do. Each one of us is born with a special gift, a potential that when realized allows us to shine beyond our wildest dreams. Yoga offers the tools to help harness your prana and unleash your unique energy to live a life without limits.

At the end of every yoga class I teach, I conclude with a prayer. It sounds a little different every time. But I usually say: “Begin to slowly awaken here, noting the symbolic journey from death into new life: from the pose of the corpse, savasana, into this shape of new life, the fetal position; how we all entered this world. This is symbolic of the journey, of the death of ignorance — feeling fractured, unwhole, anything less than divine — thanks to the journey of yoga. And here now, we emerge into new life: the new you, the true you, the whole and yoked you. That is yoga. Remember that today is not yet over. That you always have an opportunity to begin again, to start anew, to be you, to choose your Self and be unapologetically you.”