What began as the seed of an idea became the title of my book, “GOING BEYOND THE POSE: Using Yoga as Compass to Orient your Life toward Happiness.” In a snapshot, I’ll tell you a bit about my journey towards becoming a Chopra Center Certified Vedic Educator in yoga, meditation and the Ayurvedic Lifestyle.
What I love about these ancient philosophies is that they are all rooted in the fact that everything in the universe is connected and when we balance all aspects of ourselves – body, mind, spirit, environment – we can realize our full potential and experience a true sense of health, wholeness and vitality.
Before I even thought of becoming an instructor, I was already pursuing ways to improve my quality of life with an interest in health and wellness, as well as nutrition and a holistic lifestyle. Recurring pain from a back injury led me to explore other forms of fitness that would support my road to recovery. My passion for yoga came as a result of realizing that this practice was offering me so much more than just the physical exercise of strengthening and stretching the muscles I needed to support my back. I started to notice I was calmer, more centered and leaner, and this holistic approach to health, fitness and wellbeing was resonating with me on a deeper level.
When I showed up on the doorstep of The Chopra Center for Wellbeing, I had already intended to sign up for the yoga teacher training certification. The timing worked in my favor as I was due to have major back surgery a few months later and I really wanted to be certified before that. There was no guarantee that the surgery would be a success, or even if I would make it back on to a yoga mat.
Up until that time, I had been struggling with chronic pain and nerve damage and tried every alternative mode of healing, therapy, etc. in hopes of eradicating the pain. I was very fortunate to have worked with highly skilled and, even more importantly, compassionate healers, including my pain management doctor, physical therapists, acupuncturists, massage therapists and yoga and pilates instructors. I was willing to try every new technique and modality, determined not to give up and have surgery.
What I discovered when I attended my first meditation retreat with Dr. Deepak Chopra was that I had been resisting the idea of surgery for so long because I thought it represented failure for me, that I wasn’t able to figure it out and fix it. It was while Deepak taught the advanced meditation technique where I gained clarity and certainty that pursuing surgery to aid in my healing was not failure at all. Rather, I now saw it as an opportunity to gain the stability in my spine that I was lacking at that time. I remember walking onto the hotel shuttle that night after Deepak’s session knowing there was a shift in the way I was approaching my pain. I now had an awareness, an intuitive knowing, that this surgery, that I had postponed for many years, was going to be the best choice for me. By surrendering my own stubborn ways of thinking, I was open to other possibilities and that made all the difference with my healing.
It also opened a flood gate of interest in me committing to the other teacher training programs to become certified in Primordial Sound Meditation and Perfect Health: Ayurvedic Lifestyle. I still had no idea what I was going to do with my certifications, but I was dedicated to deepening my own practices of yoga, meditation and Ayurveda, the science of life. What I love about these ancient philosophies is that they are all rooted in the fact that everything in the universe is connected and when we balance all aspects of ourselves – body, mind, spirit, environment – we can realize our full potential and experience a true sense of health, wholeness and vitality.
I am in gratitude…in love…in yoga every day that I get to present these beautiful teachings in ways that make them accessible to everyone, regardless of belief system, age or fitness level.
