How I Became a Yogi
I want to share with you my journey to becoming a Yogi. Divulge why I started doing Yoga every day, what I received from that practice, and how I now facilitate others to create their transformational Yoga journey. Healing all the different parts of yourself isn’t easy. Still, Yoga has always helped me physically overcome pain and suffering, dissolve obstacles while gaining mental clarity, and reconnect spiritually with my true self, guiding me to my purpose. Life is many things, but Yoga is always a path that provides ease and comfort to experience a fulfilling higher reality.
When I first got interested in Yoga, I was dealing with chronic pain despite years of physical therapy. I had anxiety, which turbo-fueled my childhood ADHD diagnosis, and I had no connection to the core of my Dharma or purpose in life despite my solid upbringing. Because I was uncomfortable physically day after day, I became so scattered-brained and unsteady, leading to negative behavioral patterns and poor cognitive decision-making. Nothing I was doing followed a consistent goal. I felt lost in the world and disconnected despite my desire to help others using my personally acquired knowledge as a holistic health coach. I was living a life based on fear and suffering. I was aware of the recurring problems and became hyper-focused on solving my dilemmas. I turned to Yoga Asanas (poses) to help me mainly manage the physical pain I was experiencing. Every morning, I did Sun Salutations outside on my patio in my backyard with my dog. It was the most fulfilling, peaceful experience. I always felt better afterward, which is a big deal for someone who is constantly in pain and lives with anxiety. I didn’t realize it then, but Yoga was helping me more than just physically and mentally.
I was in the primal stages of creating a mind-body connection with my Yoga Asana practice, initiating a shift in my awareness. Things started to change. My belief system expanded, my views and practices on self-care reached new heights, and I found more experiences aligned with my growth and potential; ever since, things have been positively evolving. I continued learning and experiencing Yoga and Ayurveda in new ways that deepened my understanding of life so I could use that knowledge to help others. I knew mediation was a part of the Yogic way but had never had much luck with such practices due to my overactive and severely ruminative mind. I was able to purify my body and mind with the Asanas. However, I still lacked that connection and relationship with source—the foundation of creative intelligence and Pranic power throughout all creation.
After several years of soul searching, traveling, living in different places, and collecting new spiritual practices like Reiki, I finally arrived at the start of my Yogic journey to experience my true self through meditation. It all started in New York when I learned Japa mediation at the Bhakti Yoga Center in the Lower East Side. It was a straightforward process. I was given a card with the Maha Mantra and a Mala necklace (beaded necklace for reciting Mantras). The Maha (great) Mantra is the Hari Krishna Mantra, which is said to invoke joy and harmony. I was on cloud nine after many recitations. Shortly after I moved away from New York but still keep this practice. Japa kept me grounded and more creative. I also felt protected spiritually. On days when I would recite, I wore my Mala as a reminder of what my practice meant to me—those days held a higher quality to them like there was less friction in the air and more light and love. Life would be one beautiful stream of endless action effortlessly coalescing from one experience to the next. I was cultivating the benefits of Yoga Asanas and meditation together as they were meant to be. Slowly, I put a few of the puzzle pieces together on my own.
My persistent thirst for more knowledge has never led me astray. When Covid shut the world down, I thought maybe it was finally time to enroll in a program to become an Ayurvedic Practitioner as I had always desired. I found Maharishi International University (MIU). I received a Bachelor’s in Ayurvedic Health Counseling, specializing in Yoga. I graduated in June 2024 and plan to continue into the Master’s program in August 2026 to work on the practitioner level with Ayurveda. Before I started classes in 2020 at MIU, I was required to learn Transcendental Meditation (TM). I didn’t think much about it, but I was excited to learn something new. I was very used to Japa, so it took me some time to learn to be innocent with my Mantra before I started to experience the state of Yoga or transcended awareness more often during TM. Once I learned how effortless transcending was, my life changed drastically in new ways I could not have imagined.
I felt complacent with my practices before MIU and TM came into my life. I had hit a plateau but still knew my healing journey wasn’t over. Honestly, it never is, but TM is a more profound meditation that helped me get the rest my body and mind deeply needed. Being in school and working to pay bills simultaneously was very stressful. Chronic pain and anxiety had crept back into my life. I was thankful to have a school like MIU that supported my growth even on the most challenging days through TM practice and their many available TM teachers. There were several classes where I journaled my TM and Yoga Asanas. Getting to explore how I felt before and after my practice established much-needed awareness of the benefits I was receiving. This allowed me to continue learning through direct experience. The truth is life is stressful, but having a stable mind to deal with stress is the pinnacle for anyone’s Yoga practice. I learned this powerful lesson in my Yoga specialization at MIU. The curriculum was newly offered to me as an undergraduate. I am fortunate to be among the first to be registered as a Yoga Alliance RYT 200 from Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s University. I plan to continue studying Yoga to receive my RYT 500 in Yoga Therapy to match my clinical integration of Ayurveda after graduate school.
It wasn’t until I arrived on MIU’s campus in Fairfield, IA, for my first in-person Yoga teacher training course that I realized how much I lacked community around my Yoga practices. Meeting my teachers was the most motivating and valuable experience I have had to date! Learning Maharishi’s first Asana set and twenty-plus more using Professor Merideth Hart’s approach to the movements and alignment brought everything I knew to date full circle. Awareness around my practice increased, allowing me to help others from a place of experience and pure knowledge. The MIU Yoga curriculum met all the Yoga Alliance standards and succeeded in the minimum requirements for Yoga humanities minimum by 1000+ hours! I have a vast knowledge base of the traditions and literature on Yoga as discussed in the Vedas and Maharishi’s commentary. I also learned from many of Maharishi’s closest scholars, like Dr. Tony Nader, Dr. William Sands, Dr. Fred Travis, and Dr. Thomas Eugenes. The rest of my inner circle of teachers at MIU, along with lead Professor Merideth Hart, is Karen Aoki and Sankari Wegman, with whom I spent many hours learning more about the Asanas, anatomy, Vedic literature, Sanskrit, and much more.
I realize the fastest, most efficient way to learn and grow is with a teacher; you could even say, Guru. I had been exploring in the dark alone before MIU, leading to my inconsistent practices and gaps in knowledge. I experienced vast growth in only three years at MIU by receiving the tools and support needed to create that movement. I have arrived at a place where I can share my experiences and knowledge to help others with similar problems and goals to achieve a life in Yoga. A life in union with the true self. A life in alignment with a higher source of knowledge and creativity. A life in peace and harmony with all that exists. Pantanjali’s Yoga Sutra 2.46 reads, “Sthira Sukham Asanam.” This definition of Yoga describes the experience as steady and pleasant. Such should be life. If not, we have lost our alignment to unlimited potential, complete fulfillment, and bliss consciousness. Luckily, I am writing to let you know you are not lost. There is a path set before you, waiting to be found.
With the help of those who have walked that path before you, there is a guiding light to follow. No more searching in the dark, feeling helpless. No more practicing in solitude with zero confirmation. No more unfulfilling actions that lead to dull experiences. Gain the glitter in life that you desire. Acquire the physical and mental energy needed to continue on a consistent path of enlightenment. Receive the light and love from a mentor to keep you accountable when things become challenging. This is your excuse to find your Guru, your teacher. Not only will you heal yourself, but you will also help heal the world around you. Turn the negative into something positive. Turn the anger into love. Find the balance between the dynamics of life that sway you and your environment. Be forever still in the chaos of life, forever grounded in the source of all creation. That is a true Yogi.
Grand Opening Offer
〰️
Free Private Yoga Session
〰️
CODE: FREE YOGA
〰️
Grand Opening Offer 〰️ Free Private Yoga Session 〰️ CODE: FREE YOGA 〰️
Sign up for a free one-on-one Yoga session with me today to find your inner light and receive the support you need to fan your flame of desire and enlightenment. Learn how to experience life from a place of fulfillment and pure joy while maintaining that feeling as you grow. If you feel stuck in the mud, it is never too late to blossom like the lotus flower does from the murky depths of life. Integrate the philosophy behind Yoga while performing Asana (poses) and Pranayama (breathing exercises), which align our body and mind to experience higher fulfillment through expanded consciousness during meditation. Find your true practice of Yoga with me and find your true self!
