Introduction
The truth is that Im not the author of this book Life is. Each chapter unfolded little by little through the flow of events, and I was called to put these words together as a testimony to the greatness of Life. Life sent me exactly the right people at the right time to help me bring The Yoga Journey into reality for your transformation.
My journey started when I was 17 years old and considering suicide. I was completely unfulfilled, unchallenged, and deeply unsatisfied at the time. I didnt see anyone there for me not my parents or anyone else in my family, or any of my friends. I was quietly terrified and had no idea how to reach out and ask for help.
I was desperately lonely with no one to confide in and no clue which steps would move my life forward, so I became very depressed and bitter. My parents fought all the time and I became a control addict to compensate for the pain and helplessness I felt. I tried to make life bend to my will. When I didn't get relief or anything close to happiness, I lost trust in the people around me and in God. I withdrew into myself even more and became reckless.
I went out alone a lot, doing things only for myself. I spent nights out partying in clubs with the wrong crowd, and become even more lost. I went down this path of denial for years, covering my pain instead of focusing on how to improve my life.
I wasted a lot of time and suffered needlessly and caused other people to suffer as well. But I was blind to it at the time and sadly, this self-destructive period lasted far too long. However, looking back, I can see how it was ALL a part of my journey. It was only by drifting so far from my center that I could see that I desperately needed help. Since I was so lost, only deep healing would make a difference.
It wasnt until 8 years later, while living alone in India as a dance student, that I started my new life. At that time my entire world revolves around being a dance student and I didnt know anyone outside of that. But it was in India that I found yoga and rediscovered Gods purpose for me. God opened my eyes one day with the simple clarity of perspective.
I was able to see how hard other peoples lives were by comparison and look at my own life with gratitude. In India many people suffer from poverty and cant access basic services or health care. I have seen families pile into cow-pulled wagons to get to a doctor and children begging for food on the street. I realized that I didnt need to go through what they did to understand all that I have and feel total gratitude for life giving me a home, education, and all the basic needs. I knew that I needed to get back on track, but I wasnt sure how, so I couldnt do it all on my own. I needed someone to show me how to live a spiritual life. I needed to surrender to an authority higher than myself.
God was my higher power, so I decided to give everything over to him. So, I began my yoga journey with this awareness and surrender. For the first time in my life, I released the need to control the result. I trusted God and moved according to the guidance I was given.
Ive since learned over and over again that I cant control everything in my life. I can't manipulate every event to get the results I want. Life is not always 1 plus 1 equals 2. It wasn't a kind of formula like, Oh, if Im a smart woman, a savvy entrepreneur, sexy wife, and kind mother; then life works out for me.
I discovered that its about listening to our higher consciousness our god and being open to receiving guidance directly from the source. Then we can confidently move accordingly, knowing that we are in alignment with our purpose and our highest good.
It's all about letting go of control, but this doesn't mean that work and effort arent required. It means that before focusing our efforts, we need to get out of our own way first.
If you face a difficult situation big challenges without any idea of how to escape I want you to know that there are tools available. You can help yourself by turning inward.
You have a path that is open to you right now. God gave you a magic wand, but your ability to manifest intentionally remains largely unexplored. This book shows you how to connect with the limitless source and awaken to the beauty of your soul.
If you overlook these inner tools or ignore your souls calling, the risks are high. Disconnected from your source, its easy to look for substitutes externally and fall into addictions.
Sadly, millions of people use alcohol, pornography or emotionally abusive situations as default sources for emotional connection. If only they would turn inside themselves and find it within.
I hope that by sharing the yoga practice as a 30-day project it will not only help you create a healthy habit, but also invite you on a journey of discovery that will shape and strengthen you day by day.
During this journey you will connect deeply with yourself and practice living your life without forcing it to go a particular way. You will also gain the tools to overcome the challenges you face without getting lost in the chaos. Yoga expands the mind, body and soul.
You can use yoga to calm your mind and stretch your consciousness. It isn't only about stretching the body. It's about uniting with your higher consciousness. Without this connection, its just exercise.
You go to work, go home, do yoga, take care of the kids, have sex and you're done. But just the opposite happens when you open yourself to an alignment with your soul. By establishing a connection with your higher self, you transform your life. Then the exercise and physical experiences become part of your spiritual practice.
This book can also be used as a beginners guide to yoga, even if youre only interested in the health benefits at first. For this reason I have included images and videos of the poses to help you with your practice.
This routine is ideal for all body types. Regardless of how much experience you have with yoga, youll notice dramatic improvements in a short period of time: better posture, restful sleep, and reduced stress.
During these 30 days, you will notice a sharp decrease in stress levels and emotional overload. Ive created a comprehensive, holistic model designed to help you regardless of your skill level. It's also designed to simply help you smile more throughout your day.
During the past 15 years as a yoga teacher, I have seen the yoga discipline enhance hundreds of bodies and souls. When I was a dancer, I focused exclusively on how I looked on the stage.
I never felt that I was actually helping any one. After I began sharing yoga with my students, however, people began coming up to me after class in tears, thanking me for helping them clean out their bodies.
They told me that they could finally sleep through the night. They explained that the shift in themselves not only affected their posture and strength, but had transformed the way that they looked at the world. It was changing their mindset in ways that they had never imagined.
I was left speechless by how deeply the yoga practice affected them and changed their lives for the better. Thats when I first got the sense that God was using me to deliver His healing by sharing the practice.
This book is designed as a step-by-step process of 30 poses over 30 days, each building upon the others to take you on a journey of total transformation. You may find that it challenges you a little more each day.
