I am sharing a story of the recent parking lot drama from my student. I suggest read this story and observe your own mind producing memories, emotions and etc. You may remember your own recent little dramas, that produced upsetting and surprising emotions. in this blog, I am trying to show how our mind works. Here is the story: "I was going to meet my boyfriend for lunch at his place of work. However, when I got there the whole parking lot was full. I ended up parking at a ne

Недавно, в разговоре с друзьями, столкнувшимися с невероятно сложными жизненными ситуациями — диагнозом рака, внезапной потерей работы, предательством партнера, — я глубоко задумалась о природе наших трудностей. Почему так невероятно сложно просто принять нашу реальность, когда земля уходит из-под ног? Какая часть нас активно саботирует этот процесс? Какая часть нашего ума отказывается принимать происходящее, и почему? Когда внезапно случается беда, эмоции застают нас враспло

Recently, while talking to friends who are facing incredibly challenging situations—a cancer diagnosis, the sudden loss of a job, a partner’s betrayal—I found myself thinking deeply about the nature of our struggles. Why is it so incredibly difficult to just accept our reality when the ground falls out from under us? What part of us is actively sabotaging this process? What part of our mind is refusing to accept, and why? When sudden hardship strikes, emotions take us by surp

Today, I would like to share a profound reflection written by one of my students. I deeply admire her honest and brave attitude in admitting her emotions, including the helplessness and despair that can arise when facing the current world and our personal lives. Yet, she is not giving up. She is doing the hard work of trying to see through the clouded lenses of maya (illusion) to find grounded wisdom in the midst of chaos. I deeply appreciate her conclusion that by suffering,

There is an ancient story about a meeting between different gods who were trying to decide where to hide joy. They debated placing it on the highest mountain peak, deep within the earth, or at the bottom of the ocean. Knowing humans would eventually climb, dig, and dive to uncover it, they decided to hide joy in the depths of the human heart—the only place people will never think to look. It is easy to hear this story and immediately think, “I do not have time for joy.” If

Many of my students and I relate to the Swami Satyananda writing, that 'deep inside each of us is a little child sitting in a corner and crying. And no one is there to take care of it'. He also wrote, that 'I am the child who suffers, and I am the one who takes care of that little child. In addition to kindness and understanding the ‘fearless attitude of a hero’ is required to become a master of one’s emotions. Part of this heroic practice is understanding that we do have a c

To understand why we do not feel Joy 24/7, we should talk about Manomaya Kosha—our mental body - the part of us that worries, thinks negative, create dramas, changes all the time. In Yoga we call this part Monkey mind. One of our greatest stumbling blocks is that we tend to identify completely with this mental chatter. We experience an emotion or a fleeting thought and mistakenly believe, “This is who I am.” But the reality is that the Monkey mind, or Manas, is simply one par

What we are actually looking for in life? Do we say to ourselves, that we will be happy if... we get a good job, great salary, and etc. If we look really deep we realize that we do truly desire the feeling of —freedom, relief, love, peace and joy. This week, a dear friend of mine is going in for oncology surgery, and it made me to contemplate even more on deeper aspects of joy. Moments like this remove away our petty frustrations and force a profound moment of clarity. It re

Genuine joy is not just a fleeting emotional reaction to external events; it is a deeply anchored state of being that we can cultivate from within. But in our fast-paced, complicated world, it is so easy to lose sight of what we already have. Today, I want to share a 6-minute portion of my recent workshop lecture. It features the beautiful ancient tale of Mulla Nasreddin and a rich man who was desperately looking for an opportunity to feel joy—even willing to exchange all of

Have you ever noticed how you are naturally drawn to certain people? Not because of what they are saying, or what they are doing, but simply because of how you feel in their presence. In a previous post, I shared a morning realization: True joy isn’t something we have to create or search for outside of ourselves. It is our true home. When we finally stop searching the external world for peace and instead rest in our Anandamaya Kosha (our Bliss Body), a profound shift happens.

This morning, I had a profound "aha" moment. I remembered that during my most profound spiritual experiences in the presences of my teaches, I felt like ‘coming back home’. The only way I can describe it is that I felt, in every cell of my body, that I was coming back home to where I truly belong. I also felt overwhelming feeling of unconditional love and gratitude. It was the absolute knowing that beneath all the noise, the stress, and the daily drama, there is indescribable

В недавней практике медитации я работала с техникой, которой часто делюсь на своих занятиях: «перемотка видео жизни». Это простая, но глубокая визуализация, при которой вы осознанно воспроизводите радостное воспоминание, погружаясь в детали, чтобы насладиться этим опытом и перенастроить нервную систему на состояние счастья. Я погрузилась в тихое пространство своего ума, готовая заново прожить простой, счастливый день. Но пленка отмоталась не на несколько дней или недель. Она

In a recent Yoga Nidra practice, I was working with a technique I often share in my classes: 'rewinding the tape.' It’s a simple but profound visualization where you consciously play back a joyful memory, immersing yourself in the details to savor the experience and rewire the nervous system for happiness. I settled into the quiet space of my mind, ready to replay a simple, happy day. But the tape didn't just rewind a few days or weeks. It rewound 43 years. Suddenly, I was 22

Have you ever wondered what it takes to truly feel joyful again? I recently was listening to the lecture about the importance of feeling Joy in our everyday life. I asked myself: When the last time I did feel the joy? I remembered that I did teach the workshop on this topic during covid time. I found an old Yoga Nidra recording from the lecture, where I was guiding to find the joy in simple things. I started practicing it every day. I strongly felt that I need to share the pr

Between the historic Colorado wildfires, the intense summer heat, and the constant hum of global events, it is incredibly easy for our nervous systems to become overloaded. Recently, living near the massive Aspen fire, I experienced this firsthand. The surreal power of it all sneaks up on you, creating a quiet panic and a deep sense of fatigue. When external events are completely beyond our control, we cannot simply think our way out of stress. We have to actively create a st

In our non-stop, modern world, we’ve all felt that overwhelming urge to just press pause. We hit a wall of mental fatigue, or we sense a shift in the seasons, and our entire system screams for a reset. But what does resetting actually mean, and why are so many people seeking it out right now? Press Play on Your Inner Reboot A true reset isn't about escaping your life; it’s about restoring your capacity to live it fully. By stepping into the profound stillness of Yoga Nidra,

When most people think of yoga today, they picture the physical postures, or asanas. However, Yoga Nidra is a profoundly ancient practice that existed long before the yoga postures, that we are so familiar with. Translating to "yogic sleep," it is a deceptively simple yet incredibly powerful state of conscious, deep relaxation that allows us to access and restore the deepest layers of the mind. My Personal Journey with the Practice My own relationship with Yoga Nidra began ov

Satsang is unlike any yoga class you have likely seen at a local yoga studio, and goes far beyond the physical postures--or asanas--of yoga.