Yoga &
Meditation
At the age of seventeen is when I had my health awakening which encompassed nutrition,
exercise and overall attuning my circadian rhythm to nature. Yet I hadn't been introduced to true meditation or yoga practice, until I moved in with my spiritual community in the summer of 2016. I began living in a beautiful little cob cottage in the middle of a permaculture garden surrounded by forest. There I became more involved in the healing modalities that my community taught that went beyond physical regimens. Being introduced to the expansive possibilities that meditation could bring, I began to practice on my own. After the summer ended so did my volunteer stay in the garden, and I moved into a tent in the backyard of another extended property of the community. Those three months would be the most life changing and spiritually charged of my life.
One cold evening I remember Lex let me stay in his room in the basement. He had created a little cozy room for himself and had a TV connected to a streaming service. I remember being so grateful to have a warm place to sleep, and decided to browse the selection of documentaries available. Across the list, one option stood out from the rest called "Awake" which is based on the life story of Paramahansa Yogananda. There I would learn about the depths of yoga and meditation and became so inspired that I had to learn more. Soon after I got my hands on a copy of "Autobiography of a Yogi", which catapulted my meditation practice. I found that I could sit and just observe, my environment, my body, my mind and one evening my soul.
As I meditated using the cosmic techniques I had learned, I laid in my bed inside of the tent. I became peaceful and all desire to move or think completely seized. At the time I was in a relationship with a beloved friend, and he was away camping. I remember in this state of being getting a crystal clear vision of his surroundings and environment. It was almost as if I was floating above him and could see him. Then moments later, the vision zoomed out 10,000,000x and I could see what looked like to be a vast dark place with immense tiny beams of light ahead. It was as if I was gifted access to a tiny sliver of what the universe looks like and downloaded a summary of all the natural sciences all the way up to my own very evolution.
As I opened my eyes, I noticed tears of joy coming down the sides of my face. I lifted my hands up to see, and it was like I was seeing them for the first time in my life and I understood how truly majestic it was to be inside of this humans body. At that moment I had experienced it for myself, that which saw and absorbed cosmic laws was not the brain, it was not this physical body. It told me that this human vehicle is designed specifically for receiving and giving love.
The next day I was jumping for joy and could not believed what had happened, I didn't even realize that this was something that could be experienced on Earth. I came across my friend and explained the event, he responded "That is called astral projection, you did it!". I was in awe, because it only happened through dedicated letting go during my previous meditations. I was also living as close to nature as I had ever before, and consuming a raw plant-based diet predominantly from the garden and had no prior use of any psychedelic substance. My meditations have developed over the years, but I will say none have ever been as powerful or impactful as this beautiful spiritual awakening, because I have never been the same.
In 2019 I embarked on a journey to India after meeting a beautiful woman in Tokyo who shared her love for the country and which it was her first solo trip ever. Taking her advice I found myself in a hostel in the city of Mumbai during the middle of monsoon season. I came soaked one day I left for 10 minutes to go out and fetch some water, when I realized I would not get to explore the city in this weather. In that hostel I made a friend from France who invited me to join him on his way to Rishikesh and participate in a yoga teacher training. Rishikesh had been the main reason I had even had any interest in visiting India, and couldn't believe that everything was aligning itself effortlessly. We departed from the city and headed for the gorgeous mountains and Ganga River. There I partook in the rigorous training and gained my official certificate as a yoga teacher.