Why India? Why Farming? The next step.

In 13 days Mike and I are departing to work at Bija VidyaPeeth - The Earth Institute in Dehradun, India. 

We are both taking a risk in doing this. We are leaving the country for nearly three months. We can not expect the world to stop, hold on and wait for our return. We have made this decision accepting that we may not return to the same job situations. 

My passion for service, wellness and mindfulness have brought me to where I am now. Meditation and yoga have opened my world to the importance of setting intention, identifying values and mindfully moving in the direction that I am gravitating towards. 

Here is a bit more on why I chose the Earth Institute specifically:

Our world is losing access to healthy food everyday. We want to empower people grow it back - this is called Food Sovereignty.  Sadly, corporations are buying farms, taking our resources and polluting whatever healthy land is left.  Our soils are no longer rich and fertile.  Smart doctors and scientists are beginning to realize that we are only as healthy as our soil. Without healthy soil, we can’t have a healthy planet, healthy food or consequently - healthy humans.  

In our travels to India, our goal is to learn the techniques of biodynamic farming and how that ties into a gentler approach to political activism (the program is based off of Ghandi's teachings).  This information has to be spread, it’s our belief that only through the process of becoming self-sufficient and self-empowered, will we ever be able to take back our sovereignty.   

I will also be studying Ayurvedic medicine in my time at the farm, while Mike spends more time building infrastructure. 

What's to come?
With my new business: The Exploration Movement, I empower individuals to make informed decisions about how they choose to live their lives. Our society compartmentalizes people very quickly, we feel trapped by the very institutions that claim to give us freedom (traditional education, credit cards, materialism, mortages, loans). When we feel helpless and victim to our circumstances and responsibilities-we put our dreams to the side. I can not tell you how many people will say to me "Oh to be young! You don't have any responsibilities yet! That's why you can do this. Do it now, while you can."

I empathize with that. I can see how difficult it can be to free your mind from the masses.  I had to do this myself, but I was fortunate to do it before I had committed myself to many responsibilities. I am very careful with my commitments. 

It is also times difficult to deal with the scrutiny that your peers, elders and friends will give you while you transition lifestyles. When you make a decision to go against the grain and break tradition, people don't always understand and often times their remarks stem from a bit of envy, they wish they could do the same but may not give you the praise. My aim is to help these very people, realize that they can. 

Since my life goal is to be self-sufficient, to travel, and help others do the same... I knew that if I signed up for the American Classic package (House, Career Job, Car, 401K plus all the other things that keep us still), it would be more difficult -though not impossible- to achieve these goals. 

I will be blogging my travels and experiences, as well as posting yoga classes online to my facebook and this blog, so that you can continue to work with me if you so wish! My hope is that if I share steps on how I am able to do these things, it will inspire you to realize that you do not need much to make YOUR own dreams happen. 

When you want to WIN. But you're trying to be mindful.

Our society teaches us from a young age that winning is the goal and it is to be celebrated. What we are not told, is that sometimes when you are the winner, you are suffering just as much, if not more, as the non-winners are.

If every day you need to fight to be on top, that means you can never come down because you risk losing your position.  This is an incredibly unhealthy place to live if it is done with the wrong mindset (afraid of losing? check out this article).

This mentality leads to destruction. It will destroy your body, your mind and your spirit. You must recognize the destruction to be painful or damaging enough that you choose to stop the way you are living. Typically this might happen when we have enough anxiety or physical distress to call out and say we have had it with this way of being. The same stresses are felt if you aren't at the top and you are chasing it.

I was an athlete growing up and there was nothing more satisfying to me, than trying to push harder than the people around me. As most of you know, my fiance is the owner of a CrossFit gym. I love to workout hard. This is also a great place to address competitive nature.

I have caught myself believing that if I worked out hard enough, I would make myself the most desireable in every sense of the word. I think you would be fibbing if you said that a thought like this hasn't crossed your mind or subconcious. Most of the time we operate this way and aren't aware of it. Primal instincts encourage survival of the fittest and making yourself as reproductively enticing as possible.

This doesn't just happen in the gym or on the field. We see it in the battle to make money and the ability to consume material goods.  It happens on an even larger level than the individual, in global politics and nuclear weapons. This is how we are educated, coached and what is dictated by society that we should be striving for, excellence in everything.

What does this really mean and teach us? It means that the primal me wants to say: "I AM BETTER THAN YOU!" And worse, it condones this as a healthy state of mind for us to exist in.

Everyone likes to win from time to time, and everyone likes a winner, but an overly competitive nature will cause tension in your ability to hold strong relationships. "Love and competition are oil and water, they do not mix." Dr. Phil McGraw.

Our core desires are not attainable through aesthetic gains, monetary gains or power positions.  In this competition driven world there is no winner. Everyone will lose, so will the animals the plants even the minerals if we continue in this destructive desire to own everything and be all-powerful. We need to give this game up. What we really should be saying is "I am you."  It is very clear that we need to wake up and change or we are going to be our own demise.

Perhaps you have already decided that you need to slow down, you probably feel exhausted, anxious and unfulfilled. You are now committed to make a change about it. The path of mindfulness is difficult, there is no doubt about it but, now can you actually begin to implement some of the tactics to practice mindfulness and letting go of your competitive nature.

1.  Realize when you are competing with those closest to you.

We do this instinctively. And it hurts to acknowledge these thoughts.

I have done it with my partner, my sister and my friends.

In the past I would compare how I was financially performing to my partner.  Although I told myself I was happy for him, I used it to judge how I was performing, at times even feeling jealousy, resentment and self-doubt. F**d up! But human nature.

Another example: My sister is a beautiful person she is very tall, thin and pretty, without trying. Any guy friend I have had, has found her extremely attractive. I would find this initially obnoxious, how could you like her and not like me? Even if I was never interested in that guy, it was about winning.

It faded just as quickly as it popped up because I love my sister dearly (I am obsessively concerned for her well being...also not healthy, but that's for another time). Regardless, there is no denying of that inital primal gut reaction. How screwed up is that!? She is my little sister, whom I love more than anything. That was just making me spiritually ugly! F**d up but again, totally human.

It goes to show that even with the people we love most in our lives, our competitive nature can even here- in "safe space" expose its ugly face.  I have largely been able to let that go, and I express my vulnerability and fears when they arise with the people that I trust most around me.

2. Get clear on what you want and why. 

Listen to your body, when you go to your job are you loathing or loving it? Do more of what you love and less of what you do not. Stop looking at the risks. For a moment consider, when you have an idea that jazzes you up, obstacles are the last thing you will consider. It is absolutely clear that it would work (financial risk is usually the reason people stop there).  There are certainly obstacles that will cross this path, but you are so involved in the idea that you see far far past them.

Now consider ideas that are, meh... financially rewarding or "a step in the right direction" but don't get you amped. You probably feel overwhelmed by the steps you would have to take to get there. This is a sign! Don't do it!

If you are not sure of who you are, you must take yourself out of the arena and spend time exploring what makes you feel satisfied, fulfilled and well. Find somethings that bring you joy without having to win at them. You are wasting your time judging others and basing yourself of those judgements. You need to learn for yourself, that you are enough and there is nothing to prove.

When you find what you love, play more in that space, even if you aren't sure yet of how you can survive on it. Trust, without a doubt that it is right. Your body is already sending you the confirmation. Take smalls steps in that direction and go where it leads you. Have unyielding faith that life is generally good, and that you are deserving.

3. Make a decision on if your competitive nature is serving you. 

Competition can be healthy when it is about doing your personal best. Competition can help you to acheive personal goals. Competition done wrong can be your demise.

As free-thinking adults we have the ability to make informed decisions. We decide how much pressure we put on ourselves to outperform and how much we will allow comparison to affect us. Be able to draw a line between what role competition is playing in helping you to move forward on your own path and what role competition is playing in getting you sidetracked, this can only be done once you know who you are and what you want.

Remember what conclusion you draw about your own competitve nature, and remember it often. Every time that you step into a situation that compels you to compete, decide if it serves your greater purpose.

4. Stop competing with the stranger on the treadmill next to you! 

It was much easier to drop competition with my sister and my partner than it has been to drop it from people I don't know so well. This is because my subconcious doesn't perceive those closest to me as a threat to my well-being. In my mind, they would share their successes with me.

The concept of interbeing has been extremely helpful for me in this. It simply means that: I am you and you are me. I am in you and you are in me. Although it often requires a gentle reminder, it has been enough to stop most of my competitive nature and to allow me to trust more. I will use the treadmill example. It allows me to do three things:

• Reconsider the situation: Why am I here and what is my goal? I didn't go to the gym to beat people that I didn't even know would be there in a race on the damn treadmill. I went because it feels good to exercise and I practice good health. Even if the girl next to me is just begging for me to up my incline and pace, it isn't serving my purpose so I'm going to save that energy and use it to for something else that I did intend to do. 
• Feel empathy: When I see others around me struggling to be the best on the treadmill, I can immediately feel where they are coming from. I recognize that the need to win is an endless search for external validation. This is a painful place to live, I replace competition drive with compassion. Treat them kindly, breathe and confirm that they are NOT a threat to my existence, no need to get all junked out on adrenaline here.
• Keep on track: Once I got clear on what I intended to do with this short life and started living that way, everything felt right in my mind and my body. Self-doubt was diminished. I wanted to feel more of that and have less questioning of my abilities. I know from past experiences that if I have to win in every situation in my life, that I am never moving forward.  When I know I shouldn't stop and get sidetrack by the calling to outperform in an area that is pulling me off my track, I don't!  It's awareness. 

5. When you are happy with who you are, you don't feel the need to win in every situation. If you are being authentic and are clear on what you really want, you will be satisfied with the decisions you make serving this truth.  

People often feel that happiness will be earned through performance, but we all know that simply is not true. Do not wait to earn the acceptance of anyone, including: your parents, your boss, your friends, your lovers or yourself, just have it. Let it come to you.

You don't need to compare yourself to someone else to be able to look in the mirror and feel proud of who you are. No one is going to judge you based off of how you measure up against your competitors, but they certainly will of your actions, so choose them honestly and wisely. Make sure what you do is done with intent.

How much is your shirt really worth?

For the average consumer, the thought process of consumerism is rather simple.  Unless you go digging for information on facilities and production you will not find the disheartening truths of corporate greed. After speaking with a few friends, I discovered that they had not been paying attention to where/how a product was made, but rather what the price was and what they interpreted the value of the good to be. Mostly they were assuming that when you are paying more for the product, the quality is higher, that the employees in every process from materials to finished product are treated and paid justly. 

You may be familiar with the collapse of the Rana Plaza sweatshop in Bangladesh that happened back in April of last year. A lot of hype has spun out from this incident from activists and companies that produce domestically in the US. Companies that have created "sweat shop" workplace environments in the US have been outed, using immigrants to work below minimum wage in unsafe working conditions. These things exist abroad and even more shockingly, on our own turf.  

We are censored from the reality of what goes into the creation of the products and services that we choose. There are iPhone apps such as Buycott, which allows the user to scan a good and get an instant feedback of whether the company is "good" or "bad". There is also a slew of information on the internet that gives choice to the buyer, but requires time and patience to do the research. We have small local businesses that are working to raise awareness and offer only local fair trade products. Has that been enough to convince you on the importance of being an aware consumer? It hasn't always for me. 

After learning about the collapse of the sweat shop in Rana Plaza, I really started to dig into research. I was disgusted by some of the things that I found, especially from the retailers that I trusted. It wasn't just for apparel, I learned things such as where my coconut oil was coming from and how conditions were poor and inhumane, how palm oil is produced and that thousands of gorillas are being killed in the process.  Even my beloved lululemon is guilty of the greed with manufacturing facilities overseas. 

It is true that it is necessary to search for cheaper production costs to stay competitive in the global market, but as consumers become aware that the cost of this is human worth, the savings are no longer important.  

We could speak of incidences of this exploitation forever, but rather than being reactive to something that we can not change in this moment, I would rather speak to how we can make small positive changes on our own. Our actions will inspire others to do the same.

While conditions are poor and inhumane, this is the livelihood (still below line of poverty) for hundreds of millions of people around the world. Check out this website for more simple facts. Consumers are willing to pay more for a product if they are aware of the reason for differences in price. In an ideal world, we can convince producers and consumers to create goods that are reasonably priced, with reasonable production methods. 

Here are some things you can do to silently pressure companies:

1) Live with less. Do you really need everything that you are buying? How many shoes, shirts and dresses do you own? Think of living to survive rather than living in gluttony. 

2) Shop second-hand. Yes it's trendy, but you are also helping to reduce the amount of new product that has to be produced, while using what already exists.

3) Buy local. Simple and easy, while the product may cost more up-front typically it will last longer and be of higher quality. 

If you are interested in creating change to what already exists, take it a step further. 

1) Educate yourself. 

2) Educate other people about things we buy and where they come from. Dialogue is step one and opens the floor for different perspectives.

3) Write and call the brands that you like, ask them to be transparent and use your voice.

4) Connect with like minded individuals. The power of plenty. Your money talks. 

5) Ask salespeople if the items were produced in sweat shops. If you are shopping they will listen, and word will make its way to the top. Most sales people have no idea about the production of the goods they are selling, but you may spark their curiosity to learn more and echo your sentiment.  

Sharing a part of my story.

“Our life is a manifestation, and we can very well make that manifestation beautiful and meaningful and have a good influence.” Thich Nhat Hanh

If you believe something with absolute certainty, there is no doubt in the universe, it's going to happen. Whether that is good or bad. 

Most of the things that I have and have done were brought forth by manifestation. It all started with the idea of intention setting in a yoga class. We can set an intention for anything that we do, this really means making a request out of what you want to get or give, from the practice, why you are practicing or how you want to feel during and after.

I want to share my abbreviated story of manifestation and freedom with you.

What happened: 
Since that start of my yoga journey in 2006, I had heard a lot about getting clear on what I wanted, intention setting, feeling my way through rather than thinking etc. I had no idea how to implement these changes, until suddenly a great shift occurred.

In 2013 I hated my job. It was toxic to my relationship with my friends, my family and ultimately myself. In May of 2013, while on my way to work, I totaled my car. I literally did not have a way to get to my job that I hated anymore. That was the most impossible to ignore sign from the universe that it was time to end that phase of my life.  This was the first time I listened to a sign that had been sent to me, and believed that it was intentionally placed in my way.

What I learned: 
If you do not learn a lesson, it will come up again and again and again until you learn what you are supposed to from it. Wake up, listen up! What is your body and the world around you trying to tell you?!

What happened next:
I collected unemployment for a while, and was blessed with my savings and a more than patient, loving boyfriend who allowed me some time to get clear and figure out what I wanted to do.  I was already teaching a few yoga classes here and there, but because I was in the wrong state of mind (competition driven to get ahead) it had not become fruitful enough by itself.

What I did about it: 
I started to do a lot more reading and self-exploration in this time. I decided that I wanted to pursue the career of teaching yoga full-time and that I wanted to LOVE it. I had to determine what was my definition of success, turns out it is to feel comfortable and happy.

Every day I woke up and I thanked the universe for giving me the opportunity to begin again, and for giving me the opportunities I had to teach, and giving me the students that I had recieved. I did that again every night as I laid in bed. I reflected on how blessed I was to have that day, and closed it in gratitude (I still do this).

I made a vision board, I had done these for fun in the past, but it was mostly because I liked to make collages. Now I had an intention and a desired reason behind what I was doing. I was getting clear on the life that I wanted to build and decided what I wanted for myself, my relationship and ultimately the community that I was serving. At this time I wasn't sure if it would actually work, but I figured that I would see what happened if I could convince myself that I believed it whole-heartedly. Eventually the convincing didn't need to happen anymore, I had unwaivering faith that this was the life I was creating.

I dropped the fear (knowing that this was toxic through the research and self-work I had already done) and started to practice the law of abundance.

Most people live in fear of losing out their entire lives, and this is what actually prevents them from being free and "successful".

Losing the fear: 

• I stopped comparing how many students were in my class vs. my fellow teachers, instead I replaced those feelings with celebration for my yoga teaching friends. I felt proud and happy for them. 
• I stopped feeling insecure when students chose another instructors class vs. mine, I did not take it personally like I had in the past. I realized I may not be a good fit, or it simply might be the time, but I was truly happy that they were getting their yoga in. 
• I STOPPED TRYING TO PLEASE EVERYONE AND DID WHAT FELT RIGHT. This is huge, especially if you are a business owner or in service. Stay true to what you love and you will be successful, don't veer from your path despite feedback that feels painful or urgent. Sit on it, feel through it and decide if it is valuable or not. 

Reading this may make it seem like this is a practice that is quite simple to do, it is not.
Our human nature is to live from the ego and live in fight or flight and to have the most materials for security.Our DIVINE nature, is to NOT do that. It takes time, trust, desire and faith. Be patient with yourself if you are trying to develop this practice.

After a few months, when I felt confident, sure and faithful in my path, I suddenly started getting inquiries for teaching privates and for teaching more classes at other studios! I had to stay true again, knowing that some of these offers were tests, would I choose the financial security and get back into the game, or would I continue on what I felt was right? I didn't take all of the opportunities regardless of how tempted I may have been. I only took the ones that were helping me on my path and felt natural.

After establishing my yoga career and realizing that I could do it.  I started to play around with new ventures. I did this with my travel business and activist work.

I am telling you 100% it works!

I stand behind what I do, I know that it is isn't for everyone but it is for someone. If you haven't heard of the 80/20 principle, check it out. SO TRUE.

Think for a moment about how you can apply these principles uniquely to your own life. We should be setting intentions for everything we do. When we wish for things to be fruitful and for them to turn out well, there is a much higher likelihood for this to happen.

Suggestion:

If you are having a hard time identifying where you are at, take a break. You need time out of your routine and for yourself, so that you can see clearly what is causing most of your stress, anxiety and uncertainty.

I love to travel, and I want to help others experience the same joy and enlightenment that I have through traveling. But I realize that not everyone can pack up and go abroad. Perhaps take a weekend trip or call out sick one day and go some place that makes you feel calm and connected to something bigger.

Travel is what has allowed me to identify areas of my life that were no longer serving me. When you travel or take a time out, you are able to look at your life as an observer, you are also able to see clearly how you might be doing things in a less than optimal manner.

Remember: 
Our thoughts become reality. Remember that to every cell in your body, YOU ARE GOD,  and that you get to be a loving God or a cruel one, you determine your own confidence, self-esteem, body image, and ultimately value. Choose good things to say about yourself, make mentally healthy choices. Get clear on what makes you feel fulfilled and happy. Do more of those and less of the other bullshit.

Conclusion:

Be you. You are special. You are unique. You have a role and a purpose in this universe.

Your body's inherent wisdom knows all of that. The universe knows it too. They are connected.

Establish that you know this, realize what you want and why.

If you start listening more closely, you realize that you are being guided every step of the way.