Today, I had a Zoom call with my meditation teacher, Jonni.
I was telling him about how I ended up in his Meditation Teacher Training Course. It was not something I ever planned to do.
I told him how I co-hosted a retreat a year ago with a Vedic Meditation teacher, and how I was blown away by the resilience levels his students had when it came to life. This inspired me to commit to a daily practice, and even ask my friend Jenn, who is trained in a similar style (mantra meditation), to start leading this practice on all our Yoga Teacher Trainings.
The deeper I got into this regular practice over the course of 365 days, the more my life transformed in a way it hadn’t through asana (posture) practice alone over the last fifteen years. I started to connect to my true nature. I began having insights. I stepped away from suffering. I became the witness to the human experience around me. I experienced the type of transformation that Patañjali’s Yoga Sutras speak about not just philosophically, but practically.
The Four Foundations of My Shift
I explained to Jonni that I see four key differences between this style of meditation and the general way yoga teachers are taught/teach:
Independence and Self-Reliance
A Singular Method
A Daily Structure
Experience First, Philosophy Second
This all ties beautifully into Sutra 1.13: “Practice becomes firmly grounded when well attended to for a long time, without break, and with sincere devotion.” Depth, duration, consistency.
Patañjali himself even introduces mantra practice in the text:
Sutra 1.28
Taj-japas tad-artha-bhāvanam
“Repetition of that (Om) and meditation on its meaning.”
Here we see the seed of mantra meditation in yoga philosophy.
1. Independence and Self-Reliance
For years, my yoga practice was dependent on teachers and studios. I relied on external sources to regulate my nervous system. When my philosophy teacher Rolf told me this year: “I cannot regulate you. Only you can regulate yourself,” it hit me deeply.
The Buddha expressed the same truth: “No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path.” (Dhammapada 165)
Mantra meditation doesn’t require an app, studio, or constant guidance. It is an inner resource. It teaches you to trust yourself and discover that self-regulation and peace are already within you.
2. A Singular Method
In my early teaching, I offered many styles of meditation - mindfulness one day, chanting to Lakshmi the next. While variety is valuable, it was like digging many shallow wells and never reaching water.
My teacher Jonni said today: “All rivers lead to the ocean, but you must choose one river to reach the ocean.”
This resonates with the Bhagavad Gītā, where Krishna tells Arjuna:
“In this yoga, there is a single resolute understanding. The thoughts of the irresolute are many-branched and endless.” (2.41)
The Gītā and the Sutras both point to the same truth: devotion to a single path deepens transformation.
3. A Daily Structure
Before, I gave students too much flexibility: “Do yoga and meditate when you can, if you can. Life is busy. Do it in the morning or at night. It’s ok to miss a day.” But without structure, discipline slips.
Now, meditation is the anchor of my day. I sit morning and afternoon, without negotiation. I don’t need to be physically healthy to do this. I don’t need to have a yoga mat or yoga clothes to make this happen. Other practices - breathwork, chanting, yoga asana - are a wonderful add-on when I have time to my routine, but meditation is the non-negotiable foundation to every single day, twice a day.
The Buddha emphasized this in his teaching on mindfulness: “Just as a fletcher straightens an arrow shaft, so the wise direct their minds.” (Dhammapada 33)
Discipline isn’t about rigidity - it’s about freedom through commitment.
4. Experience First, Philosophy Second
For years, I taught philosophy first. Now I see that without lived practice, philosophy remains only words. Meditation makes the teachings land in the heart.
Krishna reminds us: “Better indeed is knowledge than practice; better than knowledge is meditation; better than meditation is renunciation of the fruits of action - for peace immediately follows.” (Gītā 12.12)
The practice makes the philosophy alive.
Rest, Recovery, and Renewal
When someone asked me recently what I’ve been doing since my last YTT ended, I laughed and said, “Sitting in my chair.” It’s true. I bought a really comfy chair in July. It’s the first piece of furniture I’ve personally owned in about four years. It’s a big deal. I sit in my chair every day. In this time I’ve stepped back from social media (my team manages it now) and I’m sinking into meditation, reading, writing, and creating.
This shift is flowing into how I lead retreats. They are no longer action-packed with hikes and sightseeing. Instead, they are rest-based, focused on nervous system recovery, mantra meditation, yoga philosophy, and community. If you join a Sober Women’s Yoga & Meditation retreat in Bali this year or next year, you’ll literally come into my home in Bali, learn to meditate, join women’s groups, chant, study, and even make malas with local artisans. A gentle immersion into rest and spiritual renewal.
Upcoming Opportunities
🌸 Online Courses
How to Meditate Training – Three 90-minute workshops exploring mantra meditation, followed by a 30-day challenge. Tonight’s Group or the Weekend’s Group
Philosophy & Practice Circles – Daily 30-minute community meditations with short readings. Join us here.
🌸 Alcohol-Free Women’s Retreats (Bali)
October 21–26, 2025
May 5–10, 2026
August 18–23, 2026 (only four spots left on this one!)
These retreats can be booked here.
Closing Reflection
This journey is teaching me that real transformation isn’t about doing more, but doing less. It’s not about casting the net wider, it’s about diving deeper where I already am. Whether through Patañjali, the Buddha, or the Bhagavad Gītā, the wisdom is the same: choose one river, walk the path yourself, practice with steadiness, and let philosophy blossom through direct experience.