Yoga Taught me to “Go Be Love”

How my journey of self-discovery through the many facets of yoga led to finding my personal mantra, and life purpose as a yoga teacher.

As cliche as it may sound and as many times as you may have heard it before, yoga really did change my life. This practice, it’s teachings, and the opportunities and people that it has brought into my life have not only completely changed the way I view and interact with the world, but also who I am; inside and out.

Yoga weaved its way into my life in interesting ways. Although I had known about it and even attempted it a few times with videos and gym classes as I was growing up, we didn’t get into a committed relationship until I was nineteen years old. At that time I was just beginning to play around with who I was and settling into college life.

While I knew that I wasn’t being entirely true to myself and was using walls and defensive behaviors to hide behind, it wasn’t until I began yoga that I realized how much my well-meaning, but negative behaviors had been impacting every area of my life.

The Beginning of the Journey

Strangely enough, I began my yoga journey with AcroYoga, a style that combines yoga with acrobatics. Typically pairs of two people will “base” and “fly” one another, working to create shapes and flows. This practice taught me to trust others and be vulnerable so that I could balance and fly other people and even once in a while let them fly me. It took me out of my comfort zone every time.

Through this process of connecting, communicating, and trusting I began to break down some of the walls that I had spent years building up.

I continued to take AcroYoga classes once or twice a week. I began to notice muscle memory, strength, and flexibility develop as my practice of the movements and techniques progressed. It was not only physical growth but also emotional and mental.

I began to look forward to the hour and a half where I could be fully present in the room with the fellow students, open up, and trust so that we could create beautiful shapes together. I also gained confidence as I tried new things. These classes and the connections that I created began to be my favorite part of the week and eventually pushed me to see what else was out there for me in the world of yoga.

Through the studio, I was taking AcroYoga classes from I began to try vinyasa (solo pose practice in a flow-style) classes and found the beauty that is connecting breath to movement. I was challenged and uncoordinated and definitely lost when I began, but loved the moments when I “got it,” and everything clicked. My whole being felt in sync.

My chaturangas (yoga push-ups) were more like angry T. Rex pushups, and I’m sure that my warrior poses were the farthest thing from graceful. Nevertheless, I loved the mix of strength and flexibility that the classes provided. I enjoyed the sweat, the flow, and the great music my teachers played. The way we ended class with slow stretches and a sweet shavasana (Corpse Pose). I continued to go to these classes whenever I could.

While I relished challenging myself to improve, I was just starting to dip into the world of asana (yoga postures) and still saw yoga as an exercise routine at this point.

Letting Yoga In

Around this same time, I began exploring other studios and eventually came across Session Yoga in Tucson, Arizona. This studio became my “home” and ended up being where I undertook my teacher training. Finally, yoga began to grow from something that I did to break a sweat and feel good into a much more profound practice.

I started to bring my breath practice into my daily life and used the technique of tuning deeper into my breath whenever I was facing anxiety, sadness, or anger. I also began to go deeper into my physical practice, truly surrendering when in hip-opening poses and feeling the intense emotion that they can release. I allowed myself to come to tears when it got all got too overwhelming, and sink more and more into savasana at the end of practice.

I learned to let myself be completely content in the moment.

I began urging everyone I knew to come to yoga with me so that they could also experience this transformation I was going through. I wanted them to see just how much it could help not only their tight, tense bodies but also their minds and spirits. I wanted to figure how I could continue to learn more about yoga, progress in my practice, and somehow share all of this knowledge. That’s when the idea of doing a teacher training course came to me.

The Jumping-Off Point

It took about a year to come to fruition, but finally, a training came up at my favorite studio, led by teachers that had already shaped me so much. The timing worked, and I knew it would be ideal for me. I was the first person to send in my application and the excitement when I got my acceptance was beyond anything I had ever felt before. I knew going into the training that things were going to change in my life and that I was going to grow, but I could have never imagined just how much of an impact this decision would have on my life.

My training lasted three months. Our group met almost every weekend in the studio and then worked independently during the time we had off. We were taught the poses and sequencing of vinyasa in depth with lots of hands-on assisting and practice teaching. We worked on communicating cues, transitions, and intentions.

The real challenge came when we were encouraged to look inward. My teachers highly emphasized using yoga and meditation as tools to look deeper into who were as people, how we had gotten to this point, and how we could continue to use our practices and teaching to become the best possible versions of ourselves. They wanted us to be able to more effectively work through our own issues and obstacles so that we could better hold space for others and teach the most authentic, well-intentioned class possible.

At this point in my life and through my journey with yoga so far I had already begun to look deeper, question harder, and start the transformation process. However, this training and the space that was held for me by my teachers and my peers accelerated my self-growth. I felt I could fully embrace the truest version of myself, including those parts that had been hiding behind walls and false identities in fear of hurt.

I began to see myself as the caring, compassionate, and loving person that I was.

As I cast away layers of resistance, I added layers of kindness, understanding, and willingness to grow. It was hard for me to sit with, recognize, and try to move past traumas that I had repressed. However, the more I was vulnerable and willing to try, the more I was rewarded by deeper relationships with others and personal and spiritual growth.

The Search for my Personal Mantra

During the teacher training course, we were asked to find our personal mantra. It would be a guiding phrase that we could use through meditation or hard times when we needed reminding of our truth. It would reflect the real reason that we were not only teaching but here on this planet. This was a struggle for me at first, and I went through many different versions of my mantra.

Finally, I settled on something that resonated with me then and still continues to now. My personal mantra is, “Go be love.” It refers to the love and kindness that I want to spread, not only to others but to myself. It is about remembering the power of love, the transformation that can occur when we give ourselves and others the space and care to be truly themselves. It is the kindness that we should always be trying to spread throughout the world.

This intention and willingness to “Go be love.” is what helped me not only finish my training even when it got tough but also to put myself out there and try for opportunities when it came to teaching. I didn’t immediately jump into being a confident yoga teacher, and most days I still question the words that come out of my mouth and if everyone hated the class, but I know that my intention through teaching is pure.

As I’ve grown and evolved as a teacher over the last three years, I have always kept the message of “Go be love.” close, allowing it to guide me when I doubt myself and this journey. I love teaching, and I know that sharing yoga and its many gifts is what I was put here to do.

I’m grateful for every day that I get to stand in front of a class and be their guide through the practice.

My journey with yoga, not only as a student but also has a teacher, has been the most incredible and transformational thing in my life. I know that it will continue to be throughout the rest of my years. It has allowed me to drop into the me that I was always meant to be, without fear, knowing that the power of love, kindness, and good intentions will always be there to catch me when I fall.

Thank you for reading my story! If you have any questions, feedback, or would just like to share your story, feel free to post a response below. I’d love to connect! Namaste :)