Last week I had the great honor of teaching a 3-day program, “Awaken the Voice, Quiet the Mind,” at the Sivananda Yoga Ashram in the Bahamas with over 100 participants. 

It felt like a true full-circle moment, coming back to my yoga roots where my fascination with Ayurveda was first sparked over 20 years ago – not at this same ashram, but a similar one. 

My pursuit of the promised “union” of yoga has continued enticing me further down the path into the most captivating little nooks and crannies! As I sat on the teaching platform last weekend describing the meditative state that chanting mantras can foster, I could feel the direct throughline from that long ago time to now.

I probably lived in an ashram in a former life – the daily rhythm feels so natural. Wake before dawn, meditate and chant in community, do yoga, followed by a hearty brunch… then teach in the afternoon, yoga again before dinner, and an evening satsang with more meditation, chanting and teaching. Bliss. 

For this introductory program at the Sivananda Ashram, I shared some of the historical context of the Vedas and why its wisdom remains so meaningful in this age. Then we dove in and started chanting. As part of a practice-based lineage, this is the most important thing I get to share – the experience of chanting itself. (Check out my Instagram or Facebook page for more pictures and videos.)

Ayurveda’s stated intention is to protect our longevity, to support a long and fruitful life in this body so we may be of some use by its end, so we may live out our dharmic purpose in a healthy, strong container. What good is a guiding purpose if we don’t have the embodied means to deliver on it?

Yoga, meanwhile, takes clear aim at our over-busy mind, offering techniques to avoid distraction and delusion, so we may recognize our real identity as part of the divine and rest in the peace of this ultimate truth. What good is a healthy body if the mind descends into chaos with every passing mood?

The ancient texts of Ayurveda remind us that the root of all physical illness is in the mind – when we are thrown by strong emotions like anger, jealousy, and desire, we take actions that don’t support our physical health, leading us down the inevitable path to disease. If we can manage the vicissitudes of the mind, we stand a much better chance of keeping the body healthy. In this way, Ayurveda takes one hand and yoga takes the other to walk us along our path of healing.

May the aligning force of agni, or transformation, stay alive in us, guiding us forward. May our practices continue to illuminate the path before us, even as they twist and turn along the way. Om namah shivaya…