Our Yogi in the Community this week radiates grace and compassion. Deavin is a yogi who lives an incredible life full of excitement and gratitude. I am so inspired by her kindness and the ways in which she strives to live her best life possible.
Hometown: St. Thomas, USVI is my hometown. I have also lived in VA, Puerto Rico (7 years), and Atlanta; (where I attended college and stepped into my own) is dear to me. F.I.L.A!
How long have you been practicing yoga?: I have been practicing yoga for about 7 years. But I will say only in the last 4 years it has really become a true practice and way of life for me rather than a recreational and physical exercise.
Why do you practice yoga?: “That which bends will never break.” 😀 – Yoga means union. It is a way of life…a reminder that everything is connected. For me it is a natural process of living.
Beyond just the physical asanas – yoga keeps me open and balanced – spiritually, physically, mentally and emotionally.
How have you noticed yoga throughout your life?: It is a constant. My life has opened up in so many incredible ways. There is no way to pin-point just one aspect. After college, I had a small inkling that something was missing. There was more to life. More I wanted to do with and in life, than just the conventional…graduate and start a career. When I discovered the path of yoga it was like I was finally able to articulate a question that I never knew how to ask and receive the answer all in one “breath”. My yoga practice is a gift that keeps on giving. In the sense that 4 years later I am still unwrapping….
You know the saying “be the change you wish to see”…well when I started practicing I was at a point in my life where I was ready to live my full potential. I decided I was going to do whatever I wanted to do. No fear. Just do it. I wanted to be pro-active and 100% involved in my life. All aspects – from my career, health, relationships, friendships…etc. Yoga gave me the necessary grounding and balance to step out and explore all that life had to offer. When I started my yoga journey I noticed that when I was in a certain state of clarity and balance within myself all these aspects of my life just started opening up in ways I could have never imagined. Since I started practicing my perception of everything I experience, has expanded, leaving me with a growing sense of freedom and bliss! I have a deeper sense of clarity, confidence, and creativity that is continuously growing.
Yoga has made my life so much more dynamic and multi-dimensional. At any moment I can go from engaging in intense physical activity to sitting still for hours on end. Yoga represents the limitless possibilities and expansiveness of life and what it has to offer. It has exposed me to new and different ways of living and simply ‘be’-ing. I’ve met fascinating people of various backgrounds and cultures. I’ve traveled to India and visited the Dhyanalinga yogic temple, which was incredible and life changing!
I stayed at an ashram for over a month, and I was exposed to yoga not just as an exercise but as a technology and scientific method for inner well-being. Yoga as a tool not just towards physical fitness but towards total well-being – from the way we sit, breathe, the foods we eat – every aspect of life! I mean everything has been looked at as a possibility.
Isha Yoga which is the system and method of yoga that I practice is rooted in a basic yet powerful, practice called Inner Engineering; derived from the ancient yogic sciences. It is a practical tool that can be applied to every situation and life experience. What Isha Yoga, and my teacher Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, have brought into my life is undeniable! It has been such a gift, a gift that I wish the whole world could have a taste of!
