Satya~ livin' in that truth- june 2025

HAPPY MONDAY!! (((:

And hello to the month of June!! So wild! I say this about every month, but I truly hope this email has found you in a nice, cozy, comfortable place. If not, maybe wait to enjoy it when you do find that place to absorb it as best you can- you deserve it.

I've started writing this newsletter from a cutie little coffee shop in the southern part of Sumatra, Indonesia. Ya'll, I love it here! I am so grateful for a month of stability and healthy routine, and beauty in everything around me. It has honestly come at an amazing time, 5 months into travel, and has even felt like a little break from our travels hah. I'm here teaching yoga (which is such a gift!) but I feel like ever since my time in Nepal, I've been thinking a lot about that title- yoga teacher. There are ebbs and flows with everything, right? Our relationships, our routines, our jobs, our passions  our creative centers. One day it's like we have it all together and the next we're like, "who the heck am I and what is this life that I'm living". NO WAY it's just me. And I refuse to believe that it all of a sudden stops when we turn 40 or 50 or even older! I believe that our capacity to question and fine tune our purpose, our passions, & our goals, expands with us, and that's something that we all experience as humans. Of course, the hope is it gets easier to decipher what is truly for us the older and wiser we get. For anyone who is feeling especially consumed by an identity crisis, I hope this email feels like a big hug.

Identity crisis is a bit dramatic, but I am in such a season of questioning and processing. I talked about this a little in last month's email. Seeking answers, or oftentimes just a better understanding of who I am, what I'm doing, what I offer, etc. I'm not sure if it's the turning of 30 later this year or what, but I've been practicing, & embracing, the raw, reality of honesty lately. I always have thought of myself to be an honest person, absolutely, but isn't it interesting how we can be so honest with others, even strangers, but shy away from our own truth? I'm learning though that there is so much freedom in being able to be who we truly are, rather than hiding behind the fakeness of what we think others expect us to be. 

If you're familiar with the Yoga Sutras then I'm sure you've heard of the yamas and niyamas. If you are like "what the heck are those, Sam?" in short, the yamas and niyamas are the foundational ethical guidelines in yoga, and form the first 2 of 8 limbs on the path to Enlightenment outlined by Patanjali (he's the big papa of Yoga). The yamas are kind of like the "do nots" of life, while the niyamas are observances or "do's", very similar to the 10 Commandments in Christianity. The point is that together they provide a moral code for living a fulfilling and spiritual life. 

There are five yamas and satya (truthfulness) is the second. I really love this sutra, and I've built my a lot of my yoga teaching "vibe" and foundation on it (ya know that whole closing thing I say at the end of my yoga classes? What we think, what we say, and where our actions come from? Yeah, that). Satya asks us all to think, speak, and act with integrity. To be truthful in all that we do, as hard as it is- seeing and communicating things as they actually are in the present moment, not how we wish them to be. This is extra tricky because we all perceive life through a conditioned mind-set. Our thoughts, beliefs, and past experiences shape and mold whatever we see and of course, none of us experience an event in the same way. If that wasn't tricky enough, what we experience as truth one day may not be the same truth we live the next. So practicing satya requires us to remain open to truth in the absolute present moment, as it reveals itself. **Also why some daily check-ins with what the heck is going on within our body, mind, and spirit is crucial or our truth will get lost over and over and over again.

The role of "yoga teacher" has been attached to me now for 10 years. Which is wild. Sometimes I feel like I should be more ahead (whatever that means) than I am and other times I feel like I have never been clearer or more confident in what I can and cannot offer as a yoga instructor. Lately, I've been empathizing more with my role as a movement and breath coach, an unbiased listening ear, and simply a space holder for deeper connection, whether that's with me, one's self, a higher power, nature, etc. I'm reminding myself that actually embodying and living out yoga is so much more important than being able to say I can do some of the most beautiful, impressive poses. When we practice yoga physically, but with more of an emphasis on the mental, emotional, and spiritual components, we're choosing to not build up the ego. When we build up the ego, all we're doing is opening the door to more comparison, more judgement, a greater false sense of identity, and sometimes more "do whatever it takes to sell & make money" mentality. I'm finding my power in being honest that I don't have all the answers, and in fact, I don't ever want it to seem or look as though I do. I am human and flawed and continuously evolving and growing, trying to become a better person every single day. But I mess up and I fall short, too. There is really something to living with integrity though, and being honest enough to recognize where we can become better or sometimes when we just need to take a break and recalibrate.

SooooOoooo, I promise I'm not ending my journey as a yoga teacher There is still so much work to do and goodness to come. What I am though, and what I hope we all are, is open. Open to growth and change and constantly asking ourselves "is this truly for me and in alignment with my truth?" The hope is that we all work to remove the layers of our cultural conditioning, we expand our beliefs to allow new perspectives, and as we clear inner spaces, we catch more and more glimpses of our true self. If this sparked some thoughts, whether in agreement or not, check out the journal prompts at the bottom!

The next time you'll here from me, I'll be in Greece, slowly making my way around this great, bug beautiful world. Until then, let's all keep showing up for one another (and ourselves!) honestly and not just talking the talk, but walking the walk. I hope it's an amazing month, you all! So, so, SO much love!