You expect a promotion. You don’t get it. You feel like a failure.
You expect a date to call you back. They don’t. You feel rejected.
You expect your friends to be happy for you. They aren’t. You feel abandoned.

Or you could do the opposite.

Do your job because it’s your job, and for no other reason. You will be rewarded for your efforts.
Be present in other people’s presence and honor yourself. You will gain friends or a genuine partner.
Be happy for yourself, always. Game changer.

In yoga, we refer to these ideas as Dharma and Karma. Dharma is your role, responsibility, or life’s purpose. Karma is the action without attachment to result, with which you perform your Dharma. It is said that you have a right to perform your duty, but you are not entitled to the results. You should never allow the fruits of an action be your motivation.

This is a big shift in thought from how we are conditioned to consider our actions. We do things for success, fame, love, attention. But this attachment to how we want or perceive things to happen, limits the outcome to the results. The truth of the matter is that life isn’t concerned with how you wanted things to turn out. It has it’s own plans, its own imperatives, and you are riding the wave.

Controlling your destiny doesn’t mean controlling the outcome of your actions, it means controlling your reactions in an ever changing environment. While it is tempting to view this as a weakness, learning that you have complete control over your reactions is an empowering realization of strength.

As John Steinbeck once wrote “The best laid plans of mice and men oft go astray.” Goals and dreams are normal desires; they fuel our passions and our purpose. But being open to how you reach them is the largest declaration of success one can achieve.

After years of conducting, and teaching people about classical music, he realized that it was his job to awaken possibility in other people. He measured how well he had done his job by whether his players’ or students’ eyes were shining. Succcess for him was defined by how many shining eyes were around him. If he did not see shining eyes, he would ask himself “Who am I being, that my players eyes are not shining?” He urged the audience to ask themselves “Who am I being so that other people’s eyes are shining.”

What if we all subscribed to this idea? That success is not defined by our paycheck, popularity, or control – but instead is defined by how well we uplift those around us. While this may seem like a daunting task, it doesn’t have to be.

Uplifting others can start with our most powerful gift: our words. Yoga philosophy tells us that words are the transfer of our knowledge to others, and should not be deceitful, misleading, or cause anyone harm – our words should benefit all creatures. We call this idea of uplifting communication ‘satya’ which translates to ‘truthfullness’.

What do you do to uplift others around you? We’d love to hear your answers in the comments below.

However, a number of serious issues have come up in the last few months for yoga studios in New York City, all of which would result in higher cost of classes for students everywhere, and the possible closure of yoga studios across the city and state.

Anyone who’s tried to fight a parking ticket in NYC knows how difficult legal matters in this city can be, but this is a little more serious. That is why we have teamed up with Yoga for NY, an organization that has been working to keep yoga alive and well in NY since 2009.

To support their efforts and their amazing legal team, we will be holding a donation based class with Hilaria Thomas on Saturday, May 12^th at 10:30 AM at our NoHo studio. The money will be donated toward efforts to raise awareness and protect studios across New York City.

Please join us this Saturday for some amazing yoga, and help us to keep yoga available to everyone.

Dharma is a Sanskrit word that can be translated as one’s natural duty.

Some people have always known what they want to be. They’ve answered this question the same way since they were first asked it in kindergarten. For lack of a better word, these people are “lucky.” There are some that have issues with the word “luck,” thinking it diminishes the hard work that those people do. I am not “some” people.

We’ve all heard the cliches that people should follow their passion. We are told to pursue our dream, to find a way of doing what we would do if money weren’t an issue.

What if nothing comes up? What happens when you’ve never had a solid answer for those curious adults? If money weren’t an issue, you’d act like Peter Gibbons from Office Space: stay in bed all day, and do nothing.

For the first 26 years of my life, I never had a real answer for the “adults”. It was only in the last four months that, all of a sudden, the cliches started to make sense. I know exactly where I’d be if I didn’t have to work. I know exactly what I want to be doing, and am doing what I can to get myself into a position to do exactly that. In other words, I got lucky. I had just a slight interest in a topic, checked out a training program, and the rest, as they say, is history.

The best advice that I can give to you on finding your Dharma is to put yourself in a place to get lucky. Follow your interests. No matter how “small” the interests are, check them out. Volunteer at an organization that you are interested in. Go with your friend to their dance class. Join that book club. Check out the cooking class you’ve been curious about. It’s amazing how much time you realize you have when you spend it doing something you love. None of this exploration is time wasted. Knowing what you don’t want to do can be just as valuable as knowing what you want to do.

Mark Cuban, owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks wrote an article about following your effort, not your passion. He’s half right. My experience with Dharma has been finding something I put a lot of work into, only to realize it doesn’t feel like effort. It just feels right.

If you are lost, don’t sweat it, I’ve been there too. Go out and get lucky. I don’t know a better feeling.

By the way, Yoga Vida’s next teacher training is in June. I’m just saying…

She found that some people are really great at connecting to others, and some people are not. The element that kept people from relating with each other was shame.

We all know what shame feels like. It’s that thing we need to hide, that we are afraid to share with other people. We believe that if other people find out about this thing, there is no way that anyone will want to connect to us or get to know us on a deeper level.

We all have things we are shameful of. ” I don’t have the right education”, “I don’t make enough money”, ‘I am scared of the dark”.

Fear is not just a yogi’s biggest enemy, it’s the biggest enemy of humanity. The things we are most fearful of are vulnerability and shame, but these things breed authenticity in people and forge everlasting bonds with others.

Think of a friend in your life who isn’t afraid to be who they are. The realest person you know. Maybe it’s your dad, who unabashedly tells bad jokes in any company. Your friend who wears the craziest clothes, but always looks beautiful. The colleague who makes mistakes, and laughs about them while they happen, instead of getting embarrassed. These are the people in our life that we love, because they are honest, and they love who they are whole heartedly.

Being vulnerable isn’t a sign of weakness, rather it is a sign of courage. The word ‘courage’ comes from the Latin word “Cor”, meaning heart. The original definition of courage was to tell the story of who you are with your whole heart. Do not fear telling your story, as long as it comes from your heart, it will always be met with open arms.

Watch Brené Brown’s TED Talks about Vulnerability and Shame.

This similar tale is found in The Wizard of Oz. The Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Lion seek out the Wizard, who they hope can bestow upon them qualities they believe they lack. In the end, the Wizard reminds them that they have had a brain, a heart, and courage all along.

Whether it’s American or Indian folklore, we all have childhood stories which tell tales of heroes who aspire for greatness, but carry an insecurity which overshadows their potential. Only until they seek and receive approval to be great, do they realize that they already had what it takes.

Like the heroes in these stories, we all stop and think “Can I do this?” “Am I capable of this?” Of course you can, and of course you are! Why wouldn’t you be capable of unconditional love, strength and wisdom? Why can’t you do headstand, or find true love, or have that dream job you’ve always wanted? We so often seek out permission from others to be great, when really the only one who needs to permit our greatness, is us.

The next time you find yourself faced with a challenge, or wishing for a quality you think you don’t have, remember that you have everything you need. You do not need the permission of others to be great, you only need to permit yourself to exist in greatness.

We’re committed to making yoga accessible to all and offer discounted classes and packages to students & faculty.

Present your valid student or faculty ID at the front desk and enjoy the yoga! Student and Faculty Memberships are renewed every September