The Yoga of Yes reflects a core truth that lies beneath all of my work in yoga, dance and voice. In all of my work I am always trying to find my way to ‘yes.’ ‘No’ is powerful and necessary and essential in certain situations, but it comes with the vibration of struggle and resistance and obstruction. ‘Yes’ opens the floodgates. With ‘yes’ comes a tidal wave of energy, life force, creativity and possibility. ‘Yes’ allows the possibility of miracles.
Ten years ago, during early teaching with dear friend and colleague Jovinna Chan, we conceived the beginnings of the Yoga of Yes and its core principles. Over the next decade this evolved for me into the heart of my teaching. I now speak on the Yoga of Yes, lead workshops by this name, reference its tenets across all areas of my teaching, and am in the process of putting it in book form. It has become my central spiritual practice.
The Yoga of Yes represents an intersection of the two worlds in which I’ve spent my life – yoga and theatre. Surprisingly – or perhaps not – the two have a great deal in common. Both teach us how to move out of stagnation and into flow, how to come back to life when we’ve stopped living. The seven principles of the Yoga of Yes offer simple tools, mantras, that can be practiced on the yoga mat, on the dance floor, in our communications, and across all areas of our lives:
- Everything I do is brilliant and correct
- Just say, “yes”
- Listen, listen, listen
- Commit
- Risk
- Create intimacy
- Be here now
Over and over again, I have witnessed these foundational tools create an opportunity for tremendous healing and Grace by helping people find greater compassion, ease and self-trust. In my own life I’ve found them to be invaluable. I certainly haven’t perfected them, by any means, but like anything else that’s worth doing… it’s a practice!