I have the absolute best job – I get to teach yoga, but I admit I have moments when I forget how lucky I am. So I love it when I get those little messages from the universe that gently poke me in the ass to remind me how truly blessed I am.

Case in point, the first Saturday of October, the weather in northeast Ohio shot up to a balmy 75 degrees, making it warm enough to pull my beach rake out of hibernation for a morning beach yoga class. My toes had not touched the sand in a month, and once I took in the color of the water and the sound of the waves, I got this overwhelming sense of joy. As I raked the sand to prepare my yoga studio, I realized how much I had missed teaching on the beach and how truly happy I was about seeing my students. I actually got a little choked up, or as I like to say, I got a little verklempt.

When my first students started making their way down to the beach, two of them pointed to the sky to grab my attention. A rainbow had formed above the water. What a wonderful surprise from Mother Nature – a sign of peace, hope, unity, and new beginnings!

beach yoga rainbow

Fast-forward a few weeks and I find myself driving to teach another Saturday morning yoga class. I am struck by this overwhelming sense of happiness, my chest starts to expand, I’m feeling giddy, and then it comes, that verklempt feeling. Are these the symptoms of doing what you love?

These gentle little pokes are more than reminders; they are actually my soul talking to me, reaffirming that I am on the right path. According to “When Dharma Calls: How to Listen to Your Soul by Lindsey Lewis, when we do something that is in alignment with our dharma, we receive sensations of lightness, ease, and peace that come from the non-verbal part of our brains and our souls. These good vibrations are trying to tell us, “This is good, this is really good, keep doing this, and better yet, do more of this!”

Dharma is our duty, our calling, in other words what brings purpose to our lives. In the article (which I highly recommend you read), Lindsey talks about how more and more of us are tapping into these messages from the soul, refusing to settle for less, unwilling to be constrained by work that does not leave time for healthy activities and doing what we enjoy. Instead we are seeking a life that is less stressed and more aligned to what is truly important.

How about you? Are you listening to your soul?

I tapped into what my soul was saying in these situations, and the message is loud and clear: Keep teaching yoga. This is your dharma; this is what brings you joy. Find another beach to teach at during the winter months – figure out how to make this happen!

Saturday morning beach yoga

My favorite place to be on Saturday morning – Firefly Beach for Beach Yoga!*

I’ve always said that my dream is to teach yoga all summer on the shores of Lake Erie and then in the winter find a beach somewhere warm to teach. I keep thinking that this can’t happen for several more years, but who says I have to wait? I’m going to start thinking more seriously about how to make this happen, and if anyone out there has a beach in mind, I’m all ears and my dharma and soul is listening!

Slow down, be present, let your soul speak to you, and then listen; it really does want the best for you.

*I’m still holding out hope that we’ll have one more freakishly warm Saturday morning this year to get in one more beach yoga class!

Join me January 15-19, 2014 in Stowe, Vermont for SKIASANA!