Deepak Chopra’s Co-author & Director of Yoga, Sarah Platt-Finger On Self-Realization

Show notes as a general guide below. Somewhat in order and not written in perfect grammar because we want you to actually listen to the show!

Topics Discussed:

• Sarah discusses her COVID-19 experience.
• Sarah explains the meaning of being a yoga master.
• Sarah shares her journey into yoga and ISHTA Yoga.
• Explanation of hatha yoga and tantra misconceptions.
• Introduction to Ayurveda and its principles.
• Discussion on imbalances and their treatment.
• Exploring self-realization through yoga.
• Discussing embracing multiple roles and relationships.
• Understanding the power of letting go of attachment.
• Discussion on high involvement and low attachment.
• Exploration of surrender and detachment in yoga.
• Conversation on letting go of attachment in life.
• Sarah talks about teaching Deepak Chopra privately.
• Sarah discusses the interconnectedness of yoga.
• Sarah explains the power of yoga in expanding consciousness.
• Sarah discusses the meaning behind ISHTA Yoga.
• Sarah explains yoga teacher training and its components.
• Challenging misconceptions about yoga.
• Sarah discusses simplicity in yoga and wellness.
• Sarah shares her mantra for personal transformation.
• Sarah discusses humility and authenticity in leadership.
• Sarah talks about her recent travels and health concerns.
• Sarah reveals her current location in South Florida.
• Sarah explains her illness after returning from trips.

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Below is a transcript of the video podcast created by Seb’s Robot buddy, Zekton. He tends to make mistakes so please forgive him if you find errors or some funky sounding sentences. For the real deal, watch the video or click on your favorite audio Podcast platform above! Enjoy!

Sebastian (00:00:00) – Sarah, welcome to the show.

Sarah (00:00:02) – Thanks so much for having me.

Sebastian (00:00:04) – Absolutely. It’s a pleasure, sir. I start my shows by asking my guest this first question, which is when was your last oh shit moment? What is the first thing that comes to mind? It could be a positive or a negative thing either way.

Sarah (00:00:17) – My last oh shit moment was probably just last week I got Covid. It’s like, yeah, very shocked about that because as you and I were just speaking, it was my first time ever getting Covid and I thought, like, I was maybe one of the 1% that would escape ever getting, you know, the virus. And so just when I saw those two lines on the test, I was like, oh, no, because you just know everything shifts in that. But I have to say, the OSHA turned into a like, okay, because I was able to actually embrace and accept it, and I actually did need the time to just rest and replenish. We took advantage of that.

Sebastian (00:01:05) – Yeah. Do you do you feel like a little bit in the beginning was almost like a little bit of an ego thing or like you thought you felt like you’re like, oh, because I’ve do all the things right in life. Like, it doesn’t. It won’t get to me kind of thing. Right. And then.

Sarah (00:01:17) – Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. Like, sure. And I knew because I know a lot of people who practice yoga and meditation who did contract it, but I think there was like a small part of my ego, that one, that I was kind of invincible in that way. So it was very humbling and always a good learning experience as humbling experiences are.

Sebastian (00:01:38) – Totally I can I can imagine Sarah and I know the answer to this, but essentially you got to ask you like being does being a yoga master mean that you never lose your shit, or that you don’t get triggered by people’s actions?

Sarah (00:01:52) – Well, first of all, I don’t like to call myself a yoga master. I was initiated through my yoga, the system of yoga that I’m trained in, and I’m a big part of the Isha system.

Sarah (00:02:08) – I was initiated as a yoga master, but.

Sebastian (00:02:11) – So what does that even mean then? What is yoga master mean? And that term.

Sarah (00:02:15) – Master? It’s a Yogi Raj and Yogi Raj, like in our system, is somebody who has kind of dedicated their life’s work to the practice and to particularly that practice. And since I, I think was very instrumental in building the Isha homes and studios and trainings and community, that kind of that became part of my quote, quote identity. But I actually am very much a human mortal, and I think, you know, it can someone can see that word master and feel like, oh, this person has all of the secrets of life. And I the only thing I can say is that yoga has changed me in every way I know possible, and it’s helped to give me grace in my life. But it hasn’t kept me from being immortal solely, you know what I mean? And to have feelings and hardship and challenges, as we all do.

Sebastian (00:03:26) – Yeah.

Sebastian (00:03:26) – Yeah, absolutely. Was it something was this was this journey like a it was like a cosmic revelation that you had to go down this path or was it just like this really epic one yoga class that got you hooked into this path, or what was it that led you to becoming the founder of Ishtar and all that?

Sarah (00:03:44) – Well, I mean, I had a very, um, kind of tumultuous relationship with my body as a young adult, a teenager and a young adult into, like, my early 20s. Um, I moved away after graduating college, and I lived in Taiwan for three years, and I studied Chinese, but I was also teaching English, and I was teaching dance. I had been a dance major, and I picked up yoga there, partially because I had a background in dance, in gymnastics, and it kind of came easily to me. And so the teacher would often have me come in the front of the class and teach the poses in Mandarin. So it was a very surreal experience for me.

Sarah (00:04:33) – And there was something deep within me, like this inner intuitive voice that was like, you’re going to go back to the States and you’re going to study yoga and you’re going to make this your life’s work. And I have to say, I’ve always had this kind. A quiet but very strong voice inside of me that guides me in my decision making. A guided me to Taiwan, and then it guided me back to the States after three years living there to pursue a certification. One of the things that led me to the Ish to practice, which is where my roots are, is that I experienced reverse culture shock. Like I came back from Taiwan feeling very alienated in New York, which is where I’m from, Long Island, and also feeling like I wasn’t exactly at home in Taiwan. And so it’s this feeling of not really knowing where you belong and not really sure of where you fit in or where home is. And I went and I took my first. I had searched around for different yoga. This was in 2003, so there weren’t a ton of yoga studios, but there was one nearby me at the time that practice this ish to practice.

Sarah (00:05:53) – And when I took the class, it was an immediate sense of coming home. I was like, this is what home is. Home is here in my body, in my breath. And I had never really felt that before, honestly. And that was the immediate shift for me. That was like, I got to learn more about this and I have to pursue it.

Sebastian (00:06:19) – Wow. Yeah. That’s beautiful. By the way, are you a generator?

Sarah (00:06:25) – I need to fact check people. Okay.

Sebastian (00:06:30) – Well, because you said I have this inner voice that I have guiding me. And so typically, um, you know, if your generator manifests and generator you answer to, you’re supposed to respond and listening to your gut and that inner voice. Right? So is that inner voice for you come from your gut, or do you feel like it comes from like a higher intuition above type thing?

Sarah (00:06:54) – I feel like it’s the same, is it not? I like your my gut.

Sebastian (00:07:01) – We refer to gut intuition as the same thing typically, right? Yeah.

Sebastian (00:07:06) – For me, what I’ve at least what I’ve experienced is that the gut really feels like really in your body down here. And it can be manifested into like a sound and to like a, like a yes or like, you know. Right. And then there’s sort of this higher like, intuitive thing that’s kind of comes more into your like in your head type thing.

Sarah (00:07:26) – Yeah, it’s for me it’s definitely the higher because okay, it’s more related to like an air and space energy. It’s more like a sensing a feeling. Yeah, something like that. But not as primal. Yeah.

Sebastian (00:07:40) – And you had that before you went into the ish to practice. Yeah.

Sarah (00:07:44) – Yes. It was already.

Sebastian (00:07:45) – There for you for it. Yeah, yeah. You didn’t have to practice essentially. In that sense.

Sarah (00:07:50) – That’s cool. I didn’t have to practice. I didn’t have the language. I, um. It wasn’t something that I was very. I wasn’t very familiar with any kind of eastern studies or philosophy. Yeah.

Sarah (00:08:05) – But as I learned more about it, I realized that that was very much a way that I orchestrate my life is from this kind of higher connection to something that is beyond the form.

Sebastian (00:08:20) – Really awesome, really beautiful. And you’re the co-founder of Ishtar Yoga. So what is Ishtar stand for?

Sarah (00:08:26) – So Ishtar stands for the integrated science of Hatha Tantra and Veda. Okay, it’s kind of a mouthful.

Sebastian (00:08:33) – Yeah. And so what is it about? What is that combination?

Sarah (00:08:38) – Yeah. So hatha is the umbrella term for, like, the physical practice of yoga. It’s like the energy, the sun and the energy of the moon together. And it’s really about from the Ishtar philosophy. It’s really about organizing and aligning not just your physical body, but your subtle body, so that your physical body creates the space for you to experience expansiveness in your subtle body. And then to, of course, access the true nature of who you are, your soul. So the Hatha is or the physical poses. The tantra is a non dualistic science that often gets misconstrued and misunderstood as like an esoteric sexual practice.

Sarah (00:09:27) – Although there is that branch of it. That’s not what my background is. Sorry, it’s mine is.

Sebastian (00:09:34) – I got to cross out like five of my questions now.

Sarah (00:09:36) – Exactly I know. Sorry to make it so boring, but yeah, no, it’s more about like embodiment, right? And experiencing the divine in everything. The divine in every situation, every aspect, every object. That there really is no separation between the manifest realm and the infinite realm. And so we can utilize different and access through the technology of the physical body, we can access higher states of consciousness. That’s why there were sexual practices to like raise the consciousness. But you can also get it through mantra and visualization and Kriya and Banda’s and all kinds of, you know, traditional practices that come from the tradition of yoga.

Sebastian (00:10:29) – And we missing one the a yeah.

Sarah (00:10:33) – So data is a a traditional science from India. That’s a science of life. Ayan means knowledge and Vedas life. And so it’s about understanding the five elements within and around us.

Sarah (00:10:50) – And we all have a combination of those elements within us. And what that makes up is called our Prakriti, your Constitution. And so your Constitution, your nature is always trying to find balance with the outside world. And when we come out of balance in with the world around us, we need to do different things, behaviors, eat certain things, and practice certain techniques to come back into harmony and into alignment. So in the Isha practice, we brought that a lot into the yoga poses and breathwork etcetera. But there’s also a whole science of food and diet and behavior and what’s called D.a.r.e. or daily routines. That’s part of the tradition.

Sebastian (00:11:34) – Yeah, that’s super interesting. I had always associated with food for the most part. Yep. I didn’t realize that there was like a yoga aspect to that in terms of the physical yoga, the practice of yoga with it, you know?

Sarah (00:11:46) – Yeah, yeah, because different poses can elicit different qualities within you. Some of the poses can activate the qualities of heat and fire, which would increase your pitta, your your fire and water location.

Sarah (00:12:00) – Some are more grounding and cooling, which can activate kapha which is the earth element. And then of course some can be more activating and invigorating, which can activate vata. So how you practice will affect your shows.

Sebastian (00:12:14) – So if, if I’m so I know I’m a pitta. So if I’m a pitta then do I look for positions, what I want to be doing, positions that are not pitta positions so that I can balance it out? Or do I want to be doing pitta positions because they’re go with me?

Sarah (00:12:28) – Really great question. It’s really about your imbalance, right. So your nature could be fire, right? But your imbalance could be too much air and space like many of us have.

Sebastian (00:12:40) – Because I have three air signs, all my three signs or three air signs.

Sarah (00:12:44) – I was going to I was going to clean you as a vata, like a little bit more air in space. But, you know, they can be very close and we can because I’m dominant pitta and next vata. So they’re very close to each other.

Sarah (00:12:59) – But my vata, my air and space quality very easily gets thrown off balance. So I need to do things to reduce that even though my nature is pitta. So depending on what your imbalances, that’s really what you want to treat.

Sebastian (00:13:15) – How do people know they’re imbalances?

Sarah (00:13:17) – They manifest in different ways. Some people don’t even know they’re in balance, right? But that’s why being conscious, you know, being tuned in to your patterns and your habits. But like avatar imbalance could manifest as anxiety, insomnia, constipation, you know, looseness, pitta imbalance. It’s like acid indigestion, maybe rashes, heat like that kind of thing. So it usually manifests as some kind of condition in the body system. Right. Or digestion. And then we treat it with food. But we can also treat it with our yoga practice as well.

Sebastian (00:13:52) – So interesting. Sarah, do you feel like this is all a privilege to just even be talking about this or like, even be considering these things? It’s all a privilege.

Sebastian (00:14:01) – Like, can you even be thinking about this stuff if you’re in some sort of a survival mode?

Sarah (00:14:06) – It’s such a privilege, Sebastian. It really is. And, you know, when you think about when these enlightenment practices came about, they were at a time in the world when there was not as much strife and hardship. And that’s why people like the Buddha and Patanjali and Jesus. Right. There’s like these prophets and enlightened beings kind of came about because they had the luxury and the privilege to be able to reflect. And oh, and also in the Greek philosophy, like Plato, like, you know, all of those really enlightened thinkers came out of a time when there was, I believe, more peace and less unrest in the world.

Sebastian (00:14:56) – Interesting. I’ll be honest with you. I’m not like I’m not a historian, so I can’t even confirm or deny that. Right? But I’m assuming that maybe for them personally, they maybe they had more peace in their world, right? Yes. Or maybe they were just really seeking it.

Sebastian (00:15:11) – And then by seeking it, these were ways to seek it or achieve it.

Sarah (00:15:17) – But but to your point, like if your mind and nervous system is focused on survival, you’re not going to be reflecting on how to achieve enlightenment or bliss, right? Yeah. It’s not. It’s just our our kind of nervous system doesn’t work that way. First we got to get into survival mode and then we can move up the ladder, so to speak. Yeah.

Sebastian (00:15:42) – And it can be challenging because a lot of the things that a lot of the problems of the world has today, most of those problems are tied to people being in survival mode for different things, whether it’s safety, food, whatever it may be. So, as you know, personally, like someone like myself who’s trying to cause a positive change through conscious business conscious practices a lot of the time, like how who am I speaking to, right? Who are we speaking to? How do we reach some of those people? Or a lot of the people that are needed the most and are in survival mode? And it’s definitely a tough challenge, you know, and so I think that at least the way that I work through, it is okay if we can also affect other leaders to be more conscious leaders, then they will also affect the people that they are leading or that they’re impacting.

Sebastian (00:16:25) – Right?

Sarah (00:16:26) – Oh, absolutely. And it’s really a matter of I think like how, yes, how we’re communicating, how we’re able to reach people. Right. And, you know, speak a universal language. That is that’s why, you know, yoga is hard because the language of yoga is Sanskrit, right. And that can automatically be a little bit of an obstacle. And that’s why, you know, I think actually in the book that Deepak and I wrote, a lot of it is taking what was once Sanskrit coined terms and interpreting them in English words, which I think is necessary to kind of just break that barrier, you know.

Sebastian (00:17:12) – Yeah, absolutely. So, Sara, you co-authored this book with Deepak Chopra called The Living, living in the Light Yoga for Self-Realization. So first of all, congratulations. Like, what an amazing life. Blessing to to get to co-author a book with one of the best writers of our time. In my opinion, Deepak has written over 85 or 90 books, including.

Sarah (00:17:36) – Like 93 maybe.

Sebastian (00:17:38) – Yeah. And like sold like over 20 million copies or something like that. Right. So to get to co-author with him, like Bravo, like amazing. Congrats, you. Yeah.

Sarah (00:17:48) – I feel very blessed. Yeah.

Sebastian (00:17:50) – Yeah, I can imagine. And I’m going to ask a little bit more about that, that journey. But what is meant by self realization and why is yoga the path to it?

Sarah (00:18:01) – Great question. I think self-realization is just it’s actually realizing what we are not, you know, saying that we are not our thoughts, we are not our identity. We are not even our physical body, which changes all the time. You know, if you think about who you are, it’s like, well, who am I? When, when I was 20 or 15 or five, that’s a different Sarah, you know, like, yeah, but think about who I am, the one. Conscious within all of those different shifts and changes. That’s when we realize the self.

Sarah (00:18:42) – We realize the self that has always been there amidst all the aspects of ourselves that’s constantly changing.

Sebastian (00:18:51) – That’s so interesting. Personally, something that I’ve had to deal with or grow into, whatever we want to call it, is being all the things I say, being all the things, right? Because I had these roles that I played for a long time in my early to mid to late 20s even. And then I was going through a lot of change and I thought, okay, well, I can’t be this because I’ve always been that and I can’t act this way because I’ve always acted that way. But I feel this way and I still feel that way. Like, like, do I have multiple personalities, right? Like what’s right.

Sarah (00:19:25) – So we all do. Yeah.

Sebastian (00:19:27) – Exactly that. That is the truth. So coming to terms with being okay with playing all these different roles and we by default do that. Right. So you could be a mother, you could be a friend, you could, you know, whatever it may be, right? You could be a leader in work.

Sebastian (00:19:40) – And so it was like, okay, so just because I have, you know, I’m going to actually backtrack on that. It was also a way for me to accept different relationships in my life for what they are and what they provide. So it was okay, I can have a friend that I can have a super mega deep conversation about the existence of life with, and then one that I can just talk to about money, and then another one that I can just talk to, have a beer with and talk about basketball or football or whatever it may be. Right. And that was great because at one point I was sort of like judging myself for, oh, I’m having if I’m evolving, then everything around me has to evolve equally, and thus I have to drop everything else behind. It’s not evolving in the way that I thought should be evolving. And then I started realizing that that actually was an evolving. Evolving was sort of accepting all of it and really enjoying every single one of those relationships for what it was and accepting all the things about me, you know?

Sarah (00:20:36) – Yeah, it’s it’s about inclusivity, you know, and that is, I think, a new way for us to because I don’t think that is always been the way that we’ve perceived evolution.

Sarah (00:20:49) – Right. Or growth. It was always like, you move beyond something. You move away from something. And for me, it’s like I you grow into something. You expand your capacity to embrace and celebrate differences without judging or making them wrong. So I love that. I love that you had that realization because I think I think that’s very much the same for me. You know, I have many friends and many different walks of life and yeah, take on multiple roles, one of them being mom. And yeah, you put on different hats. Yeah. You know, and it’s like, here we are, it’s Halloween today. We’re like all walking around with our costumes on, but it’s like we kind of do that throughout the day. Right? But we but it’s a dance, you know. And we as long as we come home to the truth of who we really are and that sort of feeds everything. As long as we have that home inside of ourselves, then I think can never be in a place with anyone in anywhere that’s foreign, you know? Yeah.

Sebastian (00:22:04) – Does that home have to have a specific description? Is does it could just be a feeling or is it you in a specific way or you having found what your mission for existing in life is, or is it just going to just be a feeling of just calm or peace?

Sarah (00:22:23) – Um, well, for me, and I think home might be different for different people, what that description is. But for me it’s yeah, it’s it’s just like peace and safety inside of my, my own body, you know, it’s just like feeling a sense of calm in my body at any given time. Um, because, you know, everything we’re feeling, we’re feeling through our body. Your body is right. Vehicle that’s carrying receptors and information through sensation. And so, yeah, your feeling, as long as you can hold the space for feeling, you don’t have to run away from it. And you can feel like, all right, there’s a space for this fear and this grief and this anxiety and whatever else that’s arising in this moment.

Sarah (00:23:13) – Hopefully that at once.

Sebastian (00:23:15) – But yeah, hopefully not. Yeah. Sarah, in the book you have a meditation on letting go of attachment. Letting go of attachment, in my opinion, is like a life cheat code. Like every time it’s the funniest thing and I test it out with like the I don’t want to say dumb, but like little tiny things. Like tiny little things. As soon as I let go of attachment, they they just get solved and or things manifest or they appear. Right. And it could be as simple as so. Fun fact as we were starting this, this show we were having, I was having some technical difficulties here. Right. And putting things together, it was like and then so you kind of get into this frazzled mode of like, oh shit, I got to get things going this time and this. And it was like, okay, well, as soon as I let the attachment like, it’s going to work out like I’m okay, like, if this technical thing doesn’t get fixed, it’s not the end of the world.

Sebastian (00:24:12) – Like boom, find a solution. Right. And it’s like and so little things like that. And then happens with big things, whether it is manifesting a relationship or a job that you want. Right. So how? So talk to us a little bit about letting go of attachment and what that means to you.

Sarah (00:24:30) – So yeah, it’s it really is a life changer in so many ways. The game changer because it’s our, our attachment to something that creates constriction, it creates tension, it creates stress. And when we’re in that mode of tension and constriction and stress, we don’t allow literally we don’t allow our breath to flow. Or the prana, which is the life force energy that rides on the breath to flow. Prana needs to flow through the body when your body feels aligned and supported and receptive, right? So the muscles that need to hold you up, hold you up, and the muscles that need to relax can relax. And so when we’re in that mode of attaching or clinging, we’re obstructing that free flow of prana that’s moving through us.

Sarah (00:25:27) – And that just state of being vital and open and awake, it might, you know, it might be that infinite organizing power that’s doing the job, and it might also just be us being able to come up with creative solutions. Because if we’re kind of attaching to one thing or expecting something to come out the way we want it to, we’re trying to control something, then we’re no longer in the field, as Deepak likes to call it, the the field of infinite possibilities. Right. And in that field of infinite possibilities is where the solution comes through, and the solution doesn’t come through from our grasping or controlling the outcome. But we’re so afraid to let go. Because we’re afraid it’s not going to happen. But like you, we. It’s a practice, right? Yeah, yeah. Practicing the trusting. And I love that sometimes it’s just practice it in the little thing. Like, okay, if I don’t find this one little piece for my computer, I’m just going to let it go, you know, and then move it into big things because, um, that organizing intelligence really is doing the doing, but it’s also moving through us so we can kind of find the divine right answers.

Sebastian (00:26:54) – Absolutely. And it’s easier said than done for sure. Yes. And it’s there’s something that, um, that my mother was very wise human always told me from a long time ago that it really has to do with high involvement, low attachment. And that’s become one of my, one of my favorite mantras, because I think most people would be like, well, like if you’re not like, let’s say you’re striving towards a goal and your business or in your life and you’re like, well, if you’re letting go of attachment, that means you don’t care. And if you don’t care, you’re not going to try hard. And if you don’t try hard, you’re not going to achieve it, right? So that’s how people sort of most of us associate that. And so I think that magic lies in that high involvement, being super involved in the process and passionate about it while still being detached from it, which is very difficult because if you think about it, like associate it like if I associate it to sports and it’s like, oh, let’s go play this championship game, you want to win the championship with your team and you’re super attached to that outcome.

Sebastian (00:27:53) – If you win, I’m happy. If I lose, I’m sad and it’s like, so how can I play the game to win the freaking championship but then not care if I lose? Like, that’s a wild concept, right?

Sarah (00:28:05) – Right. And it’s oh my god, it’s such. Your mom is such a wise soul because it is such a cornerstone of the yoga practice is like just being fully present with your actions and your practice and surrendering, detaching from the results. There’s actually a concept. It’s called a bias. And it’s from the Yoga Sutras was a classical yoga text. And it’s it literally means stay on the path, stay with your practice and surrender the outcome. So it’s like like you’re saying stay engaged, stay in the game. Right. But yeah, go of the outcome. And what the Yoga Sutra say is that when you do this, that’s when you are able to experience deep transformation. It’s like real deep transformation, because if we’re doing too much of one or the other, it won’t happen.

Sarah (00:29:03) – Right? But that sweet combination of the two high involvement and detachment. Yeah. Love that. I’m going to use that now. What’s your mom.

Sebastian (00:29:13) – Her name is and she’s, she’s she’s a coach herself. And so she’s a writer as well. And so I don’t know where that one originally came from, but I always heard it from her. But yeah, it’s really just a beautiful balance. It really is. And ultimately, if you can really let go of that attachment, you’re just going to enjoy playing. And that’s the point because that’s literally all it’s about. It’s just about playing the game of life and enjoying the process, because ultimately that outcome only lasts a split second anyway. So that’s.

Sarah (00:29:41) – Right. Right. That’s right. And it’s that constant repetitive action. It’s the action and your intention behind the action that is shaping this moment, that is shaping you. You know, it’s not the results, it’s actually the actions you’re taking.

Sebastian (00:29:54) – Absolutely. Yeah. In terms of, you know, in this podcast, we talk a lot about business and we mix things with business and things like that.

Sebastian (00:30:01) – So does do you feel like letting go of attachment makes better business leaders and even makes helps people make more money?

Sarah (00:30:11) – If you’re involved, you know, if you’re watching, you’re keeping track of, you know, your numbers and the trends and trajectories. You’re kind of watching that. You’re keeping an eye on that, but you’re not. And maybe you make goals and you set marks and you’re like, let’s try and be here in three months or six months or a year, but you don’t kind of contort yourself to get to that place. You are constantly reassessing and looking at everything. And, you know, you might have to make new assessments and new goals as you go along, but I do. I definitely think staying engaged and like surrendering the outcome are such important factors in every aspect of life. It’s hard. It’s really hard, especially if there’s someone that’s very achievement oriented and in full honesty, yes, I am.

Sebastian (00:31:13) – That’s funny, and I’m glad you shared that because I think that people just, you know, see you from the outside or they land on your book or your social media or whatever, they may just not see that in you at all.

Sebastian (00:31:25) – Right, right. Yeah. I love that you’re admitting, you know, essentially sharing that, not admitting it, but sharing that. And, um, in what ways do you feel that are you constantly having to let working on letting go of attachment because you’re achievement oriented?

Sarah (00:31:41) – Yes, I’m keeping it. I’m constantly keeping it in check and noticing where I’m like, kind of wanting something to be what it is not. Yes. And and in full transparency. I notice it a lot actually, in my parenting. In my. Yes. Because when you have a child, my daughter is very different from me. She’s a very different personality. She’s not very driven. She’s much like, whatever we’ll do. And I think that’s actually a gift. But I’m kind of like, don’t you care about your grades? Don’t you care about what you know? This outcome is sure. And I have to keep that in check and realize that she is her own autonomous self and independent self. And I, in the same way, can sort of get involved in as much I can.

Sarah (00:32:40) – I can control the outcome of, you know, her and her, who she turns out to be. I can only be present to it. So it shows up in in different ways. And I think it’s, you know, like anything, a matter of just being aware of it. Because the more aware you are, obviously of your patterns and your habits, the more you can just keep it in check. And it’s true when you release it and let it go and. Engage in the present moment, in what’s right in front of you. Um, you find a new reservoir of energy and inspiration and motivation that’s not based on the results. Does that make.

Sebastian (00:33:29) – Sense? Absolutely. Yeah. You mentioned intentions earlier. Intention setting. It’s like, you know, letting go of attachment, cheat code, intention setting, code number two. Uh, like it is. It is so funny because, you know, for me is I set intentions about the most what I think a lot of people would find trivial things or situations or just not quote unquote important things.

Sebastian (00:33:56) – I think most people don’t set intentions ever at all in terms of they could have an intention with, maybe, again, like a business project or something like that, or a game they’re trying to win. But in terms of the intention, at least for me, the way I do it is whether I’m walking into a specific conversation, whether it is a podcast like this, or I’m going into going to a Halloween party and I’m going to go hang out with certain people, right? I usually ground myself almost always and set an intention for how I want to feel in the situation, how I want to feel after a situation. So whether it is that you’re trying to achieve something or not, I tend to do it around. Maybe if I’m trying to achieve something, perhaps is that achievement, but more so how I want to feel doing it, what I want to channel doing it, and man intention setting cheat code, like I said, because most of the time if you’re letting go of the attachment to it, but you’re setting a strong intention, things just materialize and they just happen and they work out.

Sarah (00:34:58) – Yeah, especially when it’s about like the inner realm. And I so love that because it’s often how I say that a lot when I’m teaching classes, like how do you want to feel? What do you want to create? Because how you’re approaching every pose and every breath is creating that intention and that experience. So it’s really just about, you know, an internal space that we’re creating for ourselves, which is really the only thing we have any control over. Right? Like, I can’t control what is going to happen tomorrow, what the weather is going to be, what my friends or family members are going to be like. But I can control the way I show up. And that’s a really powerful thing.

Sebastian (00:35:50) – Absolutely. Yeah. It really intention is everything. Sarah. So how did your relationship with Deepak start?

Sarah (00:35:58) – So Deepak moved about three doors down from where the yoga studio was that I co-founded. It’s no longer there, but it was downtown on 11th in New York City and 11 on 11th Street between Broadway and University.

Sarah (00:36:14) – And he lived like a few doors down from there. And his assistant at the time had reached out, like, Deepak Chopra has moved into your neighborhood and is looking for private yoga sessions. Are you available? And I was like, stop, you know? Yeah. Who’s this, like playing with me? Yeah, I was very much a fan of his work. And I had like just literally the week before, read it to my husband. And like, Deepak is teaching everything that you and I teach, but just using scientific language. Yeah. So the fact that that is awesome.

Sebastian (00:36:56) – I love that combination.

Sarah (00:36:58) – Yeah, right. It’s colourful. Yeah. Powerful. So yeah, we just started I started teaching him privately and then, you know, any time he was in the city, we would meet early in the morning like 6 a.m., um, do private sessions. And then after a few years of working together, you know, in private sessions, we started to do some projects together.

Sarah (00:37:26) – We did some events in New York City. I started teaching a little bit in some of his retreats that he had. We did an online course with Yoga Journal, and then most recently I started working for the Chopra organization, Chopra Global, which is now under the umbrella. And I’m, you know, we co-wrote this book and now we’re doing a teacher training, which is kind of based off the book and also just a training for people who want to learn to teach online.

Sebastian (00:38:00) – It’s so exciting. Yeah. In terms of so you’re wearing many hats and we’ll talk a little bit about it, some of each of those projects. But is there do you feel like you had a transformative moment or realization with your experiences working at the Chopra organization that deepen your understanding of the sort of the interconnectedness between the physical and the mental and the spiritual, and sort of how it brings the science in? Is that something that grew for you as you started working together and in the organization, or something that you’re already interested before? How did that go for you?

Sarah (00:38:31) – Yeah, I mean, I’ve always been interested in it, for sure.

Sarah (00:38:34) – And my husband, who is kind of the founder of Isha, is also very much he he’s very steeped in science as well and always tries to bring that in, although he’s not an MD like Deepak is. And so yeah, the fact that Deepak has is so steeped in science, as are a lot of the people that work around him. Like there’s another, um, doctor, Dr. Sheila Patel, who’s like the chief medical officer there, and she runs the Veda program. She brings a lot of science into our training and brings that into the actions of the the poses. And what are the the nervous system responses that we’re having through different poses and breathwork. Excetera. So yes, it’s definitely something that has helped me to stay kind of current and informed about what are the effects of these practices and what are they having on us physiologically and scientifically, which I love. It’s just endless. And there’s so much yeah.

Sebastian (00:39:40) – Yeah, it’s so cool and so fun because I also think it helps bring it home for a lot of people that are like, oh, this is just too woowoo for me.

Sebastian (00:39:47) – You know, like this is just I don’t I don’t deal with the whole spiritual thing and blah, blah, blah. But then they start seeing a lot of these, you know, scientific things get mixed in like that. You know, Deepak is bringing through obviously, his work and the organization. And, you know, people like Joe Dispenza are coming into the game real hot, you know, and talking about this stuff. So it’s pretty exciting to see it all colliding together. Amazing. Yeah, it’s really cool. So what’s the most challenging thing about working with Deepak?

Sarah (00:40:14) – Um, probably that Deepak is always doing like 50 projects at a time. Yeah. So, you know, there’s, there’s. And he’s very conscious about energy management. He won’t like over exert himself. He really practices the law of least effort, meaning like he’s not going to overexert himself or his energy levels to sacrifice for something else that’s important to him. So I think for me, as someone who’s always, like, very immersed and involved, I’m involved in many projects to it once, but not as many.

Sarah (00:40:57) – Yeah. So it was kind of like want his attention. And there’s a lot of different things that he’s got going on at once. So I think that would probably be one of the biggest challenges.

Sebastian (00:41:08) – Yeah, I can imagine.

Sarah (00:41:10) – And of course.

Sebastian (00:41:11) – Yeah, yeah, I bet, I bet. Sarah, how do you see the practice of yoga in general contributing to the expansion of consciousness? Um, not just individually, but but in the broader world for everyone as a whole.

Sarah (00:41:25) – Yeah. Yeah, I, you know, I really feel like yoga is an eightfold path. It’s not just about the poses, but I do feel like there’s such power in the poses in the asana because they really again, in this mission, my mission of kind of like coming home to our bodies. Yeah, um, asana can help us to do that. It can help us to feel steady and stable and rooted and open and inspired and fluid all at the same time. And you don’t have to do a lot of fancy poses.

Sarah (00:42:00) – You can really even just stand in Tadasana mountain pose and have a profound experience from that. And of course, there’s the breathwork pranayama and like pulling your senses in the more contemplative practices of yoga, which come. Yeah, but I think that there is a real especially right now, um, because we are we I think we’re desiring just like this ability to be at peace with ourselves and each other and to establish that. And of course, the only way we can do that is coming into peace inside of ourselves. And yoga is a really it’s interesting. There’s a quote from one of the ancient texts, the Bhagavad-gita, that says, yoga is the journey of the self through the self to the self, right? So it’s very much a self dis. It’s a self study. It’s like you are the vehicle, you’re the map and you are the destination. So you’re all you’re like everything. And one could misconstrue that and think like this is very much like a selfish practice. But that the reason why we practice on our self first is that we cannot authentically bring that out into the world if we don’t have that well of peace and equanimity, you know, and resilience inside of ourselves.

Sarah (00:43:29) – So it’s a practice we come to every day of being in our body, being in a state of like balance and rootedness and then meditating. Of course, meditation is a big part of it, and then showing up in the world in that space of integrity. So at least that’s what it is for me. And that’s what I, you know, love to share with the world, because I think it can. Yoga can seem everybody has their own idea of what yoga is. You can see it can seem cultish. It can seem like a fitness exercise, like there’s a lot of things. But really simplistically, for me, yoga is coming home to your own body and then that’s it, you know? And however you do that is up to you. But that’s what it is for me.

Sebastian (00:44:19) – That’s that’s beautiful. Sarah, you’ve got so you’ve got multiple roles now, right. So you’re the co-founder, you’re the director of yoga at Chopra and also at Iim, which stands for remind me.

Sarah (00:44:33) – The integrated the Institute of Integrative Nutrition.

Sebastian (00:44:38) – Got it. And it’s a massive online school. I think it’s one of the biggest ones. So you’ve got these multiple roles and you’re just talking about this mission that you have about coming home to your body through yoga. Um, do all of these roles, do they all feel very aligned with that mission that you have?

Sarah (00:44:57) – Yeah. Very much. Very fun. Thank you. Thank you. And I love to share, like, in this way, um, have the conversations and talk about it and write about it. Um, because I think similar to you, the more we can talk about it and communicate and share, the more we demystify it for people. Yeah.

Sebastian (00:45:21) – Yeah, I like yeah. That’s true. Demystifying it is very important because, um, you know, I like I’ll sometimes get really deep into some really sort of lofty type book that mixes the science and spirituality and the quantum and all that. And I’ll even get like, I’ll get super lost in it sometimes, but I really enjoy it.

Sebastian (00:45:40) – And I know for a lot of people that just like that, that’s not my jam, but um, but demystifying it and also bringing it to more masses and to a lot of people that want to understand it in a different way, I think is super important. Um, so you’re developing a teacher training at Chopra, right? Sara. So it’s I was reading about it, and I think you and I talked a little bit about it, but basically told me that it’s tied to embodiment, authenticity and community. So there’s a lot of things there that people are like, well, what is all of this authenticity and community and embodiment? Like, how is this all tied to yoga teacher training?

Sarah (00:46:15) – Yeah, well, the yoga teacher training, it’s basically training you to first of all understand about like what is yoga? You know, like the like I mentioned, it’s an eightfold path. So the eight limbs of yoga, which is basically a a code to understanding yourself, you know, to how to live in the world with harmony and ease and also with yourself in that way.

Sarah (00:46:39) – And to realize, like we were talking about all the things that you are not, so you can understand who you really are. Um, and it is a 200 hour course because most yoga teacher trainings, if you want to become a teacher, you become what we call a yoga alliance certified. That’s an organization that oversees kind of the standardization of yoga schools. And it’s all completely online and a lot of is self-paced e-learning. But then there are also live webinars that we do weekly to help people to understand, to work in smaller groups, to practice, teach with each other, to learn the poses and how to adapt them to suit their own needs. Because it’s not a one size fits all practice, you know, to understand the breath techniques. And we do mudra, which are hand gestures which affect our mind and our consciousness and really powerful ways. They’re like little technology you have in your body. Um, and then we have these this like online digital library, which has access to videos and images and everything.

Sarah (00:47:46) – So it’s very accessible. Um, and I think it’s a great thing for especially people who are interested in delving deeper into the yoga practice, but maybe don’t have something nearby where they can really get this rich content. There’s also something, as much as there’s such power and potency, and being in person with each other, to be able to have resources available online and to be able to meet people from all over the world online, it like makes the world a smaller and more, I don’t know, like Joyful Place because you’re meeting with like minded people from all different continents and realizing what share the same mission of just wanting to understand the deeper truths of who we are. Yeah.

Sebastian (00:48:41) – What turns people off from yoga?

Sarah (00:48:44) – I think it’s the the that they think they have to be good at it. Mm.

Sebastian (00:48:49) – That’s a I’ve heard that a lot. Me too. That a lot. I’m not flexible. I’m not this I’m not that.

Sarah (00:48:54) – This isn’t. Yeah. But it’s not a spectator sport actually. Although, you know, Instagram will make you think that it is.

Sarah (00:49:02) – Yeah. You know people can. Beautiful poses. Beautiful. It can be beautiful to watch. But it’s not. It’s not about getting somewhere. It’s about returning back. Um, so it’s just a different approach. And I’m not saying that there aren’t teachers who teach yoga in that way. Their people might have very well had that legitimate experience. Like, I’m not good enough at yoga, so I’m not going to go back. But I think I just want to say that it doesn’t have to be that way, that you can find a practice that suits your own needs and your own body type, and your own anatomy and your pace and all of that. Yeah, yeah.

Sebastian (00:49:41) – Yeah. I personally like practicing in rooms that are fairly dark. And yeah, a lot of the times I’m closing my eyes and obviously closing your eyes gives you a little bit less balance. So I’m opening them all the time. But, um, it actually took me a long time to really remove the ego part of, you know, if I’m tired or if I can’t do it, I’m just going to chill on child’s pose and like, what? You know, or like even comparing my pose to, you know, the other guy in the room over there that kind of looks similar to me.

Sebastian (00:50:12) – And so, like, can I do it better than him? Like, and I come from competitive sports. So it took a long time to unlearn that. And like now I can say, but it’s been years. But now I can say that I really am not thinking about anyone else or what they’re doing. I may catch somebody’s pose and be like, oh, they’re doing that beautifully, but there’s nothing else going on. And that’s a beauty about you. Because if you can take that elsewhere in other places, areas of life, it just teaches a lot.

Sarah (00:50:39) – Right? Exactly. Yeah. That’s so beautiful. And I do I feel like, you know, the Austin a practice. This is what I always say that like yoga poses are like life situations. You know, you come into a pose as, like coming into a situation and sometimes it’s hard and sometimes it’s challenging and sometimes it’s scary and all these things, but it’s like it’s not the situation we run away from. It’s like, how do you move through it, you know, how do you hold space for that? And I love that.

Sarah (00:51:07) – I always, often practice with my eyes closed because it’s just like, that’s how we connect inward, you know, to ourselves. And yeah, like disassociate from the outside world and realm. And it’s such a liberating way to be and to experience our bodies, you know, it’s like, oh, the just joy of moving and feeling sensation.

Sebastian (00:51:31) – Absolutely. Yeah. And just breathing through difficult positions that you have to hold. What’s interesting to me, too, a lot of the times is the same thing will be super easy one day, and then it’s really hard the other day and it’s just like, what? And then that’s also very representative of me for me too. For me, I’m typically if, if usually it’s surf and yoga, those two things. I’m totally being a nerd about it in my brain and constantly like comparing it to life.

Sarah (00:51:59) – Yeah, I love funny. Yeah, yeah, it’s I say like it’s, you know, it’s also it’s not a linear like yoga is not a linear trajectory because every day is different.

Sarah (00:52:10) – You know, you can wake up. When I was sick last week, I was like, okay, this is our yoga. Like laying around on the mat, you know, and just doing real sloppy yoga. And that’s what it was. And that felt great for what I needed at the time. And, you know, depending on what you need, every day is different. So it’s it’s just so important to have that dialogue with yourself and your body. Like what what do I need right now? What feels absolutely balancing.

Sebastian (00:52:36) – Yeah. Yeah. Sara there’s you know, now I mean there’s like a whirlwind of wellness and wellbeing advice out there and there’s just so much content around it. Right. And so you’ve been the director of yoga at the Chopra organization. The brand actually focuses quite a lot on simplicity, from my opinion. Right. You can you can read a Deepak book that’s going to be super deep. But then the brand itself, I think outwardly focuses a lot on simplicity. How important do you find simplicity? Um, so as to not overwhelm people with wellbeing advice?

Sarah (00:53:14) – Oh, 100%.

Sarah (00:53:15) – Because if it’s too complicated, we won’t do it. You know, we need simplicity to do something over and over and over again. And that’s what yoga, wellness, meditation, or Veda, a lot of these things are it’s, you know, not something, it’s not a one and done. You have to come back to it. And and it’s a way of life. So if it becomes too complicated, we’d be like, nah, forget this, this is too much. For me, and we’ll go back to, you know, what is easier. So making little simple, simple shifts every day, you know, in your, in your day. That’s why you can do like some simple movements on your hands and knees like cat, cow down dog and just move and breathe a little bit. Feel yourself standing in Tadasana that’s like can be your yoga in the morning or, you know, take a couple of centering breaths when you wake up or drink hot lemon water. Right. There’s a lot of little tips, certainly on the Chopra app and website that people can find.

Sarah (00:54:21) – But yeah, I think simplicity is key.

Sebastian (00:54:24) – Absolutely. Yeah. And I think you’ve already said this already, sir. But if you could distill the essence of your teachings and your mission into a mantra, what would that be?

Sarah (00:54:38) – Um. I think it would be. Change yourself and you change the world.

Sebastian (00:54:47) – Yeah.

Sebastian (00:54:49) – That’s that’s a beautiful thing. And I think that we probably most of us sell ourselves short with that. And we don’t think that that’s really the case because you’re just one person. But by, um, you know, by, by sort of shining by, it’s like sometimes I love thinking there’s these quotes. I think they’re Marianne Williamson talking about, like, flowers, but basically like a flower doesn’t like, not bloom because it’s afraid of what the others are going to think. Right. It just blooms. And it’s just like just being shining bright. And that as humans, if we do that and you change yourself, you’re allowing others to change around you because they can. They see that in you.

Sebastian (00:55:30) – They use you as an expander. Right. And then and it helps. And I think a lot of times we, we dim that ourselves just because we’re afraid of what people may think, or you want to be too much or you don’t want to show your growth because of whatever others may think and things like that, you know?

Sarah (00:55:46) – Yes. You know, that was another Marianne Williamson. If you let your light shine, you automatically give others permission to do the same. Exactly. And so and it’s and it’s that and it’s, and it’s also about, you know, again coming back to that reality that we, we can’t control other people. We can’t have any really say over what anybody else is going to do with themselves in their lives. So even as a teacher, I can do my best to share with the collective. But if I’m not doing the work myself and I’m not tending to the practice and my needs like on a daily basis, meaning like ensuring that I’m living to my kind of potential, then I don’t think I’m really doing anybody a service.

Sarah (00:56:36) – Yeah.

Sebastian (00:56:37) – It’s so important. So important. Everyone needs to hear that. That is. Yeah, just so huge. I for me, it’s something that I have written and you know, I’ve got on my vision board and I’ve gotten written in places is a constant reminder of just allowing myself, you know, to shine and to to show that growth so that it because it can actually inspire others to do so. And a lot most of the time, you don’t even know when you’re doing it. Like, yeah, and sometimes I love it because I’ll hear some sort of positive, beautiful feedback from somebody and it’s it’s like, oh, I didn’t even you forget. And it’s kind of nice to hear it because you’re thinking, okay, well, I’m going to assume that for every one person that tells me something, there’s probably multiple others that are also feeling, that are thinking that, you know, the same way that somebody writes a review on a restaurant, you know, there’s probably ten other people that thought that that dish was also delicious, but only one of them wrote a review.

Sebastian (00:57:25) – So yeah.

Sebastian (00:57:27) – Yeah, it’s a similar thing for sure. Yeah, absolutely. So, Sarah, before I ask you one of my last questions here, obviously we’ll have your book linked in the show notes and you know, everything about the your, your teacher training programs and all that stuff. But is there something that I, that I didn’t ask you that you’d love to share with us today or that you’d like me to ask you.

Sarah (00:57:48) – Why don’t I mean, I don’t think you got some great questions in there. Like, I feel very satisfied and content with our.

Sebastian (00:57:57) – I love that.

Sarah (00:57:58) – Session.

Sebastian (00:57:59) – I love that Sarah, I love it. So, Sarah, what are the top two qualities that a conscious leader must embody today?

Sebastian (00:58:08) – Mm.

Sarah (00:58:10) – Um. Humility. And authenticity. I think being a leader requires being humble. Meaning like you understand that you don’t have all the answers. Because when you understand that, you’re willing to ask the questions and look for other solutions. Yeah. And I think we can just see playing out in our world right now, like leaders not having that humility and thinking that they have all the answers and it can lead to a lot of divisiveness.

Sarah (00:58:48) – And so, yeah, so I think a leader has to have that humility. And then the authenticity part is you can only ever be who you are. As Oprah Winfrey said, you can only ever be who you truly are. And so yeah, just do you be. Don’t try and be somebody else. Don’t try and mimic what someone else has done. Here’s another great quote from the Bhagavad Gita. It’s far better to do your own path, your life’s purpose, to serve your life’s purpose imperfectly than it is to serve somebody else’s life’s purpose perfectly. Yeah, it’s far better to.

Sebastian (00:59:34) – Just, you.

Sarah (00:59:35) – Know, like be in your own lane. Let it be messy, let yourself learn the hard way. But, like, ultimately, that’s what we’re here for. And nobody else can do it like you. Nobody else can do your podcast the way you do. Yeah. You know, so I think it’s really important.

Sebastian (00:59:52) – Love that. Humility and authenticity. Well, Sarah, keep doing you.

Sebastian (00:59:56) – You’re doing beautiful, amazing things. Keep being a conscious leader. You truly are a conscious leader. So thank you for everything that you’re doing. And thanks again for being on today. Really appreciate it.

Sebastian (01:00:06) – It’s a pleasure so much.

Sarah (01:00:07) – Sebastian was a pleasure to be with you.

Sebastian (01:00:09) – Wonderful.

Sebastian (01:00:10) – All right. That was awesome. Thank you so much.

Sarah (01:00:14) – The pleasure was really a joy to share with you. And yeah.

Sebastian (01:00:20) – Absolutely. That’s a little bit.

Sebastian (01:00:22) – What’s that.

Sarah (01:00:23) – And just riff a little bit. Yeah.

Sebastian (01:00:25) – Yeah.

Sebastian (01:00:25) – Absolutely. You’re you’re clearly a natural. You do this a lot. So.

Sarah (01:00:29) – Well not not all the time but I enjoy it. And I really loved your questions. That makes a huge difference.

Sebastian (01:00:35) – Good.

Sebastian (01:00:35) – I’m glad I’m really glad to hear that. Really glad to hear that. And yeah, of course I’ll let you know when this is all done. I’ll share some links with you. And then what I always do is I cut up some some cool reels and if you love it, you can I’ll add you as a collab post and things like that.

Sebastian (01:00:53) – And I’ll usually take like cuts and things from other content that you have to like make it nice and interactive. So but yeah. So thanks again.

Sarah (01:01:04) – Wonderful. Well I’m excited to share and yeah, thanks again for having me. I’m sure we’ll cross paths again next time.

Sebastian (01:01:12) – I would love that.

Sebastian (01:01:13) – I would love to see you in person. So anytime you’re in LA, um, please let me know because you probably you said you come to LA from time to time.

Sarah (01:01:20) – Yes. And, you know, I was going to come next week in a little bit. And, you know, just based on the I’ve done a ton of travel and got sick. I’m like, I think it’s best that I don’t. So I’m actually probably in the new year sometime. So I’ll definitely reach out.

Sebastian (01:01:35) – Perfect.

Sebastian (01:01:36) – Well, I’ll be here. You’re in Austin full time now? Yeah.

Sarah (01:01:38) – I’m actually in Florida. South Florida, you’re in Florida.

Sebastian (01:01:41) – Wait, were you just in Austin when we talked or.

Sebastian (01:01:43) – I was.

Sarah (01:01:44) – Okay, so I was in Austin and then it was in Greece and then it was in the Azores. So three major trips from September to October, hence the Covid.

Sebastian (01:01:54) – Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Gotcha.

Sarah (01:01:55) – Came back and I just like got really sick.

Sebastian (01:01:58) – So yeah.

Sarah (01:01:59) – But here I’m in Boca Raton, Florida. It’s just like an hour north of Miami.

Sebastian (01:02:04) – Okay. Gotcha. Okay.

Sebastian (01:02:06) – Wonderful. All right, Sarah, we’ll have a beautiful rest of the day. Thanks for bearing with me in the beginning and being a little bit we finished a little bit late because of that whole thing, so appreciate you.

Sarah (01:02:16) – No problem at all. Thanks so much.

Sebastian (01:02:18) – Happy Halloween. Thanks. You too. Bye bye.