Your Unique Pathway to Self-Discovery
With all the pressure your families, friends and society put you under on a daily basis, it’s easier and safer to just follow what they expect you to do instead of following your heart and doing things that bring true joy and fulfillment.
Do you feel like you are living following someone else’s version of our truth?
At school, were you expected to get good grades and be the top of your class, so that you can then go to university, study hard and get a good degree from a top university?
Do you feel like you were pressued to getting a ‘good’ job after university, compete with your colleagues for that promotion, earn more money so that you can save up for the deposit to buy a house before 30?
And as a woman, do you feel pressured or were pressured to getting married at a certain age, and having children by a certain age?
You might feel like following what others are doing is the safest option.
Whether it’s applying for a job that pays more because you are meant to earn a certain amount of money at your age.
Or going on a diet that everyone else is doing, or buying expensive superfoods or supplements that are meant to be healthy and give you radiant skin.
Or whether it’s even practicing a particular Yoga style that everyone else is practicing…
Imagine if you were living your truth.
Living in full alignment with your true nature and your Dharma – your life purpose.
But if you ask most people who are just following everyone else’s path, if they feel truly happy and healthy from within, they would probably answer ‘no’.
Today, many people are experiencing low levels of health and happiness.
They are constantly battling against their True Self and society norms.
But you can choose to walk a different path.
A unique path that is just for you, one that allows you to re-discover your True Self.
So you may be thinking …. How can I start to live my life based on my values and live more intentionally and consciously?
Your unique pathway to self-discovery starts from discovering and understanding your Dosha.
Your Unique Pathway
Discover Your Dosha
Discovering and understanding your Dosha (Ayurvedic mind-body type) is a crucial part of your self-discovery.
What is Dosha (mind-body type)?
Every individual is made of a combination of five elements, Air, Ether, Fire, Water and Earth and these elements combine in the human body to form three Doshas – Vata, Pitta and Kapha.
VATA
Air & Ether (space) elements
PITTA
Fire & Water elements
KAPHA
Water & Earth elements
Doshas are the energies believed to circulate in the body that make up every individual, which perform different physiological functions in the body. The differing portions of these doshas determine individual characteristics and physical constitution.
Each individual has all three Doshas but usually one or more of the three Doshas is predominant. When these Doshas are imbalanced, it is believed to cause particular physical and mental disorders.
As you go through your journey to self-discovery, it’s important to gradually integrate Yoga and Ayurvedic tools and practices to balance your Dosha so that you have the energy and a clear mind to move forward with your journey.
This is to provide you with a firm foundation from which to make change.
DISCOVER YOUR
AYURVEDIC MIND-BODY TYPE!
Take the quiz and receive some practical tips & advice on which foods, lifestyle habits and Yoga poses are best for your specific Ayurvedic mind-body type!
Looking Back
Vedic philosophy teaches us that our lives are a product of our own action – karma.
It teaches us that everything we do sets in motion various forces that have certain consequences and results that can either be beneficial or harmful, or positive or negative or even a mix of both.
It’s important to note that although past actions can influence the state of your current life and also future as well, your current actions in present life can modify these in various directions.
So the first step is to look back and identify any themes or patterns that created your current states in your life, so that you can modify your future actions accordingly to create the change you would like to see.
Questions you can ask yourself whilst reflecting on your past:
Are there any themes or patterns you have noticed?
When were you the happiest? Do you remember the feelings you had in that period in your life?
What was it about this period that was creating these feelings?
Reflection
In Vedic philosophy, there are Four Great Goals of Life, or also referred to as the four Dharmas or ways of life.
This vedic philosophy of Four Goals of Life is a great tool to help you find the right balance in your life and enable you to put the right amount of energy into the right initiatives that will create the most impact on the things that matter to you.
The Four Goals of Life are:
01. DHARMA
Duty & Life Purpose – which is living according to your inner purpose and highest human potential.
02. ARTHA
Goals & Abundance – which is establishing goals and values that promote and provide financial stability in order to take care of your mind & body, support your family and fulfill your inner purpose.
03. KAMA
Pleasure & Fun – which is finding happiness and joy in what we do, based upon our Dharma.
04. MOKSHA
Spiritual Freedom – which is gaining the freedom of consciousness from letting go of the ego and your attachment to the outside world.
Vedic philosophy teaches us that our life is a balance of all these four goals, and all of these need to be integrated strategically in your life in order to live a more sustainable and content life.
Questions you can ask yourself:
In which area of the Four Goals of Life do you feel balanced and out of balance?
If you feel out of balance, write down why you feel this way and what you think is causing this imbalance?
For each of the areas of the Four Goals of Life that are out of balance, how can you improve to achieve more balance?
Your Core Values
Once you have reflected on your current life, I invite you to think about your core values.
Core values are your personal ethics or ideals that guide you when making decisions in your life. These core values should come from within (True Self), and not based on what you’ve been told throughout your life, or what society is expected of you, or what you see on social media.
This can be challenging at the beginning, as we are bombarded with information throughout the day.
Remember that your core values can evolve over time. So try not to overthink it. But also you want to make sure that you feel connected to your values.
Having a sense of connection to your values not only gives you a firm foundation for change but also enables you to make the right decisions as you go through your journey.
Your Gifts, Talents & Passion
When you go through the reflection process, you will start to see common themes around activities and things you love doing and learning about. You will also start to notice your core passion and how you want to serve the world that makes you feel fulfilled and joyful.
Identifying your core values, gifts, talents and passion will set a foundation for creating a life that is more intentional and meaningful.
Setting Your Inspirational Goal
Now that you have looked at your past and present life, it’s time to look towards your future!
Your goal needs to be inspiring, challenging and stretching, but also achievable within the timeframe you set. It also needs to encompass each of the areas of your life that you want to work and focus on.
An inspirational goal is more about how you want to feel and the person who you want to become when you achieve your goal, and not so much about what you are doing when you achieve that goal. It’s about ‘being’ rather than ‘doing’.
Your inspirational goal will be something you will look at, say out loud and refer to regularly to keep you inspired and motivated to move forward in your life.
Stepping Stones
Now that you have your inspirational goal you can start to set an overarching plan and specific milestones – which I call your ‘stepping stones’.
These are like mini goals along your journey that you need to achieve in order to move to the next part of your journey.
Imagine a river that’s ahead of you and your inspirational goal is on the other side of the river.
What are the stepping stones you need to reach the otherside? What areas of your life need to change in order to reach your inspirational goal?
Once you have your stepping stones mapped out, think about all the actions you can take to reach each stepping stone.
Discovery, Exploration & Adventure
This is where it gets interesting!
As you take action towards reaching your stepping stones, I invite you to get curious and creative, but also have fun with it!
It’s not always going to be easy to take action and move forward to reach your goal.
Things will get tough. You might feel demotivated or discouraged if things are not going well as expected.
This is where Yoga & Ayurvedic tools and practices can help you remain focused, motivated and moving forward. Knowing and understanding your Dosha (Ayurvedic mind-body type) and its tendencies can really help you with selecting Yoga & Ayurvedic tools and practices to maximize the benefits.
As you go through your journey, it’s important to reflect on each action you take when you reach your stepping stone goal.
Celebrate every single achievement no matter how big or small but also celebrate and reflect on every mistake or failure as well because that’s where we learn and grow.
Questions you can ask yourself:
What have you learned from taking action?
How did you feel about taking that action?
What have you learned about yourself?
