Life Is Sound

018 | Discover Your Authentic Self w/ Daria from High On Yoga

May 08, 2023 James Mayer aka Knew J Episode 18
Life Is Sound
018 | Discover Your Authentic Self w/ Daria from High On Yoga
Life Is Sound +
Become a supporter of the show!
Starting at $3/month
Support
Show Notes Transcript Chapter Markers

In today's episode I had the pleasure of chatting with a special guest, Daria, who is a Kundalini yoga teacher. It had been five years since we last spoke, but we recently reconnected on Instagram and were excited to catch up on the topic of the authentic self. Daria shared with me her journey of self-discovery and how she found her path in Kundalini yoga. We delved into how yoga can be used as a tool to uncover deep-rooted issues and help people heal, as well as cultivate self-awareness and self-love.

This episode is a reminder of the importance of being true to oneself and living an authentic life. I was inspired by Daria's journey and her dedication to finding her path, even in the face of challenges. It was a pleasure to catch up with her and discuss such an important topic on my podcast.

What we discussed in this episode

  • Kundalini Yoga
  • Becoming a Yoga Teacher
  • Integrating the Shadow Self
  • Integration, Healing, and Parenting
  • Living with an Open Heart
  • Subliminal Messages
  • Benefits of Mindful Awareness
  • Authenticity and Being True to Oneself
  • Role of the Ego
  • Overcoming Self-Doubt
  • Setting Intentions and Cleansing Energy Fields
  • Power Poses, Depression, and Healing Through Yoga
  • Overcoming Depression and Finding Balance
  • Shifting Stuck Energy and Finding Authenticity
  • Exploring Authenticity and Self-Care

Episode Links

Daria's Instagram

Daria's Website

Support the show

Donate to the podcast via PayPal
Have you resonated and gained something from us and our guests? Consider sending financial energy to help support the cost of creating this powerful content.

Thanks again for listening, be sure to like, subscribe and comment on our socials and be apart of our community of people who are here to learn and grow with each other.

More Life Is Sound:
Instagram | YouTube | Tik Tok

If you would like to contact the show you can email us lifeisgoodlifeissound@gmail.com

James:

Hello, good people. And welcome back to Life is sound. Today I've got a guest to showed up in my life, or I don't know whether I showed up in her life, whichever way. And she really made a profound impact in the way I approach things and added to my practices. And I think when you think about yoga teachers, the way I see it is like therapists. Sometimes you just don't click with a therapist and you can go and find another one and you're like, this is the person. And when I met today's guest and I sat in the classes, something just clicked. I was like, this is where I feel comfortable with this person. Like there's a lot of just genuineness, authenticity, which is what we're gonna speak about today. And. I just felt really myself in those spaces when, when I practice with, with our guests today and she just taught me a lot and we've not seen each other for about five years. And I had a thought about going back to yoga and she messaged me out the blue on Instagram. I was like, this is crazy. So today's guest, I've got Daria with me on the show who is a Kundalini yoga teacher and has taught me a lot. So Daria, if you wanna say hello to the listeners, I'll let you introduce yourself in your world and what you do.

Daria:

Hello. And uh, thank you very much for having me. I'm very excited to be here and chat and reconnect again and talk all about whatever will bring this in, this conversation will bring amazing,

James:

this is exactly what I wanted this podcast to be is people from my life starting to show up and have conversations. People that have shifted my perspective on things, whether it's been me personally or you know, Little changes I've had about the external world. And when we reconnected and I said, you know, let me have a think about what we can talk about. And you just straight away was like, I really would like to talk about the authentic self. And it triggered a few things of what I experienced in your classes, which we'll get into as well. So I just really wanna delve a bit into your backstory, like who you are, a bit about your past, how you arrived in the uk and even how you, you know, landed on the path that you are now. So what's your background? Like, where's your, like heritage, where are you from?

Daria:

Uh, obviously I'm Polish. Uh, I lived in Poland like most of my, uh, life and. I've always, I've always been a quite a spiritual person, even from a very young, young age. I was in a, obviously brought up a Catholic, I was in a church all the time, but then at some point the church didn't, uh, wasn't giving me that connection, wasn't giving me what I was really longing for. So then I stopped and I left, uh, I left the church. And, um, but that, that longing was always, always there. And, um, at some point, like in my early twenties, I did whiskey. What kind of every teenager does like, you know, drugs and drink mm-hmm. And, you know, that kind of party style, a lifestyle. And didn't, I didn't last long. I, it made me very sick, uh, very soon. And, uh, this was a wake up call and I've decided, wow, I need to, uh, learn how to cook. I need to learn how to, how to live my life and stop all the things, you know, like drinking and, you know, the things that I was, I was consuming that was, and that weren't serving me. And this is how I got into, into yoga in the first place. And literally I fought. If I can, I was, I was never really super fit, to be honest. And I thought if I can touch my, um, knees with my forehead, I've made it. Like that would be my dream, you know, in, in yoga. That's all I, all I wanted, uh, from it. And, um, and I, I've been practicing yoga for good few years and then, um, then actually in India I came across Yin yoga. And this is where I was like, wow, this is something for me. This is something I absolutely, uh, love doing. And, uh, so this is how I end up on this, uh, path and how I came to, uh, England, well actually Scotland to start with because, oh wow. I finished university in Poland, but there was quite a lot of pressure for my family to, you know, get a career, do a proper job, you know, all that kind of stuff. And by the end of university, I didn't really want that, but it was difficult to kind of, you know, say just that to them. So I said, well, If I, if I went to England and I ever actually Scotland and if I were to study English, they'll say, okay, that's fine. That's a good thing for your career. Just go away. And this kind of gave me like the, you know, permission to leave the country and yeah. Start doing my own thing. So I've been studying English, which was great, and then after a year I've done all the lecture certificates and stuff and it's like, Ooh, I should really go back, but I don't feel like doing it. Mm-hmm. So I went traveling for six months. I went to South Asia and India, and this is when I came across Kundalini Yoga. And after doing this practice for a while, and I think as well after being in, in, in India and Southeast Asia in general, traveling, just like, you know, I was more comfortable being myself. I found, I guess like in a way you can say like, I found myself again. And I, I knew that I didn't want to go back to, to Poland after, after the trip. And I knew I really wanted to, you know, be a yogi and, you know, stick with this kind of lifestyle. And, um, and then I became actually more comfortable even saying this to my parents and they were absolutely fine with it. Amazing. Uh, then as well, so it's a, actually, it's a kind of, a bit of a story about, um, yeah, me, like finding myself and being true to myself and, but it's a hard, uh, I think it's, it's not it as much as it's a beautiful thing and, um, it's w it's great when we, when we're there, it's always a difficult, um, it could be a difficult, uh, path to get there. It could be a challenging journey, it could be breaking away from. Mm-hmm. Whether it's from your family, society, you know, other kind of expectations that, you know, people might have on, on you. Mm. I think we need to stress that it can be, can be a challenging, uh, role that needs a lot of courage, a lot of, uh, strength, stamina, grit.

James:

I think when. You know, hearing you speak about India, it's just made me realize that's why I turned up in your class. Because I'd went to India, did some amazing yoga out there, which I'd never thought I could, you know, practice that deeply, that quickly. It was like with three days I was doing stuff like, how am I even doing this? And when I got back to the uk, I had such a deep wanting to carry on with those practices and I was looking for yoga classes locally, and I think I went to a couple, but they just didn't feel right. Something was like, Hmm, yeah, that doesn't resonate with me. And then you were literally like in the village where I've grown up and you know, a church that I've seen pretty much my whole life and I sta I'd never actually been into it. And I walked in and I think I did like the first session and it just felt right. And it was for me sitting not just in poses, but you know, meditations and eventually even experiencing singing. So I wanna just quickly touch on that because I probably never shared this with you about a powerful moment with me. I think we were just in a, you know, A standard class of yours and we were singing. So part of me is like, I'm a singer, I'm a musician. This should be the easiest part. But I realized that my authentic singing volume, me really letting go, is quite loud. And I realized I was, I was holding back because I didn't wanna overpower people or I was probably in my head about if I really let go, people are gonna be like, oh, he loves himself. He can sing. So I didn't let my authentic self go. And then I came and did like a longer day with you, like a workshop. I

Daria:

remember this workshop like today in Altrincham. So Mind

James:

and meditation workshop. Yeah. So I learned so much that day, and I think I'd been to a couple of them, so I can't remember which one was which. But we did more like a singing meditation and there was a, just, just a moment where, Don't, whether you stood behind me or you touched me on my shoulder or something, but I heard your voice say, sing from your heart, and something clicked and I let go. And when I let go, I hit a deeper meditation while singing as a singer, I've never done that before. So it really taught me about being your authentic self in those spaces. If you are holding yourself back in any way because of what people might perceive you to be, that's that sits with them. You've really gotta learn to let these programs about yourself go. And I found that a really powerful thing that day when I just heard you go sing from your heart. And you said it was so much like command and power that I just let go. And when I did, I was, it was such a new experience. And that's the power of Kundalini. Kundalini is, for me, was obviously really physical. But some of the medi meditation side of things was really deep and profound, and I've carried that through with me, you know, for the years. Even songs you've shared, those songs have carried through and really helped me. Like when I need to come back to center, when life's difficult, I sit and I sing those songs. I still practice that today. And that came from you and your, your practices. So in terms of the differences of yoga, which listeners might not know, how would you describe Kundalini Yoga to people?

Daria:

The main difference is in K yoga, just like in any yoga you do physical postures. However, in Kundalini yoga, we have physical postures. There is like meditation mantra, chaning, a lot of, uh, breathing conscious, conscious breathing, PR I am exercises. So mm-hmm. All in all, I like to, it is a work workout for your body, mind, and soul really. You know, because in one class you're not sure if you're, uh, if it's a physical yoga class or is it a meditation class or is it a breathing practice? You know, we all kind of do it all, all together, and it's obviously done in closed eyes as well, which I absolutely love. Mm-hmm. Which I really help. It really helps you to really connect with yourself even on a deeper, uh, deeper level. There's no like comparison. There's no, oh, they're doing very well, or they have this t-shirt or whatever it is. Yeah. You know what I mean? You really have this like quality time with, with yourself, which really helps you, you know, to reconnect with, uh, with yourself, which is.

James:

A lot of people don't even take the time to do that. So the fact you turn up somewhere for an hour and a half or an hour and practice these things, it really started to shift my life when I realized afterwards how I was feeling then, like driving home. Even something as simple as road rage when not like someone, something that happened, I'd shout if I was coming back from yoga from Daria's class and something happened on the road. There was, there was no reaction at all. I was just so, so peaceful and it's been a reminder recently, you know me saying, I think I need to get back to yoga. The fact you've shown up and you sat in front of me now is, is really a reminder to me like there's a person in your life here that you need to continue a pathway. So after this I'm definitely gonna like come back to these classes and reconnect because Wonderful. I feel like these signs, if we ignore, you're literally being shown the way when you're open to the universe speaking to you and receiving things and we can easily go, oh, that was just coincidence. But it's really not, you know, if you th think about someone and you messenger, and now we're here on a podcast, that's connection. That's something saying, listen, lean into these people and connect with these people because it's gonna take your life down the path that you want it to go. And think, talking about authenticity, how, how did you find it? Kind of like transition out of that life. Then when, when you're stepping into not just becoming someone who practices yoga, then really like stepping into the identity of, I'm actually gonna do this as like a job, like, and really teach people this, and the practice of Kundalini when I've seen how committed you are to the things that you've, you know, said to the classes and the, you'll be able to explain this way better than me. But, you know, five, six hours of repeating like similar mantras and practicing, you know, deep connection with stuff. And I'm, I'm like, whoa, I, I'm not ready for that. How was that transition of like stepping into that authentic self and how long did it take you to arrive there when you were like, this is me now and I feel like I'm being a true version of me?

Daria:

Well, so as I said, I really, the collection was always there, the collection the way as well. Whenever I, I didn't see it at the time. I didn't see when I was like 10, 18, or 20 or 25 even. Um, but when I look at my life now, uh, the connection was always there. Like I was always like that connection with, with spirit. Yeah. Was, was always there. It was always really, really strong in me. And then obviously I got lost in life and then this is, I slowly started getting back and I, this is something like as well, kind of what you mentioned, or I wish I, I didn't hold myself back in that first class. No, it's perfectly fine. You know, to be our authentic selves, we need. We need to feel safe. You can't just jump into a situation and just be a hundred percent like authentic self. You need to, I feel like we need to do it slowly. We need to slowly like, kind of, you know, let go of the things that hold us back, you know, be aware of them. We can't just be Mm, they're a hundred percent we can't expect this of, of ourselves and of of others. We, I think the slow process is very, very important. So it took me, it took me a while. It took me years of doing a ha yoga practice and then finding Kundalini yoga. And for years and years of me doing HA yoga, people were saying, oh, you should become a yoga teacher. And I was just never really interested. Never, never spoke to me. I didn't want, wanted, um, And when, when I came across con and start really practicing like quite, quite a lot, like twice a day and you know, strong like personal practice, I was like, wow, I could actually become a teacher. I could actually share to others. I really actually had urge to actually mm-hmm. This is, this is gold. I really would like others to learn it, learn as well. This is how I decided to, um, yeah, to become a, well become a teacher. I think I've signed up for a teacher training. I've done the whole thing. Um, and I've started teaching classes and I think even then it probably took me a while to actually say I am a teacher. You know what I mean? Like, today, I feel after 11, soon, 12 years teaching, I feel very comfortable saying, am I, am I, I am a teacher. Whereas it took me a long time. I think for the first few years I've probably been saying, I'm just doing a yoga class if you wanna come, you know? Yeah. Uh, it took me a while to. To get there. And, um, and it's a continuous process. Like I'm still finding myself as a, as a yogini, I'm still finding myself as a, as a, as a teacher. And this is the thing I think of being authentic like we are. We can't just decide, okay, I'm being authentic. And that's that. I think like it's just, this is like a continuous process. We're being offending in the moment. Yeah. The next moment you may not be, and this is like, it requires like continuous awareness, continuous, um, being with yourself, watching your mind, watching, watching yourself. How are you in this situation? Are you the most offending? Maybe? Yes. Perfect. Maybe not. Okay, that's fine as well. Yeah. Maybe next time I'll do better. Maybe next time I'll show up in a, in a different way. So it's a process. It's a process where we need to feel safe within, within ourselves and, uh, environments we're in, uh, as well. I think it's really important to. To create environment for yourself that you feel, you feel safe, you feel you feel supported. And maybe it means at the very beginning you're not sharing as much. Mm-hmm. You're sharing just as much as it's comfortable for you in this moment.

James:

Yeah. That's what I feel like a lot of us do. We, we click into something and a lot of us, especially with social media, we wanna share where now this new thing look, but a lot of us don't really sit with the practice first. We get that excitement, and my friend actually spoke about this the other day and it related to music about, you know, practicing. It's really easy in this day and age, whilst I'm at home making a piece of music, creating a beat instead of sitting with the practice and just being in the flow of that. We have this urge to like, oh, share, look what I'm doing, rather than sitting with the practice and, you know, letting that really seep in to the point when you do choose to share that version of you, whatever that looks like. A yoga teacher, someone practicing yoga. Someone who's started to paint. We have these real urges and sometimes there's beauty in sharing the process of something growing and not being quite the finished product. But also I think just sitting with yourself first, whether that's a music practice, a spiritual practice, and then when you are ready, letting the world see that. And a big thing for me that's come up recently is, is integrating different parts of my life, which has been, I've always been James, the musician, then I went for a really shaky path, which is a couple of years before we met. Then it's like on this spiritual path that I have no control of and I'm really leaning into it and enjoying it. And I've always, always separated those two worlds. And now over the past year, I've been in like phase two of what I would say, a massive spiritual shift where it's like, you've had all this learning, now here's some more. And it's like compounded on the first lot. And now it's really powerful and I'm really appreciating it. But what's coming up is, Oh, these things that I've always kept separate. Now it's time to integrate them and see what that creates. And that's not easy to let go of these identities that you create for yourself. And you attached to, you know, the Daria before you were a yoga teacher, you kind of feel like you have to let her go to step into this. And the truth is you bring her with you. Absolutely. You bring her on the journey and you go, Hey, meet this version. And then those two people say hello to each other and now you're even more empowered in in who you are. And that's a really big thing that's been coming up for me. And I think, think back to your classes, there was a lot of discomfort there when you're doing physical practice. I remember sitting with my hands for about 10 minutes straight, breathing, singing, and just being like, when is this over? When is this over? But it was such a profound practice. And I know one thing we spoke about before we, we did this recording was. Being comfortable with being uncomfortable. When you put yourself in those spaces, whether it's physical stress or sometimes even mental stress, which you can get through, you know, the practice of yoga, the mind just coming at you thick and fast. Like, stop this pose. This is really difficult, Daria, when are you gonna end this? How long is this song going on for? Wow. This chorus is, people say, let's be falling asleep. Dario, we've been singing for 10 minutes. Like, when is this gonna stop? And then when it stops and you sit with that, you go, wow, I feel incredible. So if you could speak to the listeners a, a bit from your experience about being comfortable with, you know, being uncomfortable, whether that's physically or just parts of, you know, what you might be experiencing in life.

Daria:

Of course. And I would love there few things that you, you kind of touched upon I would, would love to really talk about. Yeah. Which is, um, inter integration. Yeah. Um, and healing. And so let's, uh, let's start with that being, being comfortable, being uncomfortable. I think it's a very powerful teaching of, uh, of yoga and other spiritual practice and in general, in life. I feel like, especially like our generation, we're, we run away from discomfort. We want everything sit very easy, fast, quick. Yeah. We don't, uh, we don't sit with like being, being in the middle of the process. That's very uncomfortable. We want for everything instantly now, tomorrow at the latest. Yeah. You know, whereas I think that, um, experience of being in situa, being in the, let's say you starting with a yoga practice, I think it's really important to, um, you come to yoga class. I create a safe environment for, and sacred environment for everybody as possible. Like this is really, I really want people to, to trust me, to trust the, the practice so they can open up in that process as well. And then I'll present you of an exercise, for example, that you might be uncomfortable for, let's say two or three minutes, but when you're there in that exercise, And you're holding it, whatever you're going through at the end you're like, wow, I thought I'm never going to do it. I thought, um, this is impossible, but I've done it. Mm-hmm. It's possible. And then you do it next week, or if you come twice a week, you do it again and again and again. And then after a few weeks it's like, you know, I've done this things in yoga. I really thought it was impossible, but I've done them. They're, it's possible. So if I'm thinking of having this like difficult conversation with somebody or apply for the job that I never thought I could get, I think, I think this is impossible, but maybe not. Like I've done impossible in yoga. I can do impossible outside of the yoga class as well. And I think this is really important. The yoga is just yoga practice, real yoga's life. You know, this is really when we use our practice, this is really when it comes into life. Like how are we, I don't care if you can. Do handstand, uh, split whatever it is. You don't need any action of those things. Mm-hmm. To live happy, harmonious, balanced life. You don't need any of those things. But that practice really gives you a lot of grit, uh, a lot of strength, like inner strength, mental emotional, uh, and peace, you know, to, to be with, to be with yourself and to, and to find, find your own truth, you know? Uh, and this is when we talk about, um, integration and healing, because integration is just bringing those parts together. You know, the aria before, I mean, I have a history as well. I come from, um, from a family of, um, my, my both parents were alcoholics. Uh, so I, uh, grew up, uh, grew up with, um, with that. And, um, but there's obviously, there's been a lot of shadow. There's been a lot of. Uh, things that needed, needed healing and bring, but bringing that part into, into my today's life, this is, this is when the healing happens. This is all about like integration. This is what yoga really means. It means integration. And there was not, I don't feel like there was a diarrhea before and after, or it's just me. And this is, these are all parts of me, you know? Yeah. Those beautiful shiny parts. Me in whites and turban and all that kind of stuff. And me being a, you know, having a per personal who has personal problems, person who, you know, I have all these kind of things that we all experience, you know? Yeah. This is all part who I am. And the problem I think is with, with us, I mean, I can just speak for myself for a very long time, nobody, none of my friends, because I was from very well kind of functioning family, nobody actually knew that my parents were alcoholics and I was just keeping it very, very quiet. But I feel like. When we think, when we keep the things quiet, we're abandoning that part of ourselves. We're saying, you're not welcome here. This is, you are not nice. I'll keep you to the side. This is only the part that I'm really, but actually what we're actually doing is we're, we are being very busy hiding this part. We can't be fully present. We can't be fully here. We're just trying to make sure that people can't see the shadow part of us. Mm. You know, and you, when you bring the shadow, when you love, first of all, like, you know the shadow. When you start being comfortable with that, this is the whole of who you are. And you are not, you're not hiding anything. This is, this is who we, this is who we, who we are, and I think this is, yeah. This is what yoga is as well. Again, you know, bringing that. Light onto the, onto the shadow, onto the darkness, bringing the, um, the darkness into light. Or we can put it that way as well. Yeah.

James:

And the shadow work. That that is the deep work. That's the stuff like you said, if you, if you close the door on that, it's gonna, it's gonna make its way out of that room at some point in your life, in some behavior pattern or, you know, you just find an outburst on someone, or addictive behaviors start to creep back in. If we ignore that and shut it's gonna, it's gonna start knocking at some point. And eventually, if you don't let it out and acknowledge it and say, Hey, come into this world. I'm working on myself, let's integrate, you know, the darkness and the light. The darkness will just make its way into your life and really show you parts of yourself that you are completely ignoring. And I did a timeline exercise. I'll share this. I did a timeline exercise on a course that I'm currently on, which is about getting into flow state and also microdosing practices with that. And we did a timeline exercise and we did it really quickly. I didn't think it was gonna be as powerful as it was. So you look at things that you might wanna work on or common themes throughout your life and you do a timeline off that. And what came up for me was loneliness, which I'd never really thought about before. I'm an only child, so I spent a lot of time on my own. I'm used to my own com like company, and I'm comfortable, especially as I've got older, I'm even more comfortable in my own company, which I think a lot of people have got after the pandemic as well. So it's also observing that not to be too comfortable in those spaces and, you know, closing down and become really introverted. But the timeline exercise showed me that when I, when I wrote everything down first it was about parents getting divorced at three years old, which you don't think you're taking in, but that's the first thing. Someone leaving my granddad dying probably when I was about 11, 12. So the first character leave in my life. Then quickly, you know, breaking it down. Really quickly for the listeners, my girlfriend passing away when I was 24, somebody leaving my life a really strong character. After that. Relationships breaking down multiple ones, you know, three in a row af over like say six years. People leaving my life and the theme clicked. I was like, oh. So it's about loneliness, it's about people leaving, not just by choice. Sometimes, you know, things that happen in life, death is a natural part of life. But what was the thing that I was feeling after that? Oh, loneliness, right? What version of myself am I now sitting with that loneliness? And even currently going through it? Recently in, you know, recent months. In the past year, I realized that the version I I am today is the person that can step back and put his arm around the lonely version and say, I've got you. Come with me. This is integration. This is exactly integration. It's not leaving the lonely part to sit there for the rest of my life going, ah, this thing in the shadow place is, why do I feel lonely? It's cuz you've not, you've not stepped back and said, Hey, there's a version of me now that's ready to put my arm around you and say, you don't ever have to be lonely cuz I'm here. And I think it's difficult for people to think in those terms of separate self because there's multiple parts of us that exist within us. Not just, you know, one Daria or one James that's like, we're sat opposite each other. There's multidimensions of ourselves in ourselves that sometimes only you ever really know about and can speak to. But that was a really powerful exercise and I got quite emotional cause I was like, whoa, it's not just acknowledging this, you know, lonely version of myself here. That feels quite vulnerable. I. Acknowledging the strong version of myself that he is, like, I've got you. Come on. Like this is us together. So wonderful. I love the fact that this is coming up because I only did that, you know, a few days ago. So to land with this conversation and it bring that up and being able to share it is, is amazing. Wonderful.

Daria:

And I love that. You know, it's all about like integration, healing and like parenting that you know, that small, small James, you know what I mean? That little, little part of yourself and really taking responsibility for yourself because ultimately nobody can do it for you. Mm-hmm. You can only give it to yourself. But the problem is when, when we don't give it to ourselves, we try to get it from. Other people, other, you know, uh, I dunno, clothes, the things that we can buy, this new car, this and that, which never, ever kind of really feels that hole, never, ever nourishes us. Mm-hmm. Uh, as much as that, you know, just being with yourself and, and healing yourself really.

James:

I think we've all been guilty of that as well. Like, I remember one of my exes bought a new car and after it, she like broke down and was crying and said, something's not quite, doesn't feel right. And I was like, yeah, you're looking for validation in external things. These things might bring you a few days of happiness. Maybe a few months maximum, maybe six months. At some point you're gonna look at that new cargo. It's just a car. That's it. And you're gonna be sat with that emotion that was there before you placed it into something shiny or a new piece of clothing or jewelry or a new laptop. At some point, your new laptop just becomes your laptop. That's it. And it functions like every other laptop you've had. But initially, like when I get this laptop, it's gonna make my life incredible and it might help you life. This laptop, you know, cost me a lot of money and it's really helped my productivity. But after a while I was like, oh, it's just pretty much the same as my other one, just newer. And we do that. We place these internal parts of ourselves in external people or behaviors, programs, belief systems, and we lean into them and just ignore that part of ourselves. And I feel like something I've found with your practice, and you know, even recognizing you as a person, is just going into stuff with an open heart, which me and my friends say a lot. The way we word it, kind of like where we're from, is like, oh, you're a clean hearted person. Which essentially is like, you know, you're living with, with an open heart. And I feel like when you can do that and you can step into your authentic self, Sometimes even like flowing in this podcast, when I get a real connection with someone, it's like, oh, that's who I am because I'm here. I'm open. There's no parts of myself I'm trying to hide or create to look a certain way. It's just, oh, that was like a really true version of myself. Hi, nice to see you. Hi. Wonderful. Where, where have you been? And a lot of people struggle to live like that, I feel like. What are some steps, if you could give advice to someone, to someone that has never even maybe lived like that or practiced, you know, having an open heart, what would, what would your like first bits of advice to be be to someone to try and get them on that path?

Daria:

Well, I think it's, it's, uh, it's a good point that it's, it's quite hard. Yeah. You know, to live, to live like true to yourself. True to, because there's so many like factors outside of us, you know, that are kind of having big impact on us constantly. Mm-hmm. Whether it's like our parents, uh, society, you know, like things around around us, uh, they have really big influence on us. Yeah. And, uh, they are, Kind of like manipulating us all the time. You can say, no, I'm a yogi, I meditate. But we're still under influence of it, of the kind of, you know, like messages coming from us, of course, everywhere. And so it's really imp really difficult to actually see like, is it me or is it, uh, is it something else? You know? And I first really, I think it's important to, to acknowledge that it's actually quite, quite difficult and it re requires you to like really get to know yourself. Mm-hmm. Really spend some time with yourself. This is what I would say to start with, you know, just be quiet. Even if it's just five, five minutes every day, 10 minutes just with yourself. See like, you know, what's, what do I feel like do, what do I like? What kind of resonates with me? Just really get to get to know yourself. I've, mm. I've really kind of come back into mind and meditation because I had this really powerful experience. I, you know, I'm a yogi. I can, you know, control my mind. I know what's going on in my. In my mind and, uh, well, you think maybe I'm not as kind of, you know, this kind of like a, let's say marketing and all that's kind of like a subconscious, kind of like subliminal messages. Maybe they won't go get into me as easily, but it's completely not true. I've, uh, good few years ago I went to Switzerland. Well, I actually went to France, but I flew into Switzerland and then I was at the airport waiting for all the, you know, kind of like, um, security checks and stuff. And there was this like massive billboard of watches, you know, everywhere. When you land in Switzerland, it's like watches, watches on you. Like, and I just saw, oh, it's a fancy watch, whatever. Didn't, didn't care about it at all. And then few days later, uh, I'm thinking to myself, I'm really fancy buying a watch and, you know, and of often it's like what we say is like, oh, how really fancy buying a watch. Okay, I'm just going to go to a shop and buy a watch. And you go and just buy the watch. Yeah. Whereas like, I'm like, I had this thought really fancy buying a watch. And I'm thinking to myself, where is this thought even from? This is shocking. I never thought of buying a watch. Mm-hmm. I was like, ah, I went to that airport and there were these billboards everywhere and now I somehow fancy buying a watch. Yeah. How interesting is that? And I just like, okay, this is a very interesting observation in my mind. This is very interesting kind of thought process, but I think this is like, this is really what meditation is. Like really watching your mind, like having a conscious relationship. Yeah. With your consciousness, having conscious relationship with your mind. And if we don't, I feel like it, if we don't spend enough time, you know, watching and meditation doesn't need to be kind of my kind of yogi meditation. Meditation could be your, you know, do you doing your music, you're kind of being in a zone, you're being present. That's your meditation. Whatever it it means for you. Maybe it's going on a walk. I think it's. Like if you really want to connect with yourself and start relating to your heart more, maybe like journaling could be a really good thing to Yeah. Cause you can really kind of like, you know, put some words in a paper and really express yourself. Mm-hmm. Just to yourself, not so, not to somebody else. It's really is between you and you. Yeah. It's between you and the universe. Yeah. Yeah.

James:

You know, I think the power of that awareness where you can go, I really wanna watch where's that come from? This has not been a pattern I've recognized before. Then you spot where that may have come from. And this is like you said about the practice. This is coming from practicing certain things in your life, having a deeper awareness. And when you practice being more aware and you observe yourself and even other people, it starts to extend beyond you. And, oh, that person could be behaving like this because of this and that. And everything starts to reshape your perspective. And for me, which is I know we wanted to talk about, for me, that creates a lot more trust with me. When I start to go, oh, my minds might be being influenced because of this. The pandemic was a big one, you know, to observe for me the constant messages I've shared on the podcast. I went to the petrol station one day and I'd left from maybe something on the TV in the apartment, jumping in the car. It the same message in a different format on the radio, me arriving in the petrol, oh the oi, whilst I'm pumping petrol, saying the same message to me, me going in the petrol station, the TV or the speaker system saying the same message. And somebody that was really aware, I was like, wow, we are all being bombarded from every angle here at the moment. And it was a really powerful time to just observe how strong messaging was, regardless of the situation. It's the first time I feel like in generations we've really felt such a strong message powerfully being put on us. And the, the thing is, a lot of people don't even step into the that awareness. When you do, whether it's a pandemic or something very small, well smaller than, you know, being influenced to buy a watch. When that awareness kicks in, you have a greater trust in yourself and you can make different decisions about things based on that trust. Oh, so do I really need a watch? That's it. Do I really need that watch? Hmm. Or has their genius marketing really worked? And this is the, like a, adverts are there for a reason. They work. Language is the most powerful tool we have as well as, you know, symbols. If you combine those two things together, you can quickly access somebody's subconscious and just plant a seed. And five weeks later, Daria's going and buying a fancy watch. I really need, need to watch. And this is the power of it. So it's, it's. I was trusting ourselves a bit more with that awareness and, and

Daria:

practicing it. Absolutely. And you know, I think you brought a really good point that in pandemic it all became a bit clearer because all of a time there was less noise. Mm-hmm. You know, there was, there's still obviously media and all the other stuff, but we were quieter, you know, there was less like destruction. Yeah. And this is really when we can watch ourselves, our mind, um, in a different way. Like we have a different quality, we can really become very clear. And this is really what meditation meditation does. It really helps you to kind of, you know, get rid of all the rubbish, you know? Yeah. And actually just see, clearly, see really what is, what is going on in your, in your mind. And then ask yourself like, is this, is this mine? Is this? Or is it, is this, how, is this how my parents want me to live? Or is it how the society wants me to live? Or is it how my, my peer group, you know, for example, like, just really like being honest with yourself. Because we might be, um, we might be in a yogi community, we might be in a, you know, artist community, you know what I mean? And you're expected to be like, so in this community and in that community. But does it speak to me? Yeah. Like, am I, how, how am I in the situation, you know, myself? Yeah. How I only yoic self, you know what I mean? Like really how do I feel? Do I feel comfortable with it myself? And then, you know what I mean? Like, it, I think requires a lot of, um, introspection and really looking at yourself and like really building a stronger relationship with, with yourself. Um, I think this is really, this is a, this is a key.

James:

And it's those internal battles that that can still happen. If you've been practicing yoga for 11 years, doesn't mean these dialogues are not gonna come into your mind and, you know, create conflict. It's, it's being able to observe them. And one for me recently was I went to a sound healing circle. I've not been to one for quite a while. And I was like, right. I say, I wanna wear comfortable clothes, I wanna be as comfortable as possible. And all my comfortable clothes were in the wash and they weren't dry. So I was like, oh, what am I gonna wear? And I only had one comfortable tracksuit, but it's a really loud tracksuit. The pattern is like, it's, it's out there. And I went, oh, I can't wear that because people are gonna think I love myself, or I'm just trying to show up to this circle to look great. And then I went, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. All I need that. That's who I am. I like that trap suit. That's part of me. I just need to show up as me. Mm. In those spaces where it's like, like you said, the identity or I've gotta fit in and be this. Dress a certain way and maybe speak a bit softer while I'm there and you know, fit into the energy of this place. I was like, I'm just gonna wear the tracksuit. Mm-hmm. And I stepped in and as soon as I entered the main room, someone went, oh wow, I love your tracksuit. And it just crumbled everything away that all the previous dialogue I had with myself about what that moment would be, the illusionary creation I was creating, about how people are gonna perceive me in those spaces. And it was just a lesson to just be your authentic self in those spaces. Because this is what I've been speaking a lot to my friends as it's been coming up with me, this part of you missing in these worlds that you enter. So Daria that wasn't a yoga teacher that probably started to surround herself as a yoga teacher, there's part of Daria missing in that world. And if you show up as not you, People aren't gonna feel that part that's missing. So what's come up for me re recently is showing up to these spaces, being me, talking how I talk, sound sounding, how I sound, and really bringing my energy to a space because the ripple effect is your presence and being honest and open and being the authentic self can shift things in other people to do the same. And there was a moment after the, the circle when it finished and my friend said, does anyone wanna share? And there was that moment where I could tell people wanted to share, but the energy was just stuck. And I thought, oh, maybe I'm here just to get this ball rolling. Nobody likes the person that jumps and go, me, me, me. I wanna share. No one likes that person. But I just took a moment and thought, oh, I know what role I can play here. I'll just get, get this started. And I said, I'll share. And I did. Straight away. Afterwards, the next person shared and the person after then people came up to me afterwards and said, thank you so much for sharing. And it's knowing like who you are and being comfortable in that space and the ripple effect that has. And I know you wanted to talk about what that also attracts back to you as well, when you really show up as these versions of yourself and get comfortable with it. And that's not a difficult, that's not an easy thing to do. It can be quite difficult, but when you practice it and you start trusting yourself a bit more, then you start to get feedback about how people respond to it. And it's a really beautiful thing to see.

Daria:

Absolutely. And I think there's quite actually a few things that made me, made me think, and first of all, you know, your true self. It's, it's not, it's not being a musician, it's not being a yoga teacher, it's not being a mother or father or daughter. It's yourself. Mm-hmm. Yourself, you know, which has nothing to do with those jobs that we have. Yeah. But the ego kind of things, you know, that we have going on. Mm-hmm. You know, and this is. When you're, when you're present with, with that, without any of the ego things, that ego can be a really, like a big enemy. It can really stop us and limit us on what we're actually, are capable of doing, what we can achieve, how we can connect with, with other, uh, other things. It's a, it's a really, I don't, I'm not in a spiritual path where you kind of need to kill the ego and get rid of the, the ego. I think it's a useful thing. Yeah. When it's connected with the soul, when it's really connected with the self, you know what I mean? When they go all go together, when they know the ego is like a driver. The ego is like a, uh, worker for the soul. You know what I mean? Like, if the soul says, okay, this is your job. This is what you do, and that's, that's what ego, ego does. And when they work together, that's a really great way. Yeah. If we identify as our ego, if we're, if I identify as a yoga teacher, As, you know, a musician or as a, like a manager or whatever it is, this is, or as my car or as my postcode, whatever it is for you. This is when the, this is what creates problem. Yeah. And you know, those identities, splits, you know what I mean? Mm-hmm. So first, uh, first of all, and the most, the being true to yourself, it's not really being true to yourself, but it's really as well, it's about expanded version of ourselves being bigger in ourselves. Mm-hmm. And, you know, say, oh, I don't really want to share myself because people say like, I love myself. That's wonderful. I want people to know that you love yourself. I know I will. I want people to know that you are full of yourself. Yeah. You know, we, this kind of language is so, so bad, like, You know, you, when you are with somebody who's full of themselves in a positive way mm-hmm. Full of stuff, full of substance, you feel that, yeah. You connect with them on a deeper level. Mm-hmm. And you're not thinking somebody's bigheaded, that's a very kind of different idea. Yeah. But if somebody's full of themselves, full of the self, you feel it and you really want to connect and you know when you are on the path, because as well, we need to look, okay, am I completely not on the, not authentic to myself? I'm doing the job that somebody wants me to do. I'm doing this because I think I should pay the bills. Or you know, I'm doing this, you know, for many other reasons. You know what I mean? Like, so then you slowly step onto the path. But when you're on the path, Actually, I'm being true to myself. I'm doing really what kind of resonates with me? And then let's grow it bigger, expand it. You know what I mean? Like, so don't hold back, don't say, no, no, no, I need to, um, you know, uh, no, not caner too much, you know, because people will think anything of it or, you know, being shy, being timid. I think that's another kind of like a fear really on us, and like a blockage of, of the, of the ego as well, you know? Mm-hmm. Um, so when you are, when you are being pretty of offending, when you are really connected with your true self, expanded, you know, soul is all about expansion, you know what I means. So it's not really about making less of it and being quiet and being shy. No, it's be, it's being present, you know, obviously having a compassion and respect for other, for other beings, but like, the more there is of you, people will appreciate it more, you know? Yeah. And, you know, as, as I, as you said, um, When you are, when you're being honest with yourself, people see this. Mm-hmm. When you're, when you trust, trust yourself. When you have the trust with the universe or however, you know what I mean, you are more trustworthy as well. This is all in our energy field. Yeah. You know, whatever. All our faults or our, our actions and projections, they're all in our energy field. We carry it with, with us. So if I turn up somewhere and I'm thinking, uh, there's something wrong with me. I don't like this part of myself. Um, you know, this is, this is, um, this is something I'm really, um, resentful of. This is something I don't like about myself. All that kind of stuff. I show up like that. You know what I mean? We can't really see it, but you pick up on it, you kind of, there's some in their energy field. Mm-hmm. You know, but when you show up and there's none of that, or at least like less of it, you know what I mean? You show up in a different, different way. Whatever is going on in your, in your mind, I'll give you an example. I teach yoga and when I teach yoga classes, you know, I wear all the white clothes and a turbine. Yep. You know, and, uh, it just happened. I didn't really think about it very much. I just thought, this is what you do. And I really like how turbine it makes me feel. It really kind. It's gonna a crane adjustment as well. It makes me more focused, makes me more kind of more together. And this is the main reason why it's a really great protection for a teacher. So this is why I wear a turbine. And not once somebody told me why you, I mean, it's a very strange thing, kind of like white person wearing, wearing a turban. Like it looks different, you can say, but not once Somebody told me What's wrong with you? Why you wearing turban? Uh, you know what I mean? That's doesn't seem like it's, there's some, this, this is strange, you know, because it was never in my energy field. Mm-hmm. But if I turn up to a class wearing a turban of thinking, Oh my God, I'm wearing a turban. What, what am I even thinking? I'm not even a proper yogi. Like I shouldn't be really wearing it. You know, people be saying like, why are you wearing the turban? Like, you know, you know what I mean? Because it's on my, in my allergy

James:

field. Yeah. You'll get feedback of what you are, you are thinking yourself. Absolutely. It's a great point. There's a, there's a couple hacks I wanna speak about with that as well, like stuff I've learned because we, we can be on this long path of learning where, you know, work takes years to get to these points. But there's also stuff I've learned where if you think about a time where you felt you are most confident mm-hmm. So you might not feel a hundred percent confident in yourself going into a job interview, stepping on stage to speak, holding your first big yoga class where these hundreds of people, or even like a conference and you might be like, Ooh, I dunno if I'm ready for this. Ooh, this is a lot. I've, I've done this before. And, and you know, that energy's coming out. And you don't want people to receive that because like you said, we'll get the same feedback. There's hacks that I've learned through learning like NLP and being able to program the mind. We can do really quick things that will just last for the time that you need it to last. So for example, you are stepping out into a stage English, not being your first language. So you might have that bit bit of doubt that, you know, you're speaking to people in a language is that's not your, you know, your primary language and you might be worried about slipping up or making a mistake and which is all natural human things. But we can have a conversation and say, right when I step into that stage and I'm in front of people, I'm going to be the most clear, concise English speaking yoga teacher I have ever been. Mm-hmm. And everything is gonna flow perfect. Mm-hmm. For that time that I'm on stage. And you think about a time where you felt you were doing that. You were at the, when you were like, whoa, everything just that was perfect. And you tap into that energy and you set a space in time, like physical space, that can be the stage or a circle. You draw, draw on the floor with your mind. When you step into it, you feel that energy and you empower yourself. And you imagine yourself being that version. So when you actually go out, you are actually going out with that temporary energy. Mm-hmm. Which is blocking all the doubts because now you've stepped into this version of yourself. It might only need to last for the time that you're on stage and you can come up and go, how did I do that? That was incredible. But there's these small hacks we can do as well. And it's something that's been coming up in a lot of conversation with friends that I'm seeing, having doubts about things and I'm very much in agreement. And that space of what you're saying is if you turn up with that energy, that's what people are gonna feel. And we really forget that cuz it's the unseen, it's the Absolutely. It's not the thing. Sometimes you can see micro things on someone's face. If you are that aware and you tuned in, you can see, oh, there's a bit of discomfort there. Or, you know, someone might be a bit flush or, you know, the things that the body can show us. But if someone's great at holding those things together, but under the surface they're, they're, you know, they're swimming away, but quite calm on, on the top. The energy is still saying, oh, down here I'm panicking. Absolutely. So it is, that's a, that's a tool I found really powerful. I, I did it a lot when I started this podcast as well. Like, when I sit down with this guest, I'm gonna flow like a podcaster that's been doing this for like 10 years and everything's gonna be smooth and the nerves are a bit more subsided. But I still get them at the start of a podcast. But it's just that conversation with self first. Because if I turn up as a nervous me, oh, I'm not, I don't, don't think I'm gonna flow well today. Oh, like what? What if I mess up? You are gonna feel that. Mm-hmm. Then potentially you could pick up that energy and start like, acting the same as me. Mm-hmm. So it is, it is how we show up in the world and, and setting those intentions, even for a temporary time can really help us just be that best version of ourself. But the deep work is, you know, if you consistently do that over years, Absolutely. Then that changes. Absolutely.

Daria:

There is a, there's a posture. Do you know, like the superwoman posture? This is

James:

what we've been talking about in NLP classes. Yeah. Okay.

Daria:

Yeah. This is the posture. I always, I, you know, I mean, I do get stressed, uh, as you say, you know, I go to a workshop. Mm-hmm. I go to, you know, I do do things and I, I do have a bit of, I think it's, it's healthy to have a bit of anxiety, to have a bit of fear. You know what I mean? Like, when you push yourself out of a comfort zone, when we stay in the comfort zone, we'll feel comfortable. But when you slightly push yourself out of your comfort zone, you're going to feel slightly on the edge. Mm-hmm. And it's a really good place to be. You know, being on the edge is a very, if you can hold it, if you feel safe. But I think as well, having practices to, to be able to hold that space, it's a very, very profound. So, for example, you know, like the, the superwoman post, this is, I always say this, people, you know, When you go into a job interview, when you are, you know, doing something big, and even if you do struggle with anxiety, you do it every day for three minutes and it is going to change your, the chemistry of your body is going to change how you, how you feel, and you'll be different. Mm-hmm. Um, as a, as a result. And that's definitely as well, like having a practice of like cleansing your energy field and clearing all this stuff because, you know, as we live our life, we do collect things, you know what I mean? Pain, sorrow, resentment, guilt, you know, all that kind of stuff, you know, we do, we do collect it. So it's really a thing. Well, in my opinion, it's important, uh, um, a thing to find a practice that helps you to, you know, to cleanse your energy field, to, to make yourself as, as pure as as possible. So you can be, you can be present, you know?

James:

Yeah. These are all, these are all tools that when, when you use them can keep you in, in those space. And little hacks, even the, you know, the hands on, on your hips and Yes. That's not a power pose. Mm-hmm. Like, That's a P. You see someone do that and you're like, that's someone that's like gonna command some powerful energy. And if you stand with that pose, like your brain is told, oh, that's the behavior of this. You are doing this. So now here comes the emotion to back that. And when you step into a place where you need that bit more authority or to show up as that version of yourself, these are really quick hacks to get into that and absolutely,

Daria:

absolutely. You can do it by yourself. And, and this is exactly again, how what you do in a yoga class, you come to yoga class and as you say, you have your arms up like this, or you go into like the, you know, the Warrior Post and they all kind of like expansive, you know, postures when we, and this is yoga, this is how yoga helps us to feel better and, and heal

James:

as well. Yeah. It is really like simple when you actually think about how, and obviously the mechanics behind it, you know, there's, there's years and thousands of years of why we do these things. But when you just say it like that, we act like it's a magic trick. I can't do that. It's uncomfortable. It's really simple. Just try it. You wrote, it's it okay to try these things and I know we wanted to get a bit into kind of depression and how we kind of see that thing play out in life and what the perspective is on, on depression, which I know I kind of share a very similar view with you on that and how we get to a point of being depressed, whether that's, you know, an external life problem, some, you know, grieving even, which is something I've experienced, which had definitely put me in a depressed state, but, The way you worded it to me the other day really, really resonated. And I think it'd be nice to delve into that for listeners.

Daria:

That's it. Oh, there's, there's a lot to it. You know what I mean? Like, when you talk, talk about the grief and, you know what I mean, like that it can be connected with, you know, with depression. So it's okay. It's, it can be a, um, complex situation, so I don't wanna like, make it too simple and, um, too, too blunt. But, um, from my kind of yogic, uh, perspective is like the being true to yourself and depression are very much, very much connected. I feel like often when we're. When we're ignoring our souls calling, when we're ignoring our, ignoring ourselves, this is, this is when we get, this is when we get depressed and this is this, or this is when, when depression comes, comes in. And kind of the way I see, I see depression is like a kind of fire ar alarm in your house, you know what I mean? Like it's a good thing, you know, fire alarms a really great thing. Yeah. It just says, Hey, watch out. There's smoke in the house. There's something going on in the house. You must act now if you want. There probably will be a bigger program problem. Mm-hmm. And the way, this is how I see depression as well. You know what I mean? Like if you are fa, this is where, if this is your situation now, if you're facing, facing depression, it's like. Well, maybe I need to do something differently. Maybe I'm dream to reconnect with myself. I need to act because maybe my, um, values are out of work. Maybe I'm not, you know, kind of like AJ following my values. Maybe not. I'm not leaving my values. Maybe there's something out of balance and it's just a sign that we need to get back on track. We need to come back to come back to ourselves, you know, again. So I really, so this is how I, I see the depression and, and, um, that being true to ourselves, uh, connected. Because if we don't, then we need, uh, we, it can go deeper. And then obviously, like if, if it's going on for a long time, this is, uh, like a serious, you know, kind of, um, a situation, mental, um, mental health situation. So, um, small kind of, um, uh, episode of depression, I think a really good kind of thing over your fire, fire alarm in your house, you know what I mean? It's like, oh wow. You know, I need, let's get back on track. Let, how could we, you know, come back to ourselves? How could I maybe adjust, you know, my lifestyle, you know, my decisions, whatever it is, you know, to really bring me back into, into harmony, into

James:

balance. Yeah. Cause when we start to identify with the depression, that kind of takes us deeper into it. And to think of it as like, fire alarm. This is the time to change behaviors and do something different. Other times I've experienced stuff is, I've always liked to put it as kind of like the wiling of a flower. So when I wouldn't nurture, nurture the artist in me mm-hmm. Like I've not made music for a few months before that awareness, I'd be like, oh, what is this thing I'm feeling? I just feel like down and a bit depressed and it's growing. I always see it as like a. I feel like a storm in the distance. Mm-hmm. And I can feel it approaching. And I used to go, oh, it's here now I'm depressed. Oh, this is gonna last for two weeks. Mm-hmm I'm gonna be here for two weeks now. I'm creating it all by design and one, that's it. One aspect of it. I noticed for me, my personal experience with feeling like that was, oh, I've not been creating the artist in me, the one going, Hey, remember me, you've ignored me for a while. Like my true calling. That's it. The, the thing that I get, you know, the closest connection to God from is not active but me. The identified, just separating the artists is there going, Hmm, yeah, I don't feel right. And then sometimes I'd just go and create and be back in that magic, that space, doing something different would really help that energy just to, to back away a bit more. And you know, settle and it, that can be. Times I've come to practice yoga with you. You know, doing that, getting that energy up and physically moving and meditating and chanting and expressing really just helps keep that darkness, which is always gonna, we can, I don't believe we can ever get rid of it unless we hit like stages of enlightenment. I think the human spectrum is to be, we get to choose where we wanna be. We can be over here and be evil, or we can try and be as pure as possible, but everything is always existing at the same time. Absolutely. So it's those little practices that help the darkness. Just sit back a little bit, but my experience with depression has definitely been when I've not been in my purpose, been my authentic self and start to create illusions around identity and what I should be or what I haven't done, or why did I not go down this path. And I think the biggest thing for anyone, Going through something like that, that I can only speak through personally, is to just start doing small things that make a difference. Those small things that make a difference are the things that make a difference and it eventually, your life is in a new path. Not long after we met, my life shifted probably about two years after, like really quickly, really fast to the point I was at. I was like, how, how has my life changed so much? And it was just by acknowledging and doing things differently, changing mindsets that I was like, not, I've made it cuz I don't feel like we ever make it. Like you said, it's a continuous journey, but it's just the acknowledgement of Wow. Well, well done. I'm done closer to

Daria:

myself than

James:

I've ever been. Right. Yeah. Well done. For being consistent and showing up and even leaving my house today. Stepping out the front door and, and just going, I just said thank you for being you. You're going to have a conversation with somebody. Openly, that's gonna be a great conversation with the goal to let that conversation help other people. I just had a more, I was like, well, like well done for, for who you are. Like, well James, yeah, appreciate it. I really like this version of myself. And when we can get to that space, it's a beautiful thing. And people feel the energy, like you said, your authentic self. And then it opens up. So where can I take this? Where can I go from here? And this is a message to anyone that might be going through it. And that's what this podcast is about. You know, helping people out of the dark spaces through these conversations is just start with the small things. And I promise you, after it might take a while. We're not saying this is instant stuff. It could take a year, could take two years, it could take a lot quicker. You might find yourself, it could take three minutes, could take three minutes, could take one conversation, one thought. Mm-hmm. This is different for everybody, but as long as you start and wanna make change, That's where we do see the shifts in life.

Daria:

Absolutely. Because like the depression, it's, there's the stuck energy, you know what I mean? That needs go, needs moving, shifting. And in yoga we say like, obviously it's a really good idea to move your body. When you move your body. You can even go for around, you know what I mean? Like things, you know, your body changes, your energy shifts when you, when you do anything kind of physical. But even if you can't, for example, maybe, maybe you're better than maybe, maybe you're in bed, use your breath. Mm. You know, your breath has massive power as well to shift that energy. You know, so if you can't move your body for, for some some reason, you can use the breath as well to shift, uh, shift how you're, how you're feeling. This is, this could be already powerful, um, tool

James:

as well. Yeah. Things we've all got access to rather than it being the big overwhelming thing. Which I relate, you know, it's you saying being stuck in bed, which I was, you know, probably six months ago, couldn't move. And I noticed myself going into a, a darker space because life was changing and I couldn't do the things that I wanted to do. And then it's like, all right, what if those things are taken? What if I can't get up and make music, which satisfies my soul? What if I can't do this? Then we've gotta quickly redesign our space and life to go right. What works for me in this moment whilst I can't walk mm-hmm. Whilst I can't even get from the bedroom to the bathroom. Mm-hmm. Without crawling, how can I still maintain the stuff I know I really need right now? Because if we identify too much with the thing that we're currently in, it just goes, like you said, into a deeper

Daria:

space. Absolutely. And this is about being present. It's like, well, I, this is, you know, I usually do those things, but at the moment I'm in this situation. Mm-hmm. And what I've got here, This is all I, I can deal with, you know? So let's then again, be present, be, you know, feeling to ourselves, yeah, what do I want right now? What, what do I need? How could I make those changes in this particular situation? So, as I say, it's not really something that we can, like, you know, make ourselves authentic ones, make ourselves, you know, kind of, you know, together. And then it's like, it's a continuous process Yeah. Of you in, uh, you, your new relationship. You're becoming a parent, you're becoming, you know what I mean? Or you looking after your parent, you know what I mean? Whatever it is. Mm-hmm. You must find yourself in each situation as your, as your best self, as your, as your, uh, authentic, authentic self. And we can always do, do our best, you know? And the, the more we practice it, the, the better we, we get at it. So, um, yeah, just require, requires continuous learning. Continuous, um, Getting to know yourself, being, being present, but it's, it's beautiful at the same time because it ne never gets boring. It never gets, oh, it's the same thing over and over again. It's not like that at all. It's you were being present in every situation and every situation's different from moment to moment. So yeah, that's the beauty of thing

James:

of it. It's always new, it's always changing and it's just being open to that as well. Daria, this is exactly what I knew it would be today. And more like, I've really enjoyed this conversation. So I really appreciated taking the time to come and, you know, share with people, you know, your journey and who you are in the world and how you show up and how you try and help people and shift people's mindsets and people's lives. I feel like sometimes we don't give those people in life enough credit. You know, people just see you as a yoga teacher, but you're literally trying to help people and change lives and mindsets and. Get people active, which is great. This is a reminder we all need to be doing this work. So where can people find you in your world if they wanna come and tap into Daria?

Daria:

Well, if you're ma in Manchester, I would love to see you in my in-person classes. Uh, at the moment I've got classes in, in Wilington and in Chile, and I've got workshops and retreats as well. And then I have online classes, uh, as well. So if you're outside of Manchester or even in a different country, you could always join my, um, my website is Hi on yoga, hi page. I on yoga. Hi on yoga dot code uk. You can find all the information about me, all the things I, I do. And yeah, I would love you to come and do some yoga with me. Amazing.

James:

And is same on Instagram, is it? Yes. Hi handle. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Perfect. So yeah, if you wanna tap into diary and you've enjoyed this, this has been a person that really. Helped me in part of my life and I'm gonna reconnect. So if you wanna do it at a similar time, we can be on a journey together doing that. So I, after that Monday class, yeah, I'm, well, yeah, 7:00 PM I'll figure, I'll figure one out and I'll get to one. 100%. So it's nice to reconnect with you and, and sit opposite you and see you in this space and not just a yoga teacher and share this energy as well. It's amazing. So big thank you today. No, thank, thank you very much.

Daria:

I really enjoyed that. Really like hard to hard conversation, soul to soul conversation. Really appreciate it as well. And thank you very much for what you do in the world and how you inspire, uh, inspire others and help them to, to grow and overcome the challenges. Cause we need, we all need bit of inspiration every day. So thank you much for

James:

doing your work as well. I appreciate it. And that's my friend said to me today, like, it's a movement. It's bringing the people with certain energies that have impacted my life and. Knowing the energy that I carry and, you know, bringing everyone together eventually that'll, you know, create a network. People have been here, and then I introduce you to this person and then we all just keep moving. So with the listeners now as well, it is, it is a movement and that's what it is. Letting people know that we can hack our way out of difficult times and be a strong version of ourselves. So when the next difficult time arrives, we've got a new toolkit and defenses and a shield and a sword, and we know how to, you know, just move through it a bit more. And it's a reminder that, you know, the, the work that you do is. Time to welcome back into my life. The fact you showed up when you did, when I had the thought, it's like the sign could have been more clearer. So thank you for actually being here physically and confirming that to me. And guys, remember, these conversations are here to do exactly what they seem to be doing, which is what I've just said. Helping you guys figure out life. Just hearing that little nugget of a gem of information that you might need from the lights of Daria to shift your perspective and get you on that path. As you move, I'll be moving with you. Daria will be doing the same. So thanks a lot for listening. If you've resonated with this episode, all I ask is that you share it with someone that might connect with it and really love this information. So remember guys, no matter what you're going through, we can get life back to a better place. We can get back to life being sound. Life is good. Life is sound. Thanks to Daria. We'll see you on the next one. Stay blessed.

Intro
Finding Oneself and Pursuing a Yogic Lifestyle
Exploring the Power of Kundalini Yoga
Integrating the Shadow Self
Conversation on Integration, Healing, and Parenting
Examining the Relationship with Oneself
Exploring the Role of the Ego in Being True to Oneself
Connecting Depression and Being True to Oneself