Student Spotlight @brittanytatianaxo

Student Spotlight @brittanytatianaxo

1. Why you attend YTT at that point in your life.

I originally registered to attend Marianne Wells Yoga School YTT January 2017 training session.  I set the intention that 2017 was going to be MY year…until it wasn’t.

In December 2016, my car was rear-ended while on the way to yoga class (go figure). The accident changed everything with 2 broken bones in my neck, a torn lower back and concussion symptoms that lasted well over a year.  My teacher training plans were on hold – for a long time.

The recovery and rehabilitation taught me to slow down. It taught me to accept that I couldn’t rush yoga teacher training. I couldn’t rush my life. Be patient and accept. I had thought that something was being taken away from me: when in retrospect, I was given a gift, a life lesson, and a new perspective to bring to my yoga practice.  Don’t force things.  Marianne and Ron later taught in training that direction is more important than force…on the mat and in life.  My circumstances were giving me lessons that I connected to when we were in training later.

I was determined to heal, find the light in the darkness, and accomplish what I had earlier set out to do. After 6 months of healing through denying opioids, physical therapy, practicing yoga, and medicating with cannabis, I returned to work. Nothing felt the same – me, my job, my life. 

I arrived at a crossroads. Was I here to move papers or, to serve my community and my Self? What was I really really doing?

I decided to do something for my Self. Magically, doing that set me on a path to help others. I rescheduled my teacher training with Marianne for December 2017, quit my job, bought a ticket to the Peruvian Amazon, and then traveled on to Costa Rica for teacher training.

I learned more than I could ever explain in words.  Just be. Slow down.

2. How did MWYS inspired you to live your truth, your dharma.

When you are immersed in something your heart called out for years, you cross a threshold where there is no return. Marianne Wells yoga teacher training helped me know that another life is possible. To let go and allow myself to believe in the small things, in callings of my heart, in my Higher Self, et al.  I’ve always had a calling to help others heal.  But first, I needed healing.

Marianne’s training gave me a place where I could grow into a better version of me.  I now understand that it starts with self-love, something that was missing in my own life.  It was a treasure that I witnessed being given to so many other students around me. I was able to shed a layer of fear and actually trust my Self more. To believe in my heart and value my personal strengths.  I learned to embrace my weaknesses and use their lessons to help me grow – to understand myself better.  I learned tools to help me continue on this positive path of growth.  This training has given me a chance to align with my higher purpose and break free from habits that previously placed me in mental, emotional and physical jail throughout my 20’s.  I found myself in a place to take my life to the next level.

I have these words on my body in a tattoo, inspired by our studies of the Yoga Sutras while in teacher training –

Mana eva manushyanam karanam bandha mokshayoho

The translation is – As the mind, so the individual; bondage or liberation are in the mind.

We were taught that no one can make us happy or sad. The world around us is a projection of the state of our mind.  We choose the emotion, and make choices, actions, and ultimately manifest our destiny based on the state of our mind. By understanding this more clearly, and reminding myself daily in viewing these wise words, I am learning to make informed choices with awareness.

I have only begun to live my dharma – to truly heal, and to share that with others. Living true to myself, really believing in my truth and my perspective, I have something to offer to the world with integrity, kindness, and love. To share my journey and gifts to help others heal holistically with hope and truth.

3. What you would say to someone looking for a YTT.

If you ever want an experience that you will truly never forget – an experience that will open your heart and mind to a whole new world of possibilities , Marianne Wells Yoga School teacher training is it. You will tap into your spiritual curiosity and do things you love for more than 12 hours a day.  This teacher training experience is immensely positive and awe inspiring, challenging, and heart-focused. Whether it’s the group, the teachers, the atmosphere, the energy, the nature, the delicious food…all the elements that created my experience were truly magical. The magic is there, it’s everywhere. How will you ever know if you don’t try?

4. What can you tell us, personally and professionally, about all the good stuff in your life now?!

All sorts of yummy goodness. Since YTT with Marianne Wells Yoga School, I’ve been healing, traveling, learning, and freelancing. I’ve never been without a full-time job before. I now only say yes to things that align with me. I recently attended a  ganja-based YTT to learn more about the cannabis plant, and how it aids with healing without opioids.

I work at Liberate Hollywood, a healing center in Hollywood that has daily meditations, yoga, workshops, and events. I do marketing, merchandising, events. I  teach yoga, conduct CBD workshops, ganja yoga and cannabis wellness events. This allows me to be immersed in a spiritual world that the city of LA can take you out of it you let it.  I am also an events manager for Flying Embers, a hard kombucha company.  I help organize various festivals, events, and tastings around Los Angeles.

I’m studying improv classes, and recently was admitted to Second City Conservatory where I can explore my heart’s desire to….well, be a silly goof ball. I’m finally in a place where I am free to be… exploring, living with curiosity, acting out of love.  Every moment, always staying true to my soul’s calling.

Namaste,
Brittany Tatiana
@brittanytatianaxo

Student Spotlight @brittanytatianaxo

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