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💬 Said Simply

I’m about to share something very important, something that REVOLUTIONIZED my world and might just save your sanity, too:

An insult only has power when it’s hitting on something you secretly fear is true.

I know. It may be a hard pill to swallow, but stay with me.

That cutting remark that made you want to disappear into the floorboards (or scream until you lost your voice) only worked because somewhere in that beautiful brain of yours, you’ve been in self-doubt and wondering if it was actually true.

But when someone throws shade that doesn’t match your inner knowingness, it slides right off like water off a raincoat. Zero stickiness, zero damage.

More on all this below.

✨ The Cosmic Giggle

The first time I heard the phrase “yoga off the mat,” I felt seen.

Like someone had secretly filmed my life and narrated the exact Lululemon-styled identity crisis I was having…

Floating out of my 6 am class in full zen goddess mode, only to transform into a coffee-chugging, inbox-clearing, market-watching maniac by 9 am.

At about two years into my “I practice yoga three times a week at Equinox!” era, I started to notice an awkward little truth:

I wasn’t actually that zen outside of class.

Which was kind of a bummer, because wasn’t yoga supposed to fix all that?

I kept asking myself the same question on repeat: Why didn’t the “namaste all day” vibes follow me into the other 23 hours I wasn’t in child’s pose?

(Also, can we agree that Child’s Pose is the best pose? Closely followed by the inimitable Happy Baby, aka a room full of adults on their backs, flailing around like newborns who’ve never paid rent or been personally victimized by the sound of a Slack notification—you know the one.)

What I’ve come to understand is this:

Yoga, in the pure understanding of the ideal, is the experience of individuality and Universality simultaneously. It’s the understanding that I can be a quirky, weird little human and my deep, Unbounded Self all at once.

Practicing yoga asana (movements and postures that prepare the body for deeper practices) is an incredible first step. It helps us find alignment in our physical “house,” and gave me the first glimpse into an alternative to my crazy, non-stop life in NYC.

But to bring that true experience of yoga — the meetings, the errands, the family group texts — I needed something more.

Having a daily Vedic Meditation practice was THE addition to my life. It took the bliss I touched in shavasana and transported it into the rest of my day. Vedic Meditation has stabilized that inner stillness and calm amidst all of life’s doings.

Suddenly, yoga wasn’t just something I practiced on a mat. It became something I lived.

So, what’s your relationship with yoga — on or off the mat? Hit reply and tell me. I’d love to hear.

🔍 Behind The Scenes

“WHAT did they just say?!”

I have a confession: sometimes, I still have to check myself before I wreck myself. 😂

We live in a funny (read: completely insane) world where people will say just about anything to soothe themselves.

So when unkind words get flung in your direction, it can jolt the system.

But as this week’s quote reminds us, an insult only lands if some part of us agrees with it, even just a little.

“An insult can only sting if it echoes what you already believe.”

I wrestled with this idea the first time I heard this take on human dynamics. Why is it my job not to feel offended when clearly Chad was the jerk in this situation??

A few months into my meditation practice, the lightbulb finally clicked when my teacher shared this story:

A young boy was playing in the garden. He had just learned the phrase “You’re a…” and was proudly testing it out.

He ran up to the adults and exclaimed, “You’re a BUSH!”

Everyone laughed because, of course, no one actually thought they were a bush.

It was so obviously untrue that it didn’t even register as an insult.

Now, back to you:
Substitute “bush” with whatever insult someone recently hurled your way, and ask yourself:
​Do I actually believe this?

And if some part of us still believes the insult, that’s where the healing lives. That’s the part ready for growth.

This is the real work. Not getting tangled in someone else’s outburst, but checking in with yourself.

When we’re grounded in who we are, it becomes easier to say,
​“No, actually. I’m not a bush. But thanks for sharing.”

The work becomes infinitely easier with a regulated nervous system and a calm mind.

When my mind was a nonstop swirl of mental waves and my nervous system was constantly in fight-or-flight, I wanted to do this work, but I couldn’t. Stress had hijacked my inner stability.

Now, in my AVM era (Life After Vedic Meditation), this work doesn’t feel confronting.

It feels invitational. Expansive.
It lets me step into my next level of deserving power — grounded, steady, and supported by a daily practice that clears the noise and restores my clarity.

If you feel bound by others’ inaccurate assessments of you, I encourage you to explore a grounding practice like Vedic Meditation.

It will help you regulate your nervous system, release the stored stress that keeps you tangled up in what doesn’t matter, and keep you in what I lovingly call “bush-consciousness.”

​Join me in one of my talks to learn more.

As always, let me know how you’re doing and if anything is on your mind.

Love and Jai Guru Deva,
Susan