My story is unique. Just like yours.
We are all made of stories. And I could tell you mine but it wouldn’t tell you who I am. It would only tell you what happened to for me. The way I responded to my challenges will tell you more about the person I am, the mindset I have, the fights I pick, the love I give. But the best way for you to figure that out is to come meet me! Energy never lies.
Meanwhile, I can tell you that I love to surf! Surfing is a very therapeutic, humbling, meditative practice for me. I’ll share a post about this later 😉
I discovered Yoga on a surf trip to Bali a few years ago, after my husband had left. The ocean wasn’t cooperating but experience had taught me that the adventure begins when the plan falls apart! So I decided to try something else.
I’ll never forget my first yoga class. Something happened… Something I can’t quite explain. Connection. It is the very moment when your mind connects with your body and everything around you for the first time in your life. Equanimity. You know you will chase this feeling and try to find a way to stay in this state of pure awareness for the rest of your life.
I couldn’t believe the effect “Yoga” was having on me. I wasn’t sure what it was but I decided to keep practicing. I spent 3, 4 hours a day on the mat during that trip. I needed more, more, more. I was binging the magic, rejuvenating, healing the deepest wounds of my soul. I had no idea what was happening to me physically, mentally, spiritually, neuro-scientifically… But I could feel it. I could feel the shift but not grasp it. I wanted to understand. If I was able to understand, I could teach my children. As simple as is. I knew the answer was just at the tip of my fingers and I was too curious to accept to rely on faith alone all of a sudden. Plus, what did faith mean anyway?
Back to the US, I kept practicing Yoga and slowly integrating the philosophy into my life. I started studying genuinely at night after work. I was then leading a Marketing team in a fast growing tech company in San Francisco and raising my children alone, committed with all my heart to give them my time, patience and love, when they were awake.
All I knew was that the practice of Yoga had a positive impact on self-love. But how was the integration operating? My studies took me through a journey across events, lectures, teachers, trainings and books from the philosophy of Yoga to neurosciences, through Chinese medicine, mindfulness, meditation, religions, the power of belief, social and emotional learning, … From one discovery to another, I slowly started to build bridges between eastern teachings and western living, concepts and methodology, mind and health, body and emotions, well-being and thought patterns. I devoured Thich Nhah Hanh’s teachings alongside the anatomy of the brain, learning how we learn, sleep, remember, focus, heal, where depression comes from, how Yoga can help with trauma, stress and anxiety… Leading me to two clear conclusions: 1/the mind is everything; 2/I will dedicate the rest of my life teaching what I am learning.
I eventually came across Carol Dweck’s discovery on mindsets and all the dots connected at once.
My mindset was shifting! Everything was falling into place in my head. I was no longer chasing but attracting. I was finding relief and reward in practice instead of results, unlocking my limiting beliefs, letting my mind be free, opening the doors of my dreams to the possibles. I was letting go of all my expectations, starting from scratch, unbecoming, uncovering, just being: enough and whole, complete and free. And my world stopped shrinking. It started expanding.
So I am Séverine but please call me Seven. I travel through life with an open heart and a happy spirit. I found my Ikigai (a video on that soon) in teaching “growth mindset yoga”; a combination of what I love (taking care of others), what the world needs (growth minded yogis), what I am good at (teaching) and what I can be paid for (classes & camps). I wake up everyday looking forward to the next 24 hours, 7 days, 52 weeks and 60 years ahead. And all I really know is that everything I will do with love, will be done well.
Welcome to the Growth Mindset Yoga blog! I promise to try my best to share with all my heart the most beautiful lessons I learn. My mission is to learn, experiment, research, connect the dots, build bridges, figure things out and create practical lessons and tools for us all to unleash our true selves and become the most authentic, free, healthy and happy version of ourselves.
PS: You probably figured, my first language isn’t english, it is french. But I figured, it’s not about the words, it’s about the story 😉
High fives all around!
Growth Mindset Yoga 