Category: India

Finding Om and Yoga Behind Bars Partner to Help Change Incarcerated Lives

4/6/2016

I believe we all have a story. Good, bad, happy and sad – lessons are a part of life and we all must “find” a way to cope with various situations. I am happy to announce that Finding Om and Yoga Behind Bars are now partners to help educate and evolve the lives of the men and women behind bars. This partnership is the first step into a brighter and healthier future. With your help, I will donate partial proceeds to Yoga Behind Bars with any Finding Om ebook or lulu.com print book sold now through July 4, 2016. Together, we can change your and those who live behind bars life today.

About Finding Om: An Indian Journey of Rickshaws, Chai, Chapattis and Gurus
Finding Om is a travel memoir about 22-year old college student, Elizabeth, who backpacks and studies yoga in India, solo. Overcoming obstacles, this is a young woman’s journey into finding the life she’s always dreamed about living.

Reason Behind Partnership
As a yoga instructor and writer, I understand the importance of giving back and helping those who really need guidance. In this life, I have been fortunate to live in some of the most amazing countries – Australia, Germany and India. Most of what I learned abroad is what I call life knowledge. It’s diving deep into yourself and discovering who you are during moments of joy and sadness. Because of my experiences abroad, I realized that yoga can be a powerful tool to help those who are struggling.
Yoga is life knowledge and a potent tool that dramatically changed my life. I’ve decided to partner with Yoga Behind Bars because I feel strongly about supporting those who are trying to positively change their life’s and are searching for ways to do so. Supporting a program that guides inmates toward a better and healthier life is something that I personally believe is important.

I believe that we all have a story and these men and women can better accept and change their life when equipped with the right tools. Yoga, meditation and reading allow a person to DREAM again.
The Finding Om Five Principles – DREAM – is my personal philosophy on the process of change by experiencing: destruction, re-creation, enlightenment, acceptance and manifestation. I hope to inspire the world, but in particular these men and women behind bars to DREAM.

Details & Ways You Can Help
There are three ways to help:
1. Buy a Print Book on Lulu.com – $1.00 of every print book sold on lulu.com will be donated.
2. Buy an Ebook Book – 50-cents of every e-book sold will be donated. (available on amazon, B&N, Kobo, Iapple)
3. Use the Amazon Link – Click on the Findng Om amazon link on the Yoga Behind Bars website to purchase either the print or ebook. Yoga Behind Bars will receive a portion of the purchase through their affiliation with Amazon.

Proceeds donated will be used to fund YBB programs, which includes the upcoming teacher training for women behind bars. This generosity link contains a video message behind this program.

**Anyone interested in purchasing an autographed copy can email Elizabeth directly at: erkovar.com **

Time Frame
Any books sold between April 7, 2016– July 4, 2016.

Direct Book Links
LuLu.com
http://www.lulu.com/shop/elizabeth-rae-kovar/finding-om-an-indian-journey-of-rickshaws-chai-chapattis-gurus/paperback/product-22395225.html
Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Finding-Om-Journey-Rickshaws-Chapattis-ebook/dp/B0182S6VVS/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1448251696&sr=8-1
B&N
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/finding-om-elizabeth-rae-kovar/1122851643?ean=9781943767267
KOBO
https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/finding-om

Back Cover Synopsis
Finding Om is a travel memoir that looks into the mind and soul of 22-year old, Bowling Green State University college student, Elizabeth. In 2005, Elizabeth studied abroad in Australia, which ignited a fresh perspective on life. Australia, and the ocean, became her first love – a sacred place that rebirthed her soul and introduced her to yoga.

Emboldened by the South Pacific, Elizabeth returned to Ohio and fell ill from reverse culture shock. Her collegiate responsibilities, boyfriend issues and negative perspectives about Ohio spiraled out of control. Anxiety, stress, insomnia and panic attacks ruled her life. Stress triggered an unbalanced life, filled with addictions and mental despair, which disconnected Elizabeth from her soul.

Elizabeth desired change and the need to re-identify herself with the world. She needed to find a way to travel abroad. Recipient of BGSU’s inaugural, Stuart R. Givens Fellowship, a grant to fund a student to “do anything in the world,” Elizabeth proposed to backpack and to study yoga in the world’s most hectic country, India, solo.

In the summer 2007, Elizabeth left the US with three thousand dollars, one red backpack and a bagful of questions in search of enlightenment, acceptance and inner peace.

Finding Om is a spiritual, and chaotic, journey through the highs and lows of India. Vivid and suspenseful, these are the tales of palm reader prophecies, the romances with a soul mate, the troubles of tour guide scams, the teachings from yoga gurus and the illuminating conversations had over a cup of chai. This is an intimate and true story of an intrepid young female on a quest to find compassion, adventure and a home in the world.

Elizabeth Rae Kovar Contact Information
www.elizabethkovar.com/books
erkovar@yahoo.com
facebook.com/erkovar
Twitter.com/brainbodykovar @brainbodykovar
Instagram.com/erkovar @erkovar
Pinterest.com/erkovar14

Yoga Behind Bars Information
yogabehindbars.com
facebook.com/YogaBehindBars
https://www.twitter.com/YogaBehindBars

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8 Ways Writing a Travel Memoir Liberated My Soul

4/4/2016

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How many of us live each day and worry about something or negatively put ourselves down? Though not many people will openly admit this, a lot of people suffer in at least in one area of life. I think most of our problems can root back to loneliness, low self-esteem or a lack of love for oneself. Whatever the issue, I understand because I’ve been there.

Life continues to evolve, which means we also constantly change. One year we may think differently than we did two years previous. Change is a part of life. I feel that writing a memoir had a profound effect on my life. When re-hashing life situations it is easy to become nostalgic and then let the imagination wander with all these “coulda woulda and shoulda” scenarios. But for areas of life that I felt ashamed or sorrow, I believe writing a memoir was one of the best things I did for my life and wellbeing.

Regardless if the book is successful, I am beyond thrilled at where I am at in my life because of writing this book - Finding Om. This doesn’t mean that I wake up everyday with a smile and see rainbows and unicorns floating over my head, but it means that I’ve worked through some shit (again) and finally let go of some deeper things that I processed but never really forgave myself for my behavior.

Without further ado, here are some ways that writing a memoir liberated my soul.

I Found Freedom – Anyone who knows me, understands my soul’s yearning for a freelance lifestyle. Although I still work a part-time fitness management desk and training job, I work for an amazing boss who leaves me be. Part of this could be my life path, but I think part of it is the reality I’ve created for myself. I may not be financially rich, but my life is rich and abundant with experience, which gives me the ultimate freedom my soul has desired.

I’ve Become Detached – This goes hand in hand with freedom, but the best thing about writing and reliving my yoga training (all while living off of two suitcases of clothes in Germany) is that I’ve become detached from consumerism. I watch people and listen to women sometimes talk before a yoga class. People flushed with six-figure incomes (money that I can only dream about) are living paycheck to paycheck. Women chit-chatting about needing a certain pair of flats to match their new dress are consumed with their appearance. And those jet-setter, sometimes pompous douche-bags, needs to keep up with the Jones’s.

Now, I know certain industries like being a lawyer status plays a huge role in success, but I am SO FREE from worrying about what other people think of or see me as and I do not give two-shits if my flats are several years old or that I haven’t had my haircut since September 2014. I don’t believe in looking like a slob, but my point is that the less I worry about what other people think, or this need to fit in, makes me free from having to fit into any trend. I CREATE my life – and fashion and consumerism doesn’t guide or create me.

I can live on a minimalist life that is filled with experience not dusty shit sitting in a box in the basement.

I Forgave Myself – For a long time I’ve always felt bad about how my college relationship ended. During my time of writing this memoir, especially during the end, I had dreams that included my ex. In many of those emotional dreams, I continued to express my forgiveness to him. Between writing and dreaming, I re-realized my mistake, which leads me to the next point, but I became somewhat thankful for that mistake. Why? Because after that experience I never made it again.

I’ve Made Mistake, But Other People Have Done Worse – I really believe our early 20’s is a time of self-discovery. I was so ashamed over something’s I’ve done that it took me a while to forgive myself. When writing this memoir, I realized I made mistakes, but other people have made much worse choices throughout their life.

While young, I wanted to explore drugs, but some higher part of me didn’t do it since I wanted to find purity and love outside of being intoxicated. So I gave myself credit for the things that I chose NOT to do too. So I slept with someone else while living with my ex-boyfriend. At 22, if that’s the worst thing I’ve done in my life, I really think I’m okay. I would have been embarrassed to publically mention that a year or two ago, but now I am okay with it because I AM HUMAN.

I believe writing creates awareness and allows us to triumph above our mistakes.

I’ve Accepted Life’s Guidance – The coolest part of writing a memoir many years after the experience happened allowed me to connect the dots. For a while after India, I wondered, “Whatever happened to that man from Mumbai?” What I never TRULY realized until writing is that sometimes the best things happen to you based on life taking its course (and universal guidance). If I never met my husband, I never would’ve had the life experiences between 2008 through today. I may never have moved to Germany and if I stayed in India my life would’ve been drastically different.

This allowed me to accept the life challenges presented after India because without them I would not be where I am today.

Good, bad, happy and sad – it all plays a part in the growth of our souls.

I’ve Accepted My Life Choices – I realized that I really do love traveling. It’s a part of me that I hope never dies. Between writing and living in Germany, I’ve come to realize that I am dedicating a HUGE portion of my life to personal pursuits and self-discovery, which includes traveling. The more I travel the more I “find” things about myself and understanding of how the world works.

I always remind myself of what my guru says, “You are never alone” which we humans can be physically alone, but spiritually we are not.

I’ve Accepted Living an Unconventional Life – Unconventional maybe an understatement. I think it’s my soul’s work on this planet to have many experiences, which differs from the “normal” life. I never had the true urge to birth children and often questioned if I was sent here to guide and teach others.

Many years ago (2010 to be exact), I personal trained a lady who was a mother of four kids.

One day during our session, she said, “I just don’t get those women who don’t want to have children. There’s something wrong with them?”

My ego immediately wanted to react and say, “Well what the fuck do you think is wrong with me? I have a Master’s Degree and a shit ton of life experience, what makes me so “wrong” as a woman?” Now the mindset about life differed in 2010, especially in a small conservative town, but I accepted the differences of my life choices and path.

Maybe one day I’ll reach my mid-30’s and make a conscious decision to have a child, but I realized once again while writing that some of us are placed on this planet to be teachers, guiders, creators and mothers. I do believe my mom was sent here to birth kids. I believe for myself that I am sent here for a different reason and there is NOTHING WRONG with not wanting to live a “NORMAL” life, especially when you can benefit society with your gifts.

While rehashing my travels through my book, I said the same things at 20 as I do now at 31, but with more wisdom. Life is about choices and we can all choose the life we want to live. I sometimes feel my best while I am on the road.

Letting Go – The biggest thing I can express from writing a memoir is the letting go process. I kept a journal while I lived in Australia and re-reading that 11 years later made me elated to see how much I’ve overcome. Writing is a powerful tool - and so is yoga. I relived my yoga training, which reminded of certain lessons that re-conquered any deep-rooted fears that I had.

We humans are complex as emotions keep our minds spinning up, down and around all the time. The biggest lesson is to let go of what no longer serves you. Whether its dropping consumerism or forgiving my heart about my ex-boyfriend, letting go is necessary to ascend to the next step of life.

Because of this experience, I feel free and comfortable within my inner and outer world. Never in my life have I ever had such confidence in myself and trust with the universe.
Have you found writing or another tool to be powerful to liberate your soul? If so, please, I’d love to hear how you found freedom or liberation!

Elizabeth Rae Kovar is the author of Finding Om: An Indian Journey of Rickshaws, Chai, Chapattis and Gurus. Finding Om is a travel memoir about backpacking and studying yoga in India, Ebook and print copies are available on Lulu.com, Amazon (Kindle), B&N (Nook Book) and KOBO.

Any books sold now through July 4, 2016, partial proceeds will be donated to Yoga Behind Bars.

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Change is Scary. Most People Fear Confronting their Inner World.

3/17/2016

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Change is Scary. Most People Fear Confronting their Inner World.
original posting on elephantjournal.com
Via Elizabeth Kovar on Mar 16, 2016

An enlightening excerpt from Elizabeth Rae Kovar’s newest travel memoir, Finding Om: An Indian Journey of Rickshaws, Chai, Chapattis and Gurus.

Your Story
Change is inevitable. The minutes, the days the seasons and the years—everything around us changes. Nature embraces change as easily as the wind blows through a meadow of sunflowers. It’s a part of life and nature doesn’t resist change, but rebirths every time it is destroyed.

But do we humans embrace the same change as nature? Some welcome change with open arms where others resist it like a nail boarded into a wooden plank, trying to not surrender and break amidst the surrounding hurricane. Some people accept change more easily in certain areas of life, such as technology, job promotions and raises. But most fear that change from within. Why? Change is scary and most people fear confronting their inner world.

The reality is that not all change needs to be difficult and scary, but rather an adventure into an unknown land to soak up the sun and to drink up the lessons of life. One can find change by simply exiting one’s comfort zone.

Nothing grows in the comfort zone.I couldn’t help but fall in love with Australia. The Aussies enjoyed every moment of life and had a smart approach to human existence. Life was a priority before work. Australia opened my eyes to see that anything in life is possible, and encouraged my passport to accumulate more stamps. I had a long way to go, but I began to overcome the internal battles that I’d had as a young female. Yoga and writing began to help me understand my emotions.

After several yoga classes, I felt inspired to write in my journal. So far, I was enjoying yoga. I did yoga a couple times in the states, but the gym atmosphere was not inspirational. I found beauty in the graceful flow of the human body. At the end of class we’d do this deep meditation. After several sessions, I began to cry during the meditation and final relaxation. I didn’t know why, but I continued to cry. Part of it could have been the soothing, ambient music, which was so lovely it made me emotional. But I think the other realization hit me. I was in Australia!

The solo moments of me, my surfboard and the ocean twinkled in my eyes throughout the day and then I stared at the stars at night. I united with the earth and Australia in a way that I’d never thought was possible.

But it was that impeccable energy that encouraged living every day to its fullest. Australia pushed me out of my comfort zone, and inspired me to live life equipped with equal parts of work and play, although play usually won the battle. Life in Australia was a sensual blend of spiritual and sexual energy that equally balanced the yin and yang of life.

The relaxation inherent in yoga helped me with the fast-paced world that I knew. In America, we only know how to be on the go all the time and how to be stressed; in contrast, the Aussie lifestyle was “live in the now.” Yoga was telling me to have fun, as this may be the only time I was going to be in this country. It also told me to quit worrying about money and to take a break from constantly studying. Australia tangled my wounded heart into a deep love affair.

The best moments were my beach walks wearing nothing but my bathing suit, sarong, CD player and plastic headphones. Listening to inspirational beats while grounding my feet into the earth connected my soul with freedom. The sun soaked my body with energy while the rustling waves drenched my legs with happiness. With every footstep, my brain sunk deeper into a meditative oceanic state while my consciousness ascended to the Universe. I now realized that heaven on earth did exist and my soul had found it’s home.

Between surfing, nightclubbing, scuba diving, walking the beach and doing yoga, my soul rebirthed. There was no fear, but only excitement for what the future held.

Getting out of our comfort zone expands us in ways that are not imaginable. We push our boundaries and re-prioritize what we want out of life. Somewhere within life’s lessons, when we re-enter reality, we must never forget what we’ve learned.

When lost, never give up hope.Tired, exhausted and depleted, I had no connection to my soul. The life I once knew in Australia was gone. Completely gone with the wind. Nine months gone, to be exact, since I’d left Australia. Every day my life revolved around work and school, worrying about money, contemplating whether my relationship would last and yelling at the ceiling every night, begging for just two hours of sleep.

One sleepless night, I stumbled into the bathroom and ran my fingers across my head, pulling out chunks of hair. Some say stress caused hair loss, but I “knew” I had a hair disease. Stress doesn’t affect young people since we have the energy to do everything, right?

Soaked in a puddle of tears, I realized the reverse culture shock and my responsibilities had hit me harder than I realized. The new me didn’t fit into this old me environment. Plus, what would I do with this sports management degree, anyway?

Australia had opened my eyes and I now envisioned a life and career different than my original intentions. Since my life began to evolve in fitness, I began to despise the darker side of sports. But everything in my life was spiraling out of control.

Diet, exercise, thinking, working and studying. Everything was extreme. My body was tired and my mind was so lost. Some days I spent two to three hours at the gym, trying to lose the last of my “freshman 28” that I had gained. I hadn’t done yoga often, but the little I did was smashed between strength training and a cardio session at the gym. Since I was mentoring with my fitness director, I found that I naturally gravitated to yoga, again. But she said I needed to be certified in order to teach. That thought only added to my worries, as I didn’t have thousands of dollars to spend on training. Plus, my insecurities sabotaged my boyfriend’s career and what I wanted with my life.

Sitting on the bathroom floor in just a T-shirt, I stood up and looked in the mirror. I did not recognize that broken person I saw in the mirror with black circles around her eyes and rosy cheeks that were inflamed from anxiety. I felt guilty for putting a 25-year-old man through my insomniac-ridden and caffeine-addicted drama. I thought about Australia and compared it to my current situation. I kept asking myself, “Didn’t I just figure myself out and the wonders of life in Australia?” The stagnant farm-town environment and hectic schedule depleted my soul. I felt as if my current environment only inspired mediocrity.

Thirsty, I walked into the kitchen to drink a glass of water. I sat on the kitchen chair and tucked my knees underneath my T-shirt. I rested my head on my knees while my hand hugged the glass of water. After drinking, I placed the empty glass on the table.

Glancing upward, I noticed the small tapestry and wooden turtle I’d bought in Fiji just after I’d left Australia. Untucking my legs from beneath the shirt, I stood up and placed my hand on the turtle. I flashed back to the images of sitting alone on the beach, with my turtle-insignia surfboard next to me. The memories flooded my mind. I took this as a sign that I needed to slow down and it confirmed my decision to do something about my situation.

The next day, I walked to the student psychology services office. I’d become desperate for help and desperate to understand my unstable mind.

Although people can keep changing and evolving, many people seeking help opt into a structured class, workshop or seminar. Finding the “right therapeutic shoe that fits” is a trial and error process. Even if a certain therapy doesn’t help, there is still something to be learned from that experience.

I felt as if I’d consulted the world about my hair loss and my unstable mind. The campus doctor prescribed me Zoloft. My dermatologist told me to stop being a vegan and eat meat. The psychologist told me to go to a stress management group, and the light therapy doctor whose skin was as burnt as a leather handbag suggested an overly priced package of light treatment for my thinning hair. I felt hopeless, but I still had hope for natural healing.

During my night class, I fell asleep and arose several minutes before class ended. I walked out of class slowly, and as I yawned in the hallway, I looked over my right shoulder. I noticed a poster with a man standing on top of a mountain with his arms raised in the air. The poster said, “What would you do if you could do anything?” Excited, I jotted down the information and went home to research this fellowship.

After days and countless minutes of thinking about exciting trips, I thought, “What would I do if I could do anything? Hmm, I would do everything!” And that’s where the idea struck.

Thinking about my current mental state, I thought, “This is it. I want to study yoga in India.”
Find your om.Some therapies work, some don’t, but there are usually one or two modalities that work like a charm.

For many, yoga is that one therapeutic charm. It’s as if the mat is the therapist and pushes one to live one’s greatest life. Those who adopt a yoga practice cannot help but watch their life begin to organically change, just like nature.

During the first week of training, I realized I had never “done” yoga. I’d only attempted it. When fusing the mind, body and breath together, while the guru walked around with his adjustment cane, I could not help but look inward. Everything united and things began to evolve internally. Without realizing, I began to look at the world differently.

After a long day of exploring the town of Coonoor on our first day off, we yogis took a tuk-tuk back to the retreat. We drove along bumpy roads that meandered through green tea fields. I looked outside the window. I admired the beauty of this planet, fulfilled with the freedom that I desired. In that moment, I was as free as the birds that flew past the rickshaw, slowly spreading my wings, flying high to a better life.

On that very night, I looked at the ceiling, aware of strange feelings. Part of me wanted to cry but I could not release the emotions for some odd reason. I didn’t think my emotions and wanna-shed tears came from sadness; it was from the natural process of letting go. All the lessons and wisdom made complete sense, but I feared and resisted to let go of old ways. In that moment, my only feelings were hope and happiness. I became proud of myself for my choices and knew I was on the right path toward success. Closing my eyes to go to sleep, I told myself, “One week down, five more to go.”

Yoga teaches us that the destruction of something old recycles itself into something new. Like a flower, inner beauty can only blossom when one’s inner world is receptive to change and does not fear to shed away the old habits and behaviors.

Finding Om: An Indian Journey of Rickshaws, Chai, Chapattis and Gurus is a travel memoir about backpacking and studying yoga in India. Find more information about the print and e-book versions here.

Author: Elizabeth Rae Kovar
Photo: Jason James/Flickr
Editor: Jean Weiss

Original Link
http://www.elephantjournal.com/2016/03/change-is-scary-most-people-fear-confronting-their-inner-world/

About Elizabeth Kovar
Elizabeth Kovar, M.A., is an award-winning vegan fitness trainer, author of Finding Om and international freelance writer and fitness presenter for BOSU and the American Council on Exercise (ACE). Elizabeth earned a title as one of 2014 Shape.com’s “Top 50 Hottest Trainers in America” and was the first recipient of the Stuart R. Givens Fellowship to study yoga in India. Kovar studied yoga in six different countries and lived abroad in Australia (twice), India and Germany. She also instructs the community college course, Eight Limbs. Elizabeth has published over 1,000 print and online articles. She is the creator of a vegan food and travel blog and the web site, lemon tree travel.

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7 Life Questions I Answered From Studying Yoga in India

1/15/2016

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My journey with yoga officially began a decade ago. I landed in Australia on my twentieth birthday in search for a change while in college at Bowling Green State University. Yoga and Australia transformed my life to when I moved back to the US I experienced deep reverse culture shock that led to depression and chronic stress. Being sick led me to India. I needed to travel and I began my fitness career and wanted to learn yoga from the source. Yoga was my favorite exercise and I desired to learn more.

I went to India for many reasons, but like any twenty-two year old, I wanted to answer many life questions. Many, well all, of my questions were answered but some were defined years after India. Ya know, the “connecting of the dots” experience. Yoga makes one wise and look at life differently.

Without further ado, these are the many questions I wondered while roaming every rickshaw, listening to the yoga guru and sipping chai at a street side cart.

What is most important in life?
When I lived in Australia, fun in the sun was the most important thing in life. Respecting the earth, surfing the ocean and watching the lorikeets fly overhead were what really mattered. Back in the US, I felt pressured to succeed with my studies and work hard at everything. Part of this was because of the words heard from my Eastern European great grandmother and grandma. This of course, influenced my earthly and stable parents to breed me with this notion. Although it’s beneficial in many ways since a dedicated work ethic is good, but when it becomes a priority it loses its luster.

When I got sick, I could not see anything but my own deterioration of my health. My parents always said, “Nothing is greater than your own health. Without that you have nothing.” In India, I realized that our health is everything. The stress and beat downs that we put on our bodies is horrible. We treat ourselves like a machine, not accepting of rest or when we breakdown. The mind plays a major role in this, and in India they value the mind more than we do in the US. Although everyone has a different opinion, without your health you can’t do the simple pleasures of life whether that’s snorkeling on a vacation, hiking a mountain or walking to the grocery store.

Is it normal to feel like you don’t belong in your own culture?
Yes. When I moved home from Australia I felt lost. I did not identify to the work-driven "America dream" life.
Yoga taught me the spiritual reason as to why. From a spiritual perspective, if souls have lived in other parts of the planet there is a reason why you feel more at home in some parts of the world and odd in others. I think for anyone who travels extensively realizes some negative things about their own culture and they cannot relate to it. But, the important lesson is to value the positives and strengths that come from your native culture.

Pic w/ Random Family at Fathepur Shikri

Is living an unconventional life okay?
I struggled with this for along time before India. Australia exposed me to a different life where money and suit-and-tie jobs were not the most important part of life. Fast-forwarding to 2016, I think society is more accepting of this now than ever. I believe people need to do what makes them happy even if that makes them an outcast.

I’ve been an outcast most of my life. Even in fitness. Sometimes I feel like I don’t know where I belong because I can see through the smoke screen and runaway from any trends or conventional BS. In India, seeing the most unconventional country in the world made me accept my own eccentricities. India helped me "come out of the spiritual closet" as I balance logic and spirituality. It's challenging because at times, but I've never been happier revealing my true identity.

What is spirituality?
My knowledge of spirituality expanded while in India, but mostly afterwards. I believe that India was the setting point to expose me to many spiritual terms that we know today. Looking back, spirituality is the reality that we live in - souls living a human experience to learn lessons, the flow of nature, the movement of planets, the air we breathe – everything is spiritual.

In India, I believed one’s spirituality was diving within their inner world. Breaking patterns, suffering, letting go, and discovering who you really are was a part of the spiritual process.

During my journey, I wondered the difference between religion and spiritualty. I see that religion is a system under the spiritual umbrella.

Ever since I was a young teenager, I would sneak down the “New Age” aisle at Barnes and Noble and read astrology books. Today, I understand that astrology is the system that influences the human experience. I questioned why people’s personality differs and why one person went to college for art where another did for business. I believe society and culture molds us, but deep down there are innate traits that “are who we are.” I think everyone’s opinion differs on spirituality, but I came to realize in while living in Germany that good, evil and everything in between is part of this spiritual experience that we must learn from. And a lot of this experience is based on our choices and free will.

Even death is a spiritual part. My yoga guru said, “The spiritual person is not afraid to die as he or she will live again.” Although tragic deaths are hard to comprehend, when you understand spirituality you know there is a reason behind the “how.” Souls need to experience the extreme in order to learn lessons. It’s sad but true. And I better accepted the terms of death from studying yoga.

What about the bad parts of life?
One of the best lessons I learned in India is that the “bad” parts of life cannot be avoided. I understood that life is like the weather. One day is sunny. Another is cloudy. The others are a shit-storm. We cannot avoid it, but how we handle or process the emotions is key.

The bad parts are what make us grow. It sucks really, but like yin and yang, the polar opposite of good, cannot exist without the bad. It’s just the way it is.

It made me realize that blessings in disguise are some of the best things that can happen to us. If I never became an insomniac and caffeine addict, I would have never gone to India. Although I suffered for a year and a half of miserable health, it was the best thing that happened to me.

Is there such a thing as a soul mate?
I remember in my early college days watching movies and wondering about this question. India proved to me that soul mates and deeper connections exist. This ignited my understanding to the subject. Soul mates exist, but they may not always lead to a romantic relationship, which I did not understand until leaving India.

What is the purpose of life?
This is the million-dollar question that everyone wants to know. Everyone has his or her own opinion, and it took me some five to seven years after India to truly understand this. The purpose of life is to live, learn and grow. It sounds simple, but when combining human emotions its complex. I acknowledged this when I consulted the jyotish astrologer at the yoga center. If we do have a blue print or map to our life we are here to fulfill some need to the people and the planet. Although there is free will, we choose our actions – which everyone hopes it benefits society.

Elizabeth Kovar M.A. is author of her travel memoir, "Finding Om," which is about her journey through the South Pacific and India to backpack and study yoga - solo. Print and ebook versions are available on all major devices. For more information and direct links to the ebook- click here.

Donors Chris & Ellen Dalton of my fellowship to study yoga in India

Ayurveda Yoga Retreat

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a feel good travel blog

Finding Om and Yoga Behind Bars Partner to Help Change Incarcerated Lives

8 Ways Writing a Travel Memoir Liberated My Soul

Change is Scary. Most People Fear Confronting their Inner World.

7 Life Questions I Answered From Studying Yoga in India

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