{"id":18003,"date":"2025-03-12T22:49:48","date_gmt":"2025-03-12T22:49:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shop-cili.com\/?p=18003"},"modified":"2025-03-12T22:49:48","modified_gmt":"2025-03-12T22:49:48","slug":"start-your-12-week-yoga-course-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shop-cili.com\/?p=18003","title":{"rendered":"Start Your 12-Week Yoga Course Now"},"content":{"rendered":"


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In 2006, while living in New York City, I was part of a dynamic community of Yogis. We practiced every morning for 90 minutes. Our practice consisted of mantra, pranayama, asana <\/em>(the physical postures), philosophy, meditation and deep relaxation. <\/p>\n

Often, we\u2019d meet in the evenings and discuss our practices while sharing a nutritious meal. On weekends, we attended workshops and trainings through which we deepened our knowledge and strength. We didn\u2019t always open up about the most personal challenges we were going through, but we had one thing in common: We were transforming our minds, bodies, health and lives. While meeting consistently, we deeply bonded in this experience.<\/p>\n

Community gives us momentum to keep up with our practices. When we\u2019re feeling tired, down or unmotivated, our friends and community inspire us to take the time we need to rest and be alone while also encouraging us to get back up. Without this support, we risk embarking on a downward spiral and sinking into old patterns.<\/p>\n

The support we receive from community is especially important today as we\u2019re so easily distracted by our handheld devices and additional electronics offering endless streams of entertainment and other consumables. Big tech has invested billions of dollars in developing these platforms to dominate our attention and influence our thoughts, choices and actions. <\/p>\n

Through Yoga, we cultivate discipline, focus and the ability to choose what we pay attention to. Developing these skills alongside mitras and in community enriches the journey and makes it enduring.<\/p>\n

Mitra: A friend who protects you from harm<\/h2>\n
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A cornerstone of the Yogi\u2019s Way is maintaining weekly connections with a group of two to three mitras.<\/p>\n

The Sanskrit word mitra<\/em> translates as \u201cfriend.\u201d It\u2019s a combination of the root words mi<\/em>, which means \u201cdestruction,\u201d and tra<\/em>, meaning \u201cprotective force.\u201d Your mitras are friends who protect you from harm\u2014not just the dangers of the world, but the ways that we harm ourselves through our own choices, words, actions and thoughts.<\/p>\n

In the Vedas, Mitra is a deity who symbolizes honesty, friendship, contracts and meetings. In Zoroastrianism, Mithra is the protector and keeper of truth, friendship, promises and love. In Tibetan Buddhism, Maitreya is the bodhisattva known to be kind and loving.<\/p>\n

Mitras listen to us with compassion. They hold us accountable with love. They help us become aware of the ways in which we limit ourselves. Mitras support us to move through our kleshas and experience higher states of consciousness. So often, our friends can see in us what we can\u2019t.<\/p>\n

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The American Society of Training and Development found that people who have an accountability partner are 65 percent more likely to reach their goals.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n

Our mitras become our accountability partners. Without accountability, we often fail to practice consistently, and consistency is necessary for growth. The American Society of Training and Development found that people who have an accountability partner are 65 percent more likely to reach their goals. For those who set up regular check-ins with their partner, the percentage skyrockets to 95 percent. When we have someone to be accountable to and to share our experiences with, we are much more likely to stay motivated and to keep our commitments.<\/p>\n

Research from the Journal of Clinical Psychology<\/em> indicates that about 54 percent of people who attempt to shift their habits fail to sustain the transformation longer than six months. On average, individuals attempt the same personal goal 10 times without success. According to this research, the challenge isn\u2019t knowing what to do but committing to the change. The Yogi\u2019s Way mitra practice was designed to support individuals in making lasting transformations.<\/p>\n

There is a humility in journeying together on a spiritual path. We have the privilege of witnessing our mitras\u2019 process and connecting deeper with our own. No matter how much self-work we have partaken of, our human nature is to evolve. There is no end to how much we can heal, expand and deepen.<\/p>\n

In her research on the science of happiness, Dr. Sonja Lyubomirsky of the University of California, Riverside, found that those who engaged in acts of kindness towards themselves were happy in the moment, but the happiness didn\u2019t last. Those who engaged in acts of kindness towards others became happier and stayed happier for two to four weeks. Our mitras provide us this opportunity.<\/p>\n

With our mitras, we practice vulnerability and courage. Clarity is born from these exchanges. As we journey to the centre of our being, we simultaneously cultivate a connection with the creative forces of the Universe. As doors to our soul open inwardly, doors also open outwardly.<\/p>\n

Several years ago, two of my good friends, Emily and Anita, had never met and didn\u2019t even know about each other. They\u2019d separately shared with me that they were struggling in their own ways. I had a strong feeling that I had to create a circumstance where the three of us would build an alliance and help one another. I contacted them separately and explained my thoughts. <\/p>\n

We agreed to a group call, and I scheduled a Zoom session, as we were scattered across the U.S. I presented them with an idea to set up a 12-week study group to go through a specific set of Yoga practices together. It was structured with daily practices, journaling and awareness exercises, as well as with weekly calls to discuss thoughts, questions, blocks and breakthroughs. They enthusiastically agreed to try it.<\/p>\n

What happened in those 12 weeks for each of us was mind-blowing. In the past, I\u2019d done these same Yoga practices alone. The dramatic difference of practicing with my mitras was one of the most powerful experiences of my life. Our connection, intention and commitment created an otherworldly space where magic unfolded. As the weeks passed, we were sending one another quotes, inspiring one another with the small changes we were making in our daily lives, and shifting our own realities. <\/p>\n

Two of us helped the other get out of a long-term abusive relationship. Another helped one of us refine our most treasured gift and actually start sharing it with our community. Another one got her dream job after becoming crystal clear on exactly what she wanted. All of this happened in 12 weeks with three mitras.<\/p>\n

That process changed each of our lives and inspired the mitra practice that is the first pillar of the Yogi\u2019s Way. Over the years, I\u2019ve witnessed many lives completely transform through such shared experience. Our inner circle is worth its weight in gold.<\/p>\n

Week One practices<\/h2>\n
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