I remember going to my first yoga class. It was 2015, and my mental health was at its lowest. I was on antidepressants and seeing a psychologist to help me get through my first year at university. I went home for Christmas, and my sister’s friend suggested I join the local yoga class at the gym. At first, I thought...

She doesn’t get it. I don’t need to exercise.

I need help getting out of bed in the morning.

I need confidence to talk to people and make friends.

I need energy to live and do all the things people my age should be doing.

I need to learn to laugh, to have “fun,” to enjoy my life.

I need hope.

I need a miracle.

But somehow, she convinced me, and I went.

The fear of being judged is something I have struggled with all my life.

When I was 8 years old, my parents and I moved to London. I didn’t speak English, and I was the new kid in school. It wasn’t easy making friends, and kids can be cruel. Add to that the fact that I couldn’t communicate. It was tough, to say the least. I felt judged for not being able to do my homework or being the last one to be picked for group work. I think the teachers thought that I wasn’t very bright, and the kids saw as the “odd one out”.

Later on, I judged myself that my yoga classes weren’t “good enough,” “spiritual enough,” or “challenging enough.” I thought: I’m a yoga teacher; I should be able to do handstands and arm balances. I’m a yoga teacher; I should know the names of every muscle and bone in the body. I’m a yoga teacher; I shouldn’t struggle with my mental health… The constant pressure to be perfect led me to forget the true essence of yoga — the practice of self-acceptance, patience, and growth.

The lesson here is: Perfection kills joy.

When I think about our dolphin and yoga retreats, I can’t imagine a single reason why someone wouldn’t want to come. It’s a literal paradise on earth that makes you feel like you’ve died and gone to heaven. But I know that as beautiful souls inside human bodies, our minds have their own hang-ups, worries, and a need to control. So, I wanted to take a moment to address 7 of the most common concerns I hear before someone takes the leap into this transformative experience.

Something is happening.

Last October, on the last day and last swim with the dolphins on our Dolphin & Yoga retreat, something profound occurred. All the other boats had left Sataya, and it was just me and our group in the water. The dolphins were exceptionally playful, and we were swimming with them in one of the shallower parts of the reef. I was so happy to see them so happy and was really in the moment with them. One particular dolphin came close to me and started circling around me—and that’s when it happened.

Our 4th Dolphin and Yoga Retreat has come to an end, and my heart is filled with gratitude for the group of people who answered the call and co-created one of the most magical weeks of our lives. I’m grateful for the stories we shared, the laughs, the tears, the dancing, the stillness, the flow, the questions, the answers, the clarity, the sound, the music, the songs, the voices, the love, the dolphins, the Red Sea—gratitude for life itself 💜