Travel Series: Reflections from My First Yoga Adventure in Europe

When I set out on my first yoga adventure across Europe, I had no idea where the journey would take me—or how it would transform me. As I packed my bags for Madrid, Spain, the first stop on my itinerary, I carried with me dreams that were as expansive. I’d sell millions of copies after I finish my book, and teach yoga on the side. Money would come in pouring out like the emotions I put inside the book. 

For so long I thought the life I lived had to be a certain way, and once I couldn’t hold on to it anymore, I thought big, because I didn’t have anything else to lose. The shame of having my parents disappointed in me didn’t matter to me anymore. I planned on leaving them before they left me. 

I didn’t tell anyone about it, because I didn’t want anyone crushing my dreams like everyone has been doing for so long.  For twenty something years I felt everything I wanted to do was crushed by all of the things I needed to do for everyone else. The time away was the time to disconnect from it all, take away from the layers of expectations. It was honestly nice to work towards a dream. 

My journey took me to places I had only seen in pictures and felt in movies; kissing a guy on the beach when I was at a yoga surf camp in Ericeira, Portugal; sunrises drinking coffee in Helsinki Finland reading a book someone gifted me on my journey; finishing the first draft of my book in Lisbo, Portugal; the happiness I felt after teaching my first class in Stuttgart Germany. Each city became a chapter in the story of my transformation, not just as a traveller, but as a person enjoying life, and living in the moment. I felt free 

A New Reality Set in 

After completing my yoga teacher training in Spain, our instructors warned us that we were in a "yoga bubble," a safe space where we could explore and grow. But once we left, that bubble would inevitably pop, and our perspectives—and our relationships—would shift. At the time, this didn’t fully resonate with me. It wasn’t until I returned to the States that I began to understand what they meant.

I felt a culture shock when I came back. Even though I had changed, the world around me hadn’t. The people in my life, the situations I returned to, remained the same. The things that once consumed my thoughts and energy no longer held the same importance. My view of life, of people, had evolved. Even the food tasted lifeless. 

I found myself shrinking down again, deep conversations I once had, and theories I’d talk to people, felt like a foreign language to the people closest to me. Teaching yoga as a main source of income wasn’t sustainable. I continued to work on my book and self published, but nothing moved and my dreams didn’t come to a reality. 

So life set in and I moved forward. I moved to New York and became a construction manager for Tough Mudder, building obstacles around North America. I travelled to Iceland and Dorset, England for writer workshops and retreats to hone in on the art of writing. I had my plan, to move forward and my parent’s acceptance didn’t seem like a priority anymore to me in the grand scheme of things. 

The Life We Live vs. The Life We Choose

When I was growing up, my mother would talk about "Số mạng", which I interpreted as someone’s fate. (Would love to hear other people’s opinions on that word as my exposure has only been my mother.) My mother would talk about someone’s not living a successful life in her eyes, and she would say it was Số mạng, they are because it was their destiny that made it so.  

So before my yoga journey. I had that feeling ever since I was a kid so I just accepted my fate. I had this belief that it was just my "Số mạng" that I was going to die young. It was written in the cards for me to feel..... nothingness. 

Even after my yoga bubble burst and my original dream didn’t come into fruition. It wasn’t done in vain. The journey still happened, and what I essentially learned and gained was something even bigger than the dream I had. The journey gave me the strength to find the freedom and break away from the life I was living before. I was able to accept and believe in creating a path of my own. There’s a difference between The Life We Live vs. The Life We Choose. I can either accept life as it is, or work towards the life I want. 

All of the places I stayed at in Europe during my first yoga adventure

• Madrid, Spain
• Stuttgart, Germany 
• Zurich, Switzerland 
• Ereceria, Portugal 
• Lisbon, Portugal 
• Helsinki, Finland 
• Espoo, Finland