Manders Mindset

101: From Escape to Alignment: Building A Life You Love with Taylor Lorenz

• Amanda Russo • Episode 101

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In this transformative episode of Manders Mindset, Taylor, a yoga teacher, mentor, and confidence coach, joins the show to share her incredible journey of self-discovery and alignment. From traveling to over 40 countries as a full-time travel blogger to finding her purpose through yoga and self-awareness in Bali, Taylor’s story is both inspiring and deeply relatable.

Taylor introduces the concept of "practical yoga," showing how mindfulness can create balance and meaning in everyday life. She also shares actionable steps to follow your curiosity, build confidence, and craft a life that feels truly fulfilling.

If you’re ready to shift your perspective and explore how small changes can lead to big transformations, this episode is for you.

In This Episode, You’ll Uncover:

  • How travel can shift from adventure to escapism—and how to find balance.
  • The transformative power of slowing down and reconnecting with yourself.
  • Practical yoga techniques to bring mindfulness and alignment into daily life.
  • Why following your curiosity is the key to building a fulfilling life.
  • Simple actions to boost confidence and create a life you truly love.

Key Points:

[2:22] - Taylor’s journey from a driven childhood to a life of global travel.
[10:18] - When adventure turned into escapism, and how Taylor fell out of love with travel.
[18:30] - Discovering yoga in Bali and its role in Taylor’s journey to self-awareness.
[25:45] - Practical yoga: How mindfulness extends beyond the mat into everyday life.
[35:12] - The power of following curiosity and how it leads to a more fulfilling life.
[42:55] - Building confidence through small actions and embracing self-promise.

To Connect with Amanda and her Resources:

To Connect with Taylor & her Resources

Thank you for tuning in to this transformative episode of Manders Mindset! If you loved it, please rate, review, and share the podcast to inspire others. Stay curious and keep aligning with the life you love!

Speaker 1:

Welcome to the Manders Mindset Podcast. Here you'll find both monologue and interviews of entrepreneurs, coaches, healers and a variety of other people when your host, amanda Russo, will discuss her own mindset and perspective and her guest's mindset and perspective on the world around us. Manders and her guests will help explain to you how shifting your mindset will shift your life will help explain to you how shifting your mindset will shift your life.

Speaker 2:

Welcome back to another episode of Mander's Mindset. I'm your host, amanda Russo, and today we're diving into the world of self-discovery, of travel and of the power of curiosity, of travel and of the power of curiosity. Joining me today is Taylor, a yoga teacher, mentor, confidence coach, who has transformed her life from being a full-time travel blogger to helping others turn insecurities into their strengths, from her adventures across the globe to her spiritual journey in Bali. Yep, I said Bali. Taylor's journey is all about following your curiosity and finding purpose in unexpected places. Whether you're dreaming of escape, searching for balance in your life or just a little curious about yourself, this episode is for you. Now let's get into it.

Speaker 2:

Welcome to another episode of Amanda's Mindset, and I am here today with an amazing guest who I am so excited to speak to because we connected on quite a few topics. I am here with Taylor today, and she is a yoga teacher, a mentor and a confidence coach who helps women evolve their insecurities into their purpose and compassion into courage. She teaches what she calls practical yoga. That helps modern yogis deal with real life off the mat, from the mundane daily tasks to life's most complicated moments without needing to drop into child's pose. She's a former full-time travel blogger who fell out of love with her dream of traveling the world. When she fell in love with yoga and her self-acceptance journey, it took her on. Today, taylor passes on her teachings through her various programs, yoga classes, workshops and writing on her own platforms and publications such as Yoga Journal.

Speaker 2:

Thank you so much for joining me. Thank you for having me. I'm excited to be here. So can you take us down memory lane a little bit? Tell us a little bit about your childhood upbringing, family dynamic, however deep you want to go with that.

Speaker 3:

Oh yeah, going way back. Okay, I guess I can start with. I've always been a very like type A go-getter, like the always wanted to have perfect grades, student sort of thing, and I really thrived in places where I was doing really well. I was a really busy child. I had lots of opportunities to try lots of things. I did competitive horseback riding. I did competitive dance, I tried cheerleading very briefly and I was like this is not for me. I tried a lot of things.

Speaker 3:

I also played sports like rugby and field hockey when I was in high school and then I ended up moving away from home to go to college and I went to film school and even when I was there, I loved it. I loved taking more of a leadership role. I loved the production management, the producer side of everything, and I loved the creativity. I was switching what I wanted to become once I graduated from film school, like every five minutes. It was a sound editor and then it was a picture editor and I was all over the place so much fun to work in big groups with lots of people and be creative. And then when I graduated from that, I was like you know what I got a taste for the producing side of things. I worked in a production office in Toronto and I was like this is very male dominated. I don't like it. It wasn't a great place to be. It was very off putting and I decided that I was going to go travel the world instead. So I went on a 30-day Contiki tour and Contiki is a travel company that's known for having lots of parties. It was wild, it was a lot of fun, I had the time of my life and when I got home I was like, okay, how can I do this for the rest of my life? Not the party, but how can I travel the world for the rest of my life and how can I make this a career? So there's me on Pinterest and I figured out that you could become a yoga not a yoga teacher. You could teach English anywhere in the world and make money doing it and get to travel around. So I decided I was going to do that and I went and I taught English in Thailand. I was there for three months and ended up buying my way out of my contract because I didn't love it. It was super disappointing, but they made me some promises that there was going to be other teachers there never was. It ended up being a very isolating experience. I'm super happy that I had it and super happy that I was able to walk away and say, like this is not for me, I'm good. I ended up becoming a travel blogger. I was writing for an Australian travel website for a long time while I was building my own travel blog and I ended up making my full-time income off of it, which was really exciting. I got to travel around the world. I was having the time of my life. It was my absolute dream.

Speaker 3:

As you mentioned in my introduction, I ended up falling out of love with travel. I ended up being really exhausted. I was tired of having the same conversations with every single person when are you from? What do you do? Where have you been? And it's all very exciting at first, but after a couple of years I was like, okay, I'm bored. I want some more depth in my relationships. What am I actually using travel for? Ended up taking my yoga teacher training, fell in love with yoga, decided I wanted to pursue teaching yoga and becoming a coach as well, and that's where I am now.

Speaker 2:

What made you decide to take the yoga teacher training?

Speaker 3:

Just my own curiosity. I had started slowing down a little bit in traveling. I was living in Bali. I was practicing at a yoga studio there. I said you know what, maybe there's something to this, maybe I can learn a little bit more about yoga to help me learn more about myself. When I was living in Bali, I went down the whole spiritual personal development route, as you do when you're living in Bali. I was like the walking cliche, the travel blogger living in Canggu, like I look back and I just laugh at myself. Still love Bali, we still go back and I love all of this for you.

Speaker 3:

I love this you, I love this, and so I took yoga to deepen my own practice and I was really self-conscious at the time, without realizing I was as self-conscious. I didn't think I was as self-conscious at the time as when I look back now I'm just like, ooh, there was lots of signs. Girl wasn't very confident at all and yoga really helped me get more comfortable with my body first, and then eventually my mind, and it was a very eye-opening experience. I was like, well, if it's done this for me, I of course want to go and help other people do it as well. I have pivoted my cliche towards yoga teacher becoming a yoga teacher as well, so I am not unaware of that. I think it's hilarious. I think it's something that we can really lean into and we can understand that these cliches have reason as to why so many people are drawn to them because people need them now you were doing yoga in Bali.

Speaker 2:

Have you done yoga prior to that?

Speaker 3:

yeah, I had practiced on and off for years. I would even practice it at home. I'm from Ottawa, Canada and so it was something that I did regularly here and there. And then when I decided I was going to do my yoga teacher training, I made the decision. I was like I have to practice minimum three times a week for three months leading up to my training, and that was enough to get me going. And then even some people in my training they're like oh, I started yoga, like last week, and I was like and you're doing?

Speaker 3:

all of this now. I was super impressed. I'm not one of those people. I need practice.

Speaker 2:

Okay, I gotcha Now. Were you into anything like yoga? Wise spirituality, wise growing up?

Speaker 3:

No, not really. I have a dance background. A lot of dancers end up going into yoga, so it makes sense for that. And now I will say going back into yoga, I did not have the flexibility as what I had when I was a dancer, so I had to regain all of that flexibility again. But it's a much deeper level of movement when you're practicing yoga. There's so many other aspects to it other than that you don't get with dance.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I've never heard that before, but you know, I was involved with dance all growing up and then kind of made the transition to yoga myself as well. Why do you think that is?

Speaker 3:

I think just the sensation that you get being a dancer like being able to stretch into all these poses feels really good in the body and it's such a beautiful way to express yourself and be creative and whether you're on stage or not, you can just be doing it like at home in your own living room. There's just something that you feel when you're able to move your body so openly, and we find that in yoga as well.

Speaker 2:

That's true. So how was yoga teacher training in Bali?

Speaker 3:

Incredible. I had a breakdown, but it was incredible. When you do your yoga teacher training in person, it's pretty normal for you to have a breakdown at some point. I was waking up at like 5 am so I could get in my little morning routine before I drove to the villa that I was learning at and you're starting your first yoga practice of the day at like 7 am and it's just like go for like three weeks solid and I know trainers are always trying to figure out a way to help balance it for students and every group of students is so different. But it's kind of like one of those breakdowns that's needed in order to have your breakthrough. And it was a really eye-opening experience for me to be like okay, I push myself too hard, too much of myself, I need to slow down in this a little bit, and that's been a very long lesson.

Speaker 2:

I've continued learning since, but that was a big start of it so you realized that in the training that you needed to slow down yes, not quite so clearly, but I understood that there needed to be a little bit of a break.

Speaker 3:

So we were offered free time right away and we could choose to study or just do our own thing or go out with the group. And that was one of the first times where I really was conscious with myself and said I'm gonna take a step back and not go out with the group and I'm just gonna sit here by the pool and chill, because clearly I need it. I was just bawling my eyes out because someone asked me a question. It was not a triggering question at all. I was just so tired and exhausted that I was like okay, I can't take on anymore oh my gosh.

Speaker 2:

Okay, you said you lived in bali for a couple years no, not for a couple years.

Speaker 3:

I would stay for a couple of months on and off, for I think it was about two to three years, remember. I would go for a couple of months at a time and just set up base, have a little bit of a community there, meet some new people, whether they were spiritual yoga teachers, travel bloggers there were so many travel bloggers that lived in Bali. It was just really nice to have a home base for a bit but also still feel like I was exploring, because you could just take a day trip and go drive to the beautiful rice fields that you see all over Instagram, or go explore like a new town or go to the beach Like it still felt exotic. I'm from Canada, so having a home at the same time was really beautiful and much needed.

Speaker 2:

Okay, so you were going back to Canada in between, like, while you were also sometimes going to Bali.

Speaker 3:

Sometimes I'd go back home to Canada. Sometimes I'd go traveling a little bit again because I didn't yet fully realize that I needed to completely slow down. There was so much resistance that I had with myself of like my identity was oh, I'm Taylor the traveler, that's what everyone knows me, as this is all I know how to do. I've never had a full-time job. I went straight out of college and was like, okay, I'm gonna figure out how to make this travel stuff work, my freelance on the side, until I didn't make it work. So when I turned around, I was like what do I do? This is my dream. Who am I without this?

Speaker 2:

hmm, okay, and approximately how old were you when you came to that question?

Speaker 3:

I started probably thinking about this when I was maybe about 25 26 okay, yeah, okay.

Speaker 2:

And then what was your next step? That first thought?

Speaker 3:

ignore it and keep traveling. I remember I was sitting in Ireland, I was traveling around the country for a month and then I ended up talking to a friend who was living in Bali and I was like that sounds really nice. So I continued traveling around Europe for a few more months, went home and then decided I was going to go over to Bali and see what was going on there. I lasted a month being still in Bali and I went and traveled around the islands and then I was so tired I went home Like I had to learn this lesson. I'm extremely lucky and so happy that I had all of these experiences. I would still do them all over again, even being tired, but I had to learn it again and again that slowing down was the answer.

Speaker 2:

And did you have any big moments of learning that slowing down was the answer?

Speaker 3:

Maybe when I was in Lombok, which is an island close to Bali, and I remember sitting in this hostel and there's all these surfers. I am not a surfer, I don't know what I was doing staying at a surfing hostel, and I was just like the only thing I want to do right now is to go home and be in my own bed, not sleeping on some mattress on a floor in a hostel that I'm taking for. So that, I would say, was probably one of my really big moments of just like okay, travel is not it. Or another one that comes to mind was when I was in Madrid. This was perhaps a year or so later and I was like you know what? I'm going to stay in Madrid for a week Really big deal at the time, because I didn't stay anywhere ever for a week.

Speaker 3:

I needed to go. I was constantly moving places, like every two to three days, full time travel, always on the go and I got to Madrid and I was like, oh, I'm going to find a yoga class. I wonder if they offer yoga classes in English. And I found one in the park. It was so relaxing. The next day, I just laid on a bench in a park and I read like I just felt normal because I wasn't running around trying to see like all the famous paintings at museums or doing all the day trips that you needed to do. I, of course, did what I wanted to do, but I don't think I walked into a single museum that entire week. I mostly just chilled and talked to people, remembered what it was like to just be a normal, non-traveling person.

Speaker 2:

Okay Now you mentioned earlier you got sick of having the same conversations when traveling, so you weren't making that deep of relationships to have deeper conversations.

Speaker 3:

When you're only staying in a place for two to three nights, your depth of conversation with people only gets so far. Yeah, you can like dive in deep, like really quick, but you're still missing a connection with someone that can only be developed over time. You eventually knew that you were going to be walking away, going somewhere else new, or this person was going to be walking away Maybe I traveled with people for a week or two, was going to be walking away. Maybe I traveled with people for a week or two, but it was all temporary and I knew that. So there was always a piece of me that like held back a little bit.

Speaker 2:

That makes sense. Approximately how long ago did this traveling stop for you?

Speaker 3:

So I was. I won't say I was content to keep doing it. I still wasn't fully listening. In the whole slowing down I was partly Before COVID hit. I was like you know what? I'm going to stay in Bali for six months. This was my goal for myself. Six months in one spot. This was huge. I found myself a room in a villa and four days later I was flying back home to Canada because COVID was in full swing and our prime minister was like okay, if you're abroad, you need to come home. Everyone was like fleeing Bali and I was like okay, I'm not quite sure what's happening, I'm going to go home, just in case. And I had myself a ticket back home within like 24 hours.

Speaker 2:

Have you been traveling since then?

Speaker 3:

To be honest, not really. It has been a little bit of a rocky road trying to find the balance between finding this sense of home and being home and traveling. Living in Canada is expensive, I'll be honest, and it doesn't always work with the lifestyle that I had before and I don't want the lifestyle that I had before. But I am super grateful for I'm not going to say for COVID. What I got out of the pause that was forced upon us is what helped me pivot towards yoga, towards what I'm doing now, towards actually trying out this whole settling down and seeing what it feels like, because I was using travel as a way to escape as well. I used it to run away from my insecurities insecurities that I had with my body, insecurities that people didn't like me, insecurities that I was only cool or loved or needed if I was like providing all this free travel content for people online, really living like the influencer lifestyle.

Speaker 3:

And when I got forced to come back to Canada and to settle down, all of that kind of like rushed at me and I was like, okay, yoga is what's actually helping me get through this, not so much the travel, because you could like trauma, dump on anyone you met traveling and get deep really quick, but, like I said, they're just going to walk away the next day and you're just like left with your thoughts again. No one wants to be your therapist. You can have those conversations. It happened all the time. We opened up really quick to people and then you just left and you're like okay.

Speaker 2:

And repeat it's interesting. You say that because at first I was like that's a little surprising to me, but now I actually met someone that I kind of connected with on the flight to go to Bali. I was there for two weeks and we connected and you would think I knew this individual for like 10 years, with everything we said in this. I know a seven hour flight is long, but I know a lot about this individual, like more than I know about some of my close friends, and I'm like sitting back and I'm like did I tell this random ass man that I may never see again, like all of this life story?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, it happens. It happens and it can feel like you're really close to that person, but at the end of the day, it's really the length, the keeping in touch, that helps us to create these bonds that really last. And I have friends that I thought I was so close with. We live on different continents now. Actually, one lives in the US, not too far from me, and still that distance, even though we were so deep with each other, that distance has not created that bond that really lasts a lifetime and we don't really talk anymore, like sure, we'll meet up if we're in the same place again. But there was still a depth missing, because it's not something that stays around, and that's what I was missing from traveling. Because we're human, we need connection on many different levels that's true.

Speaker 2:

You know, when we talked before, you had mentioned, like, about travel as being an escape. But even how like society kind of emphasizes that you like you work all your life or not all your life, like all year for these two weeks. So you bust your ass Monday through Friday, nine to five, or whatever it is. You're working for a little bit of time, a little bit of freedom that you get.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, in North America especially, the way travel is advertised to us is it's a getaway, it's an escape, it's like, okay, well, what are we escaping from our lives that we're so miserable in? Yeah, most of the time, for a lot of us and even though I did love my life, traveling every new destination was like escaping the last one, because it was just new, it was fresh, it was something exciting to do, always chasing after something, and then if I got bored I'd just move on, or I didn't even give myself the opportunity to get bored. Most of the time I was just already moving on, keeping with my two to three days in each destination schedule. So this idea that travel is a form of escapism is something that's really ingrained in us and I don't think it's necessarily healthy. Do I think we need to escape from our day-to-day lives sometimes? Yes, we need change all the time.

Speaker 3:

It's so healthy to get away and to come back and be refreshed of your surroundings again. Like I love my bed, I love it. If I leave it for a couple of days and come back, I love it 10 times more. If I leave for a month and come back, I love it 100 times more. We do need to get away. Travel is healthy, it's good, but if we only see it as something to escape the life that we may not necessarily like for ourselves, then that, I think, is where it's not really healthy. We should also be working on creating lives, wherever we are, that we love most of the time at least so.

Speaker 2:

do you have any suggestions to create lives that we love most of the time?

Speaker 3:

Well, that's where yoga comes in Doing a daily practice, setting yourself up, setting your energy up for the day, even if it feels like there's a lot of resistance to your practice every morning, finding a way around that resistance. Like, I do my yoga practice every morning and it can be 10-15 minutes sometimes, because I'm like this is setting me up for my day, to make sure my day can be as beautiful, as impactful, as nourishing or exciting as possible, so I can walk into my day feeling more fulfilled, more energized, whatever it is that I want to feel that day. If I'm tired, I can use yoga to help combat that. If I'm tired, I'm also using yoga to be aware of that, because one of the biggest things in yoga that a lot of people don't realize is svadhyaya, which is self-awareness, self-y, being able to understand yourself and know what you need, being able to care for yourself in the moment. That's what helps make a life that you really love, and sometimes that might be you know what I really need a vacation to Bali or anywhere. I know I need this.

Speaker 3:

This is what happened to me earlier this year. I hadn't taken a vacation yet I'm like I need a vacation. I need to get something in the calendar. Next day I had my flight booked to New York City. It's nothing big, it's just four days away, okay. But that was an act of yoga in itself, because I was self-aware of what I needed okay, because you were self-aware of what you needed.

Speaker 2:

Okay, so that kind of makes me think of you. Posted on Instagram about you started asking yourself what you want.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, oh yeah, this is completely tied. In. Every single morning, when I sit down at my computer to start work, I say what do I want to do today? That's not work related. Of course, I ask myself what I want to do with my work as well, but I also it's non-negotiable for me to ask myself what do I actually want to do today?

Speaker 3:

And usually it's something really simple, like it could be as basic as I'm going to go sit at a cafe today and buy myself a latte while I do my work, or usually it's. I'm going to add like an extra 10, 20 minutes to my midday walk. I want a really long, luxurious walk today. Really basic things that actually make a huge difference, because we don't allow ourselves to do these little things, to have these. There's all this trend of like oh, get yourself a little treat. What little treat do you actually want today? Is it something that someone has marketed to you or is it what you actually want? Yet when we're on vacation, we're like giving ourselves all the time all the little treats, everything that we want. I'm just I don't know about you guys, but when I'm on vacation, I'm just like I'm on vacation, I'm allowed to get it, doesn't matter what it is.

Speaker 2:

That was me with everything Bali. The money is different and I spent four days just putting my debit card in things, not even knowing the correlation difference, and just checking my bank app later finding out what I paid.

Speaker 3:

But why can't we do that for ourselves in our day-to-day lives as well? Not to that extreme. Of course you have to be responsible, but why don't we give ourselves these little treats all throughout the day? No one's telling you how to feel. You don't have to live by what emotions come up If you're not feeling great. Maybe you need a breath practice. Maybe you need yoga for five minutes. Maybe you do need that sweet little treat. Maybe you just need to get outside. How can you actually create a life at home that you don't want to escape from on a daily basis?

Speaker 2:

That is a good question, you know, I think, in terms of what do we want? I think so many people don't take the time to, whether it's verbally asking themselves or even just sitting and thinking and asking that to themselves. You know, we're so low.

Speaker 3:

We live in a culture that keeps we keep ourselves so busy and there's nothing wrong with being busy as long as you like it with being busy as long as you like it or are you using busy to run away from all the things that you don't actually want to think about, to ignore all the ways that you know that you should be caring for yourself?

Speaker 3:

almost anything could be used as an escape yes, even yoga can be used as an escape. Oh, I'm gonna go to a yoga class. The yoga teacher is going to tell me what to do, so I don't have to think. Did you actually want to go to that yoga class, though? Did you want to practice of svadhyaya, which is a yoga term that helps us learn to study ourselves? And this is something that I, even before I practiced yoga. I got really obsessed with like constantly analyzing myself, and it got to the point where I was like okay, I know I do this and this. What's next? How do I make a change? How do I not feel like this? Like I was so aware of everything that I was doing and who I was being Like. I knew that I was traveling for escapism, but I was just like what do I do from here? How do I stop? And then this is where I started learning about tapas another yoga term and I like to think of this.

Speaker 3:

Tapas is like, often referred to as like heat or discipline. I think of it as shifting your focus, like what do I need to focus on right now? Where do I need to draw my attention to? Because where your attention is your energy flows or whatever that saying is where your focus is. That's what you're paying attention to. Where do you want it to be so?

Speaker 3:

If you're going about your day to day saying like oh my God, my finances are terrible and that's all you're focusing on all the time. Or oh my God, my husband was so annoying today. Or I stubbed my big toe, toe, oh my gosh, there's so much pain, my whole day is ruined. How many times have you stubbed your toe and just been like miserable for the next hour because you were pissed that you stumbled into something, probably because you were in a bad mood to begin with? Anyways, we can choose when to shift our focus whenever we want. Set yourself aware first what do I want? What do I actually want in this moment? Maybe, when you stub your toe, you're like what do I want? I just stubbed my toe, I'm mad. What do I actually want in this moment? I'm going to shift my focus to. I actually just want to sit down and watch TV. I don't want to go to work today.

Speaker 3:

Maybe you have to go to work. Maybe you stop for a coffee before you go to work, like all these things are so small that we can do. And all of these are practicing yoga off of the mat, what I call the practical yoga, because so many people believe that yoga is just going to the studio or putting on a YouTube video and flowing through some sequence Wonderful, amazing. Keep doing that. How can you bring what you're learning on the mat off? How can you bring the joy that you find in the beautiful sensations that you have in a posture off of the mat as well?

Speaker 3:

We're told all the time in a yoga practice or I like to say, at least when I'm guiding students through is maybe you have your arms up, maybe you have your hands on your hips, maybe you come down to child's pose instead of flowing through a chaturanga. Yet in real life, off of the mat, we're not giving ourselves the options. It's just oh, I have to go to work, I have to do this today, and we don't take a second to pause, to slow down, to pause to slow down.

Speaker 2:

So the work example, would you say that pausing will help you realize what to make the situation better or to not do the thing.

Speaker 3:

Gives us an opportunity to decide what direction we do want to go in. It gives you the opportunity to question okay, how can I handle this situation without overanalyze? I mean, you could totally overanalyze, but how do you actually want to handle the situation? So we can look at this as an example of maybe like an argument with a partner. You're arguing over the dishes not being done. Can you zoom out and take a pause and just ask yourself do I want to continue yelling at my partner right now, even though I've told him a million times this is how the dishes get put away, or whatever it is you're arguing about, or that it's his responsibility to do dishes on Tuesday, whatever? Or do I want to be someone who's calm? Do I want to focus in on the things that he does do that I really love.

Speaker 3:

That pause is what gives you space to decide how you want to create the life that you don't want to escape from. And that pause isn't easy. I'll let you in on that now. It's not easy. So if you think you're going to walk away from this podcast and be like, okay, I got this, yes, go try, absolutely. But if you come against a brick wall, you feel like you're smashing your head there, like how am I not getting past? I was there for years. You don't have to be. Luckily, there's lots of tools that yoga can give us. Just asking yourself that question what do I want and what do I want to feel Are kind of like these yoga hacks to help us feel better in each and every moment.

Speaker 2:

Now you talk a lot about practical yoga and embodying yoga off of the mat. Have you always believed in that?

Speaker 3:

yoga off of the mat. Have you always believed in that? Only because I didn't really know how to do it or what to do. So I always thought yoga was just the physical practice, asana as it's called, and it is actually the third limb in the eight limbs of yoga, which is from yoga philosophy, and I didn't know that there was really more to yoga. Like, I mean, I knew that there was like a spiritual side. I knew that there was like some talking and stuff that people did. But until I did my yoga teacher training, I was just like okay, cool, I'm on the mat, I'm practicing yoga, that's all there is.

Speaker 3:

Oh, yoga teacher training is really what started helping me open up to these, because I was really interested in the spiritual side as well. I was like what's going to help me? I was always curious about the hacks, like what's a faster way to get to something? Can I like manifest this? Like I was really into manifestation for a little while and then I was like no one talked to me about manifestation. I'm so over this word. And now I'm just like okay, I see how this is playing into yoga as well. Honestly, yoga, I believe, truly has all the answers. If you have a question, I can direct you to something in yoga and say you need to think about this.

Speaker 2:

There's nothing you think yoga can't answer.

Speaker 3:

Well, because yoga is really a lifestyle. It's a way to help us think. It's a way to help us realize our potential, our purpose, to discover what feels good, what doesn't. To be physically able, in our bodies, to connect with the community a higher power, if you choose to believe in one. There are so many different angles, so many different life lessons you can learn from yoga, and that's why it's a lifelong study.

Speaker 2:

Would you say this has aided in increasing your confidence?

Speaker 3:

Oh, absolutely Absolutely. It all started with when I took my yoga teacher training and I remember this moment so clearly. There was a festival before the training started that we were all invited to as people who are a part of this round of the program. And in Bali, beautiful people are walking around everywhere super fit bodies, lean, like what you would expect, what you see on Instagram it's like a walking Instagram ad around there for sure.

Speaker 3:

And as someone who is in a larger body, I felt very uncomfortable and even before I started my yoga teacher training at this festival, it's like even just a day before, I was wearing my yoga leggings, sports bra and then I had like a yoga top over as well, so my midriff was covered. I like to keep myself covered because, like, my belly is like my self-conscious area. I didn't want anyone to see it and it was so hot. I had to think to myself in that moment and say, do I want to continue wearing this shirt, hiding myself away, or am I going to let myself be a little bit more comfortable in this heat for the sake of a little bit of discomfort? And at the same time, I didn't know if the discomfort would actually be real or not Because I didn't know if the people around me were actually judging me or not. It was me thinking that other people didn't want to see my body. It was me thinking that other people didn't want to see my body. So I literally took off my shirt and just walked around in my sports bra and my yoga leggings like everyone else did, and it felt really good.

Speaker 3:

And later that day I had someone walk up to me and say like hey, I really like your outfit, you look really good. I was like there you go. My energy was already drawing people in. I was already proving to people around me that I could be confident just as I was. So that was a huge shift for me, just like signing up for the training and knowing that I was going. My confidence was already shifting. Then, once I started doing the training, I started realizing that a lot of things in yoga yes, my fat, my belly fat, was stopping me in some ways, but a lot of things I couldn't do just because I have short arms and that's just how I'm built. Every pose is different for every single person and once I started understanding that and that some poses just literally aren't meant for my body, there was ways that I could adjust. I was able to become more confident.

Speaker 2:

And how do you realize that about the different ways to do the poses?

Speaker 3:

That's your whole anatomy section when you're going through yoga teacher training. It's the main focus on your first 200-hour training. A lot of anatomy. It's a very Western focus, but it's very eye-opening as well but it's very eye-opening as well.

Speaker 2:

Now I'm curious. I want to transition a tad, but I know you fell out of love with the traveling, but I know you've been to I believe it was 40 countries I have. Yes, which was your?

Speaker 3:

favorite In Asia Bali, of course, because I haven't mentioned it enough in this podcast and in Europe Europe. I really love Portugal. I could see myself living there.

Speaker 2:

That's awesome. I think it's so cool that you made this shift and that you experienced yoga teacher training in Bali, because I've even been looking at that myself. So when you said that to me prior, I was like wow, synchronicity. But I love the way you flowed with this and just flowing with what you wanted, what worked, and flowing away from what didn't.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, and you say flow, like it was effortless.

Speaker 2:

There was a. I know it wasn't. I know it wasn't.

Speaker 3:

But at the same time, there was always something that was like poking and prodding at me, being like this is not the right direction for you. Like if you keep thinking of something, if something keeps bothering you, like yoga teacher training. Like for months it was like I think you're interested in this. I think you're interested in this. I'm like why would I be interested in yoga teacher training? What am I to do with that? It wasn't practical to me at the time and eventually I was like okay, take my money, I'm signing up, I'm going and look at where it led me. Like there's a reason why things poke at us, there's a reason why we keep seeing these signs and I truly believe now that the world needs yoga. I believe everyone needs to travel, everyone needs to go see as many parts of the world as they can. I believe that everyone needs yoga because it's how we create amazing lives for ourselves.

Speaker 2:

I like how you mentioned about it poking at us. You know, I think that happens to a lot of us, regardless of what area of life, where we just get these subtle, like whether you want to call them signs, whether you want to call them intuitive feelings, whatever it may be that like you should do this, you should do this, you should do this, you should do this. Even like you with the yoga teacher training, and you're like why, what do I need that for? You know, like it's not always logical, but it's just like, hey, by the way, you should do this and it'll almost make sense. After the fact, or down the line, you get that like oh, this is why I needed to do X, y, z, follow your curiosity Always.

Speaker 3:

It makes us interesting, interesting people, it makes your life interesting. If you're curious about something, go after it. I love interesting people. No one wants to have a boring conversation. At least I don't. That is so true that.

Speaker 2:

I completely agree with that. Some people think I make irrational decisions. I want to live for the story. Sometimes I live for the plot. I'm going to be that 80-year-old grandma that's going to be like yo guess what I did at 27. And my grandkids are going to be like, wow, that's pretty cool.

Speaker 3:

And you know what? It doesn't always have to be something big and grand either. Yeah, exactly Suddenly last year I started reading Romantasy. Out of nowhere I got sucked into Akatar, guilty, and went down that whole route. That was completely unexpected. I was like the self-help, like personal development, like memoir. I'm like I don't want to read a story if it's not real. I was so judgmental about that. And then I had some friends who were reading this and I'm like I don't want to read a story if it's not real. I was so judgmental about that. And then I had some friends who were reading this and I was like, oh, why am I curious about this? Why am I interested about this? And it took me down this. I don't know how many romantic series I've read now, but it brought me so much joy. And now I can spark up a conversation with anyone about books of all different genres.

Speaker 2:

I love how you mentioned it doesn't have to be a big thing. You know, all this talk of yoga, it just made me this is super random, but it made me think of this Like three years ago I don't know if in Canada they do this, but they have goat yoga out in the United States in different areas. I've always wanted to do it for the longest time. I had different friends, family members, my mom, everybody and their brother. I'll go with you, I'll go with you. No, it never happened. I dated this guy. He wanted to go. We never went. He used to do things himself.

Speaker 2:

And then one year I was like I'm just going to go it. And then one year I was like I'm just going to go. It's like 45 minutes away. But you know what? I booked it and I just got in the car and I went. It was three years ago and no one's still gone with me. But you know what? I'm still so glad I went to goat yoga. It's not a huge grand old thing, it's not fucking Bali, but I'm still glad I just went, you know.

Speaker 3:

You know it's something like silly to laugh about and to think back on, and that's also a confidence boost as well. You went by yourself and now you have that memory, even if it's just with you. That's a huge confidence boost and I don't think people understand that, like your confidence is built from taking action of any kind. Me showing up on this podcast is building my confidence, and showing up on camera on using my voice this could be really grand to someone as well doesn't even have to be like this. Maybe you go eat at a restaurant by yourself brings you more joy. Maybe that's what you need for your self-care that day. That's your yoga practice, going out to dinner and you're boosting confidence, being by yourself.

Speaker 3:

There's so many ways to really create these like fabulous, fun, exciting lives that have so much joy. We just need to follow those little nudges, follow the curiosity, follow what interests us, because you never know what it's going to lead to and you don't know what your timeline is. You don't know when, when, what is going to happen. But we all got timelines that we think we need to follow and I've learned that it doesn't matter how closely I try and follow my made up timeline, it's not going to happen. Something else is always going to come in, and that's being able to let go of control, which is a whole other skill.

Speaker 2:

That could be an entire podcast episode, because, yes, letting go of control is a skill and, yes, it relates back to yoga. I love how you mentioned taking action on anything, though you know I emphasize that a lot. It's been over a year now but I started making my bed every single morning something so small, but keeping that promise to myself that I'm going to do this action and following through with the action that I said. It increases confidence because you're showing yourself you're doing the thing, even if it's small it's following through in your promises to yourself, like I don't know about you.

Speaker 3:

but if I promise someone something like I'm going to be somewhere about a certain time or that I'd have a document to them or whatever, it is 100% I was going to follow through. But promises to myself so much easier to brush off. Until I realized that I was breaking my own promises. I started looking at it from that perspective. I was like, oh, I'm not treating myself very well. I never treat a friend like that. Why would I do that to myself?

Speaker 2:

I think that's a great way to see how you're treating yourself is asking would you do this to your friend? Would you do this to your child? Would you do this to somebody else, like somebody you're close with? And if you wouldn't, why are you doing it to yourself? And if you wouldn't, why are you doing it to yourself? Absolutely. Have you heard of a man named Jay Shetty? I have, so he's got a podcast called On Purpose. He ends most of his episodes I don't know if it's all of them with these two segments and I've incorporated them into my podcast. The first one is the many sides to us. There's five questions, and they need to be answered in one word each. What is one word someone who was meeting you for the first time would use to describe you as?

Speaker 3:

Interesting.

Speaker 2:

What is one word that someone who knows you extremely well would use to describe you as? Exciting okay, number three. What is one word you'd use to describe yourself? Fabulous, love that. What is one word that, if someone didn't like you or agree with your mindset, would you use to describe you as?

Speaker 3:

It's I like that one. So many words are coming to mind, one word I'm working to embody right now, like calm in the chaos, I think of Then.

Speaker 2:

the second segment is the final five, and these can be answered in up to a sentence.

Speaker 3:

What is the best advice you've heard or received? I think follow the curiosity like we were talking about earlier.

Speaker 2:

Okay, why do you say that's the best?

Speaker 3:

Because it keeps you always moving forward.

Speaker 2:

What is the worst advice you've heard or received?

Speaker 3:

Probably just be confident, like it's easy to just be something that you haven't practiced.

Speaker 2:

What is something that you used to value that you no longer value? Being busy longer value being busy. If you could describe what you would want your legacy to be, as if someone were reading it.

Speaker 3:

what would you want it to say? Taylor taught me blank. Whatever it is, I love being a teacher, so it doesn't matter what someone learns from me.

Speaker 2:

if I can pass on anything, that's all I hope for If you could create one law in the world that everyone had to follow, what would it be? And I want to know why.

Speaker 3:

One law. Do something different or go somewhere new at least once a month. Get out of your comfort zone as often as you can, because that's how we learn, that's how we grow. Without growth, we're stagnant, we're boring. We always need growth, whether that's as an individual, as a society, as a community.

Speaker 2:

It's always needed well, thank you so much. Now, where can the listeners connect with you?

Speaker 3:

thank, you for having me. Yes, I am on youtube. You can practice with me at Taylor's Tracks. I'm on Instagram also as Taylor's Tracks and my website. You can find all of my travel information, as well as lots on yoga. It's taylorstrackscom Tracks spout T-R-A-C-K-S.

Speaker 2:

Okay, perfect, and I will link all of that in the show notes. And now, before we close out, no pressure whatsoever, but I do like to leave the floor to the guest If there's anything else you want to share with the listeners. No pressure whatsoever, but any final words? Mm-hmm.

Speaker 3:

Other than follow your curiosity. I encourage you to see curiosity. I encourage you to see yoga, and your life is just something more than what it currently is. There's always somewhere something that can be explored, whether it's your internal landscape or the external landscape around you.

Speaker 2:

Always explore oh, that's beautiful. Well, thank you so much. I really appreciate it.

Speaker 2:

Thank you, I've had a blast me too, and thank you guys for tuning in to another episode of meander's mindset. Thank you guys for tuning in to such an inspiring conversation with taylor. Here are some key mindset-shifting takeaways to carry with you. First of all, follow your curiosity. Lean into what sparks your interest, no matter how small or how big it is. It's often the first step towards discovering something bigger about ourselves. Something bigger about ourselves. Second, build a life that you love instead of escaping, and focus on creating a daily routine, daily rituals that bring you joy and align with your values.

Speaker 2:

The real transformations happen in the day-to-day how you spend your mornings, your daily routine and the power of the pause. Taking even a brief moment to reflect or reset can help you approach challenges with clarity and intention. And intention. The power of pausing, even in celebratory moments, can really help us show up in a more present and grounded mindset and state of being. Confidence is built. It's not found Through. Small actions like keeping promises to yourself can create a ripple effect that will boost your self-esteem over time. If you don't keep promises to yourself, you're decreasing your confidence, whether you realize it in the moment or not. You're showing yourself that you can't rely on the one person you should be able to rely on yourself. And the last key takeaway is yoga for everyday living, and to think of yoga as more than just movement, more than just stretching and moving your body, your body, allow its principles to guide your mindset and help you find balance, calm and awareness in your daily, everyday life. These shifts aren't about doing a complete 180 overnight. They are small, actionable steps you can weave into your life one day at a time, one breath at a time.

Speaker 2:

Thank you so much for tuning in to an episode of Amanda's Mindset. If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to leave a rating, review, share the podcast. If you're on YouTube, subscribe, like the episode, leave a comment and share it with anybody you think would benefit from hearing this. And thank you, guys, so much for over a year of Me and Do's Mindset, over 80 guests, over 100 episodes. Now my heart, mind and soul are ecstatic with all of this. So thank you from the bottom of my heart for allowing me to help shift your mindset and shift my own in the process.

Speaker 2:

And thank you, guys, for tuning in to another episode of Meander's Mindset. If you enjoyed the show. I'd really appreciate it if you left me a rating, left a review, subscribed, shared. The podcast followed along. This is how we can get Meander's Mindset out to more people and help more people shift their mindset, shift their perspective and look at the world in a more positive light. Thank you so much for tuning in to another episode of Mander's Mindset, and you got this, as always. If you enjoyed the show, I would really appreciate it if you would leave me a five-star rating, leave a review and share it with anyone you think would benefit from this. And don't forget, you are only one mindset. Shift away from shifting your life. Thanks, guys, until next time.

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