Interviews
Professional Yogi Sarah Shares Her Journey of Leaving the Corporate World to Follow Her Intuition
In her first interview with Manifest Easy, Sarah shares with us how following her intuition has lead her to more peace, confidence and contentment, and how she left the corporate world to follow her intuition.
Sarah’s Age: 22
Her Current location: San Diego, California
Sarah’s Profession: Yoga Instructor
Instagram Username: @pumpkinspiceyogi
What makes you feel most connected to your femininity?
“I think of femininity as being caring and nurturing, so I feel most connected to my femininity when I’m creating.
I consider “creating” to be anything from teaching a new yoga class to journaling, making a macrame plant holder, to cooking a nice meal at home. Anything that I’ve poured my heart into really. “
What outfit do you feel most sexy in?
“It might sound strange, but I feel most sexy in a pair of black leggings paired with a black tank top.
There’s something about the color black that I love. It’s sleek, sexy, empowering.
I feel most sexy in workout apparel not because it’s form fitting, but because I’m usually at the gym when I wear it. It reminds me of how strong I am.”
Has anyone ever judged you for showing your more feminine, emotional side? How did you deal with that?
“Growing up, I learned to run from emotions. I came from a toxic home, so it took years for me to get comfortable with my own thoughts and feelings. It took even longer for me to learn how to express those emotions in an effective way. That was one of the main reasons why I majored in Communication in college.”
At what point in your life did you start to really step into your femininity and the divinity that comes with that?
“I really started to embrace my femininity in college. As a freshman, I realized how important my health was, so all through college I took fitness courses for credits. It was a great way to motivate myself because either I go to the gym, or I fail that class and my GPA tanks.
I took everything from aerobics to weightlifting. I had so much fun pushing the limits, and seeing just how much I was capable. My body became a gift. A beautiful thing that needed to be taken care of. And when I showed it love, ate healthy, took the time to workout, I felt proud to be in my skin.”
What’s your favorite self-care ritual?
“My favorite self-care ritual is to light a few scented candles, pour myself a glass of wine, slap on a face mask and watch a few episodes of whatever show I’m into at the moment. I have a bad habit of getting too into my head, overthinking, and worrying over the littlest things.
So for me, self care means finding a way to unplug and not be so mentally engaged. It’s all about giving myself permission to check out and let my mind rest for a bit.”
What do you love most about being a woman?
“What I love most about being a woman is the freedom to be creative, fun, silly, lighthearted. I love being able to embrace all emotions, whether they’re good or bad.
I love how women are gentle with each other, kind, caring, and supportive. “
What inspires your creativity most?
“What inspires my creativity most is when I’m really feeling connected to myself. Some days, I wake up feeling inspired, but that’s not always the case.
If I’m feeling stuck, or in a rut, I can always count on yoga or meditation to turn my day around. I used to really despise meditation, but after a few months of consistent practice, I’m all for it.
I feel like it’s the best way for me to reset. I come out of meditation feeling refreshed and invigorated.”
How do you express your creative side?
“I express my creative side in all sorts of ways. At the moment, I’ve gotten really into bullet journaling and calligraphy. It’s not hard for me to hit a creative roadblock, so I’m always looking for new projects to try.
My latest project has been about all things green. I can never have enough houseplants, but my apartment isn’t the biggest. So I started reusing old burnt out scented candles as planters, and gave macrame a try. Now my house is filled to the brim with beautiful hanging plants!”
Women are intuitive beings by nature. What’s one instance where you’ve felt called to really tap into your intuition and listen to that voice inside of you?
“Fairly recently, I had a moment of deep intuition. Back in January, I was working at an upscale resort. I had been with the company for about three years, had made wonderful friends there, and had been promoted a few times. Everything was going right, but I still felt off.
After months of going back and forth about what to do, I put in my two weeks notice with no backup plan in sight.
I’ve always planned my life down to every last little detail, so this was a big risk for me. In as little as just a few weeks later, I started to feel lighter. I felt happier, more content, and confident in the decision I had made to leave my job.”
Women have an intrinsic trait where we tend to avoid confrontation, and handle issues passively. Because of this, we can often manipulate the situation and get our way without fighting. What’s one time that you’ve seen this trait show through you?
“I am definitely one to avoid confrontation at all costs. In college, I had five male roommates who came from all walks of life. I had lived with girls prior, so I had grown accustomed to more roundabout ways of communicating.
Moving in with these guys was complete culture shock for me. It really helped me grow as a person because I learned how to be direct.
Slowly, I became more and more comfortable with confrontation. I learned that having an opinion doesn’t make you unlikeable.”
When did you really start to feel confident in yourself? Was there a specific moment or event that caused you to embrace yourself with love and step into confidence?
“The biggest source of confidence for me came from travel. When I moved out on my own, I made it a priority to challenge myself, immerse myself in new cultures, and to continue learning and growing around the world.
Since then, I have been to twelve countries and hope to continue traveling.
There’s something about putting yourself into situations out of the norm, like going to a country where you don’t speak the language, that forces you to grow and laugh at yourself along the way. Life back home seems a lot easier when you’ve made it through wild situations abroad.”
Was there a time you ever doubted yourself? And how did you overcome your doubt?
“There was a time when I was trying to plan a trip to Hawaii with some friends, and the dates just weren’t matching up. Everyone else had plans, was working, or simply weren’t in a financial position to travel.
Feeling defeated, I put our plans on hold. Then it hit me. I could travel alone.
It was my first ever solo trip, and I was absolutely terrified. Nevertheless, I went to Hawaii by myself and had an absolute blast.
I treated myself to all the things I wanted to do; snorkeling trips on the Na Pali Coast, sunsets on the beach, all the room service I could imagine, and I even got my first tattoo.
Traveling solo may seem like more of a challenge, but I almost prefer it. I’ve really learned a lot about myself on all my solo trips.”
As women, we are too often told we need to change the way we look, and the media and beauty industries can pick on our insecurities. How do you like to honor your body and remind yourself how beautiful and perfect you are?
“I like to honor my body by going on adventures. I love going on hikes, going body surfing, or even just going on a walk around the neighborhood.
When I’m out in the ocean, I don’t have time to think, “Oh this swimsuit doesn’t fit me right, I hope no one’s looking at me, are these bottoms too revealing?”
I’m thinking, “This is awesome! Did you see that wave? Should I body surf this next one or dive under it?”
Our body isn’t just for looks. It serves a purpose. We have legs to carry us, lungs to expand and drink in all that fresh air, ears to listen to birds chirping. It’s easy to forget how much our bodies do for us.”
What advice would you give to a young girl who isn’t confident in her body and femininity yet?
“It’s easy to get wrapped up in what others think. Trends come and go, the body types that are considered to be ideal vary drastically from decade to decade.
If you spend all your time bending over backwards, trying to fit the mold, you’ll never be happy.
The best piece of advice I could give is to do what makes you feel good. When you do what you love and unapologetically express yourself, you radiate that love and happiness, which translates to confidence.
I know it sounds corny, but life really does get better when you stop caring about what others think.”
Women are naturally highly sensitive beings, and we deeply feel our emotions. How do you honor your emotions and give yourself space to feel?
“I honor my emotions by moving and music. I’m not good at expressing my emotions verbally, so I turn to movement.
Whether it be doing a calming gentle yoga flow, or an intense weightlifting session, I channel my emotions into exercise. And with that exercise, comes many many playlists.
Music has always played a big part in my life, so pairing that with yoga or working out creates an incredible emotional outlet for me. “
As women, and divine feminine beings, we’re given the precious ability to create life. In our society, we’re told we need to be mothers and raise a family. While having the incredible ability to create life and give birth, not every woman decides to become a mom, and that’s okay. What are your thoughts on this topic? How do you feel about being able to create the most precious thing on earth – life itself?
“For me, it boils down to doing what feels right to the individual. Not all of us strive to be mothers, and that’s more than okay. Not all of us strive to be career women, that’s also more than okay.
I’m in awe at what the body is able to create and I think childbearing is an incredible gift. With that being said, many women struggle to get pregnant. I think this can be incredibly heartbreaking for women who have always wanted to be a mother.
So I think it’s important to talk about ways in which women can still be mothers, even if they themselves cannot conceive.
Motherhood is a beautiful word to me because it really does vary from person to person what that word means. So again, do what’s right for you. If you do or don’t want to be a mother, that’s great. If you adopt, have a surrogate, or carry a child yourself, I’m sure you’ll be a wonderful mother.
Motherhood is whatever you make it.”
The divine feminine energy within you is inherently strongly connected to nature – Mother Earth. What is your favorite way to spend time in nature and honor Mother Earth?
“Living in a big city like San Diego makes it a little harder to spend time in nature since we’re surrounded by the constant hustle and bustle. Personally, I love camping and stargazing outside the city.
Big Sur is by far one of my favorite spots. The best way for me to honor Mother Earth is to educate others about environmental issues.
I think now more than ever, we need to protect and nurture Mother Earth. The earth has done so much for us, and all we do is take, take, take. It’s time for us to give back, even if it’s just through small gestures.
Buying local produce, using reusable shopping bags, supporting local businesses, or even carpooling, are all great places to start. It’s easy to forget that we too came from the earth, so I like to reconnect every chance I get.”
As women, we are the embodiment of Divine Feminine energy, but we also have Divine Masculine energy within us. Do you often feel like you have more feminine energy than masculine, or vice versa? How does the energy that you think is most dominant within you often express itself through you?
“For a while, I definitely had more masculine energy. It hasn’t been until these past couple of years that I’ve really started to embrace my more feminine and nurturing side. My masculine side shows itself through high drive and intensity.
I climbed my way through the corporate world, I flew through college with a ridiculously heavy workload and all while working multiple part-time jobs, I would push myself hard in the gym, and if I was feeling sick, I would power through it.
Now, I’m becoming more gentle with myself. I’m allowing myself rest when I need it, I’m listening to what my body needs, I’m indulging in self-love without feeling vain. I’m finally feeling connected to my feminine side.”
Follow Sarah’s journey on Instagram: @pumpkinspiceyogi