why i believe in divine timing

for better or for worse

Yoga does not just change the way we see things, it transforms the person who sees.

B.K.S. Iyengar, Light On Life

I came home from teaching an early morning class last June to find August on the stoop of my apartment building. He seemed perfectly calm, but I soon discovered that he could barely breathe.

As I approached, planning to give a friendly smile and pass by, he asked me shakily if I wouldn’t mind staying with him for a minute. His pale face and frightened eyes told me something was up, and as I sat beside him he told me he had just called an ambulance because of an unbearably sharp pain in his chest, making it challenging if not almost impossible to take in air.

My own heart jumped a bit, and my adrenaline kicked in to do whatever I could to support him until the ambulance arrived. We had never met, so I asked him where he lived in the building to try to place his attention on something else. I had us both touch our thumbs to each fingertip one at a time as a simple meditative tool to stay present. I suggested he look at something in front of him and try his best to breathe calmly, thanks to yoga for trauma insight from a skilled teacher of mine, reminding him that I was by his side and that paramedics would be here soon.

Thankfully they arrived in a few minutes, he told me Thank You, and as they drove off I thought to myself, “…. Holy shit, now what?” I knocked on their door to inform his roommates but no one was home, so I went up to my place and sat for a moment with the intention to send him healing energy. He remained in my thoughts as I continued to wonder what happened after our chance encounter.

About a week later his roommate texted to tell me that August’s lung had collapsed – it was quite serious, and he made it to the hospital in time to have a successful procedure which ultimately saved his life. He had asked his roommate to thank me and remained in the hospital for almost a month. When he was back he came up to gift me a sweet plant, we chatted about how crazy it was that I had ended up being the one to sit with him that day, and he thanked me profusely.

Since then I have occasionally seen August around, and when I’ve asked him how he is doing he has responded with bumper-sticker-worthy phrases like, “Great day to be alive!” He never fails to remind me: yes, what an amazing thing to be ALIVE, all things considered.

In my 6-plus years of living in this building I had never been down to their apartment and deck directly below us; last week I finally made it there for a small send-off before August moves to California next month. He reminded me that it was almost the 1 year anniversary of that life-altering experience, and with wide-eyes we reminisced over the magic and incredible exactness of divine timing, on how I landed on the stoop that day to help him through one of the most frightening moments of his life to date. We will both never forget each other.

Since then I have considered the divine timing of my move to New York leading me to my career and life path, my yoga class with Anya leading me to Breakti and yoga teacher training, my current [and entire] healing experience and experiment that led me to Ayurvedic work with Divya, and countless other memories that have permanently imprinted lessons and transformations.

Divya said to me last night at her restaurant that, as a healer and leader myself, I am going through this big [albeit perplexing] shift in order to be able to more effectively serve others. I have recently felt increasingly frustrated with relentless and recurring symptoms – although the Ayurvedic protocol is helping tremendously in various ways – and that sage advice was exactly what I needed to hear in that moment to keep me from throwing in the towel.

We all have these experiences – maybe we show up somewhere at a pivotal point, or we are with someone during a split second that leads to something miraculous. Perhaps we are somewhere during a turbulent time and we may suffer. Regardless, these divine moments provide an opportunity to emerge with more wisdom and courage; a greater ability to see our Selves and situations with less delusion.

Things that happen for a reason are not always shiny and bright. Tragedy strikes, terrible things happen to good people, we experience excruciating loss just as much as we find ourselves enveloped in those elated, beautiful bites of life.

Whatever happens, I wholeheartedly believe that we learn from each experience, for better or for worse. We might emerge to see things or our Selves more clearly, whether we are re-planting seeds after a complete forest fire or are further contemplating an enlightening journey.

Those minutes with August not only helped carry him through severe anxiety and discomfort, it also filled my heart with an extraordinary force. I felt I had the strength and at least some knowledge to support others in times of need, which is what the path of a teacher of Yoga is all about.

Nikki Costello said recently in her weekly class for yoga teachers that, simply by showing up, we challenge ourselves over and over again not just to train ourselves to be teachers, but to train ourselves to be the most honest form of our Selves; to touch others by teaching ourselves to live and act from the deepest place in our hearts.

Yoga is not just twisting our bodies into postures on a sticky mat. As Iyengar said in the quote above: yoga transforms the person who sees. This does not necessarily mean our eyesight, but the internal dristhi or meditative gaze/concentrated attention that comes from the heart.

Yoga can take the form of breathing together on a stoop, listening to inspiring music, hugging a loved one, meditating, washing the dishes, taking a walk. Yoga is everything as it exists and unfolds in its own divine timing on this planet.

As we keep our internal and external eyes peeled, the perception continues to clear, and the person might very well transform.

What are your experiences of divine timing, and what lessons did it/does it offer you?

Read the newsletter for my new favorite spring smoothie inspired by Ayurveda [strawberry rose!], an exclusive LifeEquals discount for my favorite probiotics, a sweet summer jam, and upcoming Mindful Mornings.

Photo by Renee Choi in Dumbo, Brooklyn.