E26 Creating a Yoga and Wellness Festival with Allie O'Kane

Welcome to working towards our purpose, a podcast that

offers a different perspective on what a job can be. For everyone

out there that's heard that voice in the back their head, asking for

something more. It's time to listen to it. I'm your host,

Gino, and join me as I interview people who have decided to

work in their own purpose. Together, we will learn, become

inspired, and hopefully find our own path towards working in our

purpose.

Joining me today on the podcast is Ali O'Kane who is a yoga

teacher, a Reiki master, astrologer, crystal healer and

founder of the Transcend Yoga and Wellness Festival that would be held

in the Powder Ridge Mountain in Connecticut September 14th

15th this year. Ally, thank you for joining me. How are you doing today?

Thank you so much for having me. I'm doing well. How about yourself?

I'm doing great and getting excited To, talk more about the

festival. But first, if we could just, like, kinda go a little bit more into

your background and, like, where you grew up and kinda maybe what your childhood was

like and education, that sort of thing. Yeah. Absolutely.

I'm born and raised in Connecticut, like, the West Haven, Connecticut

area. So That's my hometown. Went to school there.

Went to college. I have a bachelor's in accounting. So

kinda went into the corporate world, But at the same time, you know, I

kinda had a passion for yoga, which I started that

in 2013. I went for my first 200

hour training. Did that in Vinyasa yoga and

power, so I kinda just was hustling, like, at nights and weekends

trying to build myself up with that. I got other certifications

in reiki and crystal healing. And then, you know, I took a

little hiatus, a little break because I just felt like

Vinyasa wasn't the style I wanted to teach, and I just have

some conflictions with, should I be a teacher? Should I not? And

then I found Kundalini yoga, Which is the lineage I currently

teach, and I fell in love with it. It was super

transformational for me, And it was really, really

easy to step back into that teacher role. So now I'm

500 hours certified, Still always looking for new

certifications and learning and broadening, but for the most part, I

really focus on Astrology readings, crystal

healing, and Reiki, and Kundalini yoga. So what

was your experience like going to college and, like, graduating from

college and kinda first getting into, like, any sort

of work after that. Did you go into something that you had your degree

for? So I went to college. I

I didn't know what I wanted to be. I originally went to college for criminal

justice, And I thought I was gonna be a correctional officer.

Then I did some tours of prisons, and I realized, like, I didn't wanna be

a correctional That was a quick, gear change. I'm like, alright. I'm

still committed to the criminal justice path. I went to try to be a police

officer. I got up to the police academy in New Haven, was offered

a position, and then I backed out. I was like, this isn't for me. So

there was just A lot of things that was not sticking with me

at the time, my whole family is in accounting and CPAs.

So I felt as though that was a safe route because, you know,

society kinda tells you you need a 9 to 5. Your passion is really

a hobby. So I I did my certifications on the side

and tried to build it, but then I just felt like I was running

around a lot with yoga, and it was really, really hard to make it sustainable.

So I I stayed with that 9 to 5. As soon as I got out

of college, I went to a CPA firm. It beat me down

I'm working, like, 60 hours a week, running around to different clients,

and it it was just not a sustainable life. And that's kinda where yoga

was there to Catch me because it really helped me start to be

grounded and meditative and realize that life doesn't have to

be, like, go go go. Yeah. Definitely

resonate with that as far as the corporate lifestyle of, like, always

trying to, you know, be doing the next thing or never taking

a break. Something that also that I'm thinking about is this time of

year in winter and stuff. I have, like, some farming friends and, like, it's

really cool to see how they kinda, like, change their workflow with

the seasons and, like, slow down in the winter and kinda ramp up in the

summer and, like, the corporate structure doesn't really allow for

that. So, yeah, I agree with you there. So what, like,

first brought you to yoga? Is that something that, like, you've done

always, or, like, what was your first experience into it?

So I was a competitive cheerleader and gymnast for,

like, 15 years of my life, maybe even a little bit more.

And after that kind of fizzled out and ended just with age, you

know, I felt like I still wanted to, like, move and stretch my body. So

I I found yoga. I found, like, a yoga DVD that I did with one

of my and we were in a tiny apartment. We just

both did this, and I was like, This feels good. I've never done

yoga, and it kinda felt like I was still, like, you know, doing cheerleading with

the flexibility and everything, and I just fell in love. And

then I started taking a bunch of different yoga classes to

see what kind of styles were out there, and then I realized, like,

Vinyasa and power was, like, what I enjoy doing

as a student just because it really gets the cardio up. You get

to use, like, the pranayama for breath helps you kinda go into

that meditated state. And I really like the flow of just

feeling into your body. So, yeah, I mean, that was really

what kicked it off. I think I did that for a month just bouncing around

at different studios and trying different lineages, and then I started

my first 200 hour training. Awesome. I

think maybe sometime at least for me, yoga kinda seems like a

thing that is maybe a little intimidating to, like, 1st go into

a class, but, like, nowadays, YouTube is, like, so great

for yoga. Like, I've never actually been to a yoga class, But I

do, like, kind of the short YouTube videos that I'm sure you've

seen out there, and can just feel a difference of, like, waking up

and doing, like, 10 minutes of yoga and then, like, feeling like a different person

afterwards. What would you say to, like, somebody who's never been to a

class before and, like, what where should you start? Because there are so many different

kinds, and it could be maybe a little overwhelming. I would

definitely say if you're a beginner, try to research studios

because as much as I hate to admit it, we

westernized yoga a lot in this country, and some of

studios that I've been to have been not as welcoming or as

accessible to beginners. Even when I was starting out in 2013,

I found it really challenging to kinda click and feel like I

wasn't intimidated by people who were next to me doing handstands and all

these crazy, like, bends that I had no idea what they were.

So I would say definitely research your studio and do something

that is all levels. For beginner yoga,

Sometimes now, they're starting to pop up with, like, beginner series, which I

think is amazing because then you're with just fully

beginners. You're learning the framework of the poses. You're learning

how to breathe, and you're being supported in a smaller group

by 1 teacher. Okay. Yeah. That's good

advice. So what is Kundalini yoga

exactly, like, compared to maybe something else? So

Kundalini yoga, I find it more of a technology.

It's 1000 of years old. Yogi Bhajan brought it

over to, you know, the west In, I believe, the

seventies, and it's really a combination of everything.

It's pranayama, so breath work. It's mudras, which are

hand positions. It's, which is like yoga

asanas because you wanna move the energy before you go

into meditation. So we do, you know, a warm up by

tuning in and connecting, then we go through our Kriya, and we move

the body and the energy, and then we end with a A meditation,

and I was that person that always thought I cannot

meditate. I had such a hard time sitting there and closing my

eyes And, like, meditating. Then yoga,

I feel like I really, like, love doing it, and I love

sharing the practice with others because it's not a very nope lineage.

So everyone, like, when they try it, you get effects because it's

so fast acting. Like, after 1 class, You're gonna be able

to tap into these reserves that you didn't even know you had.

Interesting. So is maybe this might be uneducated

question, but is all yoga, like, some sort of energy movement,

like, throughout your body? Is that, like, the idea behind yoga?

So I would think yoga definitely goes a lot deeper than that, but it's definitely

about moving the energy, getting in touch with your breath. And I

do think there's a big Step of it to, you know, have some

flexibility, not just in the body, but in the mind. And, of

course, we fall, but it's It's really the get back up in my opinion.

So, like, yes, you may be in tree pose and you may not have the

stability yet, And you might fall out, but as long as you keep coming back

and trying, I think that, to me, is the biggest part of yoga.

Yeah. I think that's good advice for a beginner. So

where does, like, the rest of your certifications come in as far as,

like, Reiki? Because that's also energy healing.

Right? And, like, crystals and stuff like that. Tell me about, like, how

that incorporates to everything you do. Yeah.

So, energy healing came in shortly, like, after

yoga. I knew that I, you know, I loved working the

energy. I I started working with myself, and then I went through

the mastership program. So there's 4 levels for reiki.

And then I was an avid crystal collector. I think I own almost

600 crystals myself. So I wanted to find a way that I

can incorporate that because I knew that Yoga was

obviously great for healing, but I just knew that I was kinda

destined to be more of a, like, a hands on healer. And that's why I

went, like, the reiki crystal route. Because for the

client, they just lay there, and they have to be open to receive. And

then for us, It's really just finding the blockages, working through

that, giving them that universal life force so that they can have deep

healing on a cellular level. And it's beautiful. I

did a lot of treatment at, like, Milo Cancer Center. So I worked with

cancer patients getting chemo. And, you know, just kinda

as, like, you know, A study for myself, the people who had

the same types of cancer that were getting chemo versus the people who

received the brachy during treatment. The people who received brachy, you know,

they weren't as sick. They were handling, like, the medic the medication so much

well, and it's just insane to see how, like,

beautiful that it works. And I do think in society,

we're programmed not to understand that because we can't see it. It's not

real. But energy is all around us. We have this beautiful

aura that stretches out 9 feet from us at any

time. So It's constantly in an ebb and flow, and we

can, you know, change our moods. We can change elements in the body

all by just working and tapping into our energy centers.

Yeah. I like that. And that's cool to get, like, real data

and and put that to, like, what you're doing so you can Maybe

you can't see it, but you can see the results of it. And it reminds

me of this book that I'm rereading. And, it was a book that I read,

like, Yeah. I don't know. Maybe, like, 5 or 6 years ago, but it kinda

first started getting me into more spirituality and,

like, thinking about things in terms of energy. Have you ever read the

self esteem prophecy? I have not. You have not? Okay. You

should read it. I tell everybody to read it. It's like one of my

favorite books, but it really gave me, like, a vocabulary for energy

and, like, I don't know. I kinda describe everything In terms of

energy now. And it I I feel like it helps me understand more of

the world and understand those things that maybe you can't see. But, yeah, it just

kept me thinking about that. So where does astrology

come into place? Because that's I actually interviewed an

astrologer in an earlier episode of the podcast. And

that's something that, like, I kinda got into a lot recently. She gave me my

1st astrology reading, like, a little over a year ago. And it's just something that,

like, I I'm really interested in I have this app that, like,

I've used. It's called The Pattern, which is a crazy app. It's like

sends you notifications, and it seems like it's so accurate.

So yeah. Tell me tell me about astrology. So

astrology, that has been really a part of my life since I was a

child. I was so fascinated to learn, like, my star sign, and

it just felt so, like, taboo and fun. And I'm

a Scorpio sun, and I'm just naturally attracted to the taboo.

And I I fell in love with it. Once I started, like, understanding

my birth chart, and then I learned that there's so many different caveats

that you can use astrology for. Like, my readings

are pretty much full natal chart. I do astrocartography,

which is taking your birth chart and putting it over a map,

And you can look at lines against your chart to kinda see,

like, where the best place to live is, where you should work, where you should

travel to, and it's So fascinating, and I've done trial

and errors on my, like, certain lines just to kinda see how I

feel. And It's it's pretty insane.

And then I do like planetary herbalism too, which is

essentially medical astrology. So it's looking at your

chart and transits to see where you may experience potential

ailments and then treating science with herbal recommendations. So

that one's been newer for me, but I've been having a lot of fun with

it. Wow. That sounds really interesting. So that's, like, kinda

combining herbalism and astrology to predict

almost things that you may be struggling with? Yeah.

I mean, if back in time because there is a lot Judith

Hall writes great books, like planetary herbalism.

And even when we had, like, the tuberculosis outbreak, there was a huge Pluto

transit. So it just shows, like, the generation.

And It's so fascinating to look even at your life up to

current. And if you've had specific ailments or illnesses or

injuries, like, How did the stars predict that?

Yeah. That is really interesting. You can do that with the app that I

use. Like, it tells you more so just, like, you know, astrology stuff

of, like, different periods of your life or harder periods of your life. And if

you, like, look back in time, it's scary how accurate, you know,

those things can be. So that's cool. That's awesome. Look at the

CoStar app. I've never used patterns, but CoStar is kinda like my, like,

quick little reference guide. I think that one's really cool too. So I have to

check out the patterns one. So yeah. So now I'm

really interested in, like, what Transcend Fest is and, like, you know, how

it came about or, like, I'm sure it's, like, huge,

planning process and, like, I'm sure there's multiple pieces involved. But I don't

know. I guess maybe start with, like, what it is so then we can kinda

go down from there. Yeah. So Transcend Fest is

a 2 day yoga wellness Festival that is gonna be

happening at Powder Ridge Mountain. It's in this September,

so we're, like, getting into crunch time right now. It was

created because in Connecticut, you know, we don't have any of

these big festivals, and I wanted To bring

something to my home state as essentially a

retreat where everybody can gather for 2 days. They feel welcome.

They feel supported, And they can try new things because we

have all of these amazing facilitators and offerings in our

backyard that not everybody knows about. And I just think it

would be amazing to be able to show the world

and showcase these these teachers and have attendees,

you know, have that retreat experience in your

backyard. Yeah. That's so cool. So what are some some

of the types of things that, like, people will be teaching. Because I I was

looking at the website and looking at the schedule, and there's, like, herbalist and yoga

teachers and, like, what what other kinds of things are are gonna be involved

in it? We have over 90 offerings

throughout the 2 day weekend just in our day side. So you're gonna

have the opportunity to take Tantra classes, Kundalini

yoga. There's a woman's self defense class. There's hula

hooping, puppy yoga, herbalism, astrology.

And I think that's what's really cool about Transcend because you have the

movement classes, but you have these amazing lectures on

wellness topics, spirituality topics. And then, you know,

it just blends so well, and I haven't seen another yoga fest

do that. And it really is like a safe space for so many

people. And, you know, if you wanna come in, I've been the person at the

festival where I've taken a movement class From,

like, the starting class to the ending, and you can definitely

do that. But there's a lecture scheduled every single, you know,

time slot So that you could, like, take a break, relax,

and still feel like you're a part of the festival. That's awesome.

Sounds like a diverse choices of of different things you can

learn and do. So where did, like, the well, first, like,

the idea, I guess, where did it come from and, like, how did you start

implementing it into something that, like, became tangible.

So I have a strong background in teaching at yoga

festivals. I've been a facilitator all over New England, and

one of the bigger festivals would be, like, wanderlust. I taught there

years ago before they went to their one zero eight, which is kinda like a

5 k yoga class together, and it it

just felt so great. It was such a great experience to meet new

people. Everybody was so loving and welcoming

and fun, and you left with, like, a 1000000 new friends,

which is just such a great experience that you don't in a traditional

yoga studio environment, unfortunately. So I always

knew that I wanted to, and Then the pandemic

happened, and it was like, okay. Well, you know, big

gatherings aren't really gonna be a thing, but they're slowly coming

back. And I got to the point where I was like, I I need to

pull the trigger. Like, worst case scenario, it doesn't, you know, do

well and that's okay, but at least I tried. So I just

started planning. You know, I've done some back end stuff at festivals,

and I have the accounting degree, so I kinda knew how to budget

everything. And I just took a risk, and then

I found a bunch of teachers that wanted to take a risk with me and

be a part of it. And then I created a team of people

that support Courtney. We have a business consultant. We have an event

coordinator, a planner, a marketing manager, as well as

a photographer, and That's my solid core team.

Like, any decision I make, I go on a Zoom call with them. We all

kinda talk it out. We try to plan what would be best

for the festival and the teachers, and it just it

feels so great to be here. That's awesome. So a

lot of the people that are a part of it. Is it, like, people that

were in your community or maybe your surrounding community? What

does community look like for, I guess

maybe even just like yoga teachers because I know, like, that's been something that's been

big for me since leaving the corporate world is, like, finding a community

of like minded people who are kinda doing similar things and

can encourage or inspire you. And, like, I found, like, some

really close friends who I haven't known for very long, but

just because we've kinda been through similar struggles, it's like you immediately connect on

something. So was that was community, like, a big part of being

able to put this together for you? Yeah. That was my main,

like, Driving factor was for on the teacher side of

it, you know, we all when we get into studios, we get very,

very segregated. We stay with our studio. We don't branch out. We're just

really in support of our studio. So when I accepted teachers, I

took them from all over Connecticut. So we are spread. So no

matter what corner you live in, if you come to TransDigm, you're gonna have a

local teacher that is available for you with some type of offering.

And for them, I wanted them to have more exposure so that they can get

out in front of more attendees. And then for attendees to kinda see,

like, You know, you may be going to ABC yoga studio, but

you have this great teacher that teaches 5 minutes down the road, and

you get to experience them. Yeah. And I I

guess it would be a cool place even for somebody who's maybe never even done

yoga to get, like, a wide range of what is out there

and what's available, and then also get connected with people who

maybe have studios that are pretty close to them. Yeah. I mean,

we have so every class, I would say 95%,

there may be 2 or 3 classes throughout the weekend. They're all

levels. So any beginner that has never even

owned a yoga mat can get on and Really be able to

be supported in an environment. And I just think that

that's that's beautiful. Like, they're gonna meet Friends. I've met my best

friends at yoga festivals, and they're, like, my friends to this day.

And it just it's Such an amazing feeling, and I feel like you

have to go to experience it. I mean, there's so many

opportunities for partners. Like, we have acro yoga, which is

so fun to just be playful, and then you have partner

yoga where you you get to meet and pair up. You have tantra, which is

all about embracing other purpose, and there's a lot of

supported circles. You know? We're doing Something a little bit out of the norm.

We have, psychedelic integration circle to kinda

talk about experiences people may Had in case they may be

interested in trying it or if they had a difficult experience

and they need pulp processing it. We have a women's circle.

We have a red tent that is a safe space for women to kinda come

in and be supported by other women. It's It's just such a

beautiful experience. Like, there's so much going on.

Yeah. That's awesome. Like, every every every time you passion more about it, I'm like,

oh, I didn't know that. Oh, that's cool. That's cool. So what does it take

to, like, logistically put all that together? And, like, I imagine, like,

finding a venue and, like, coordinating time

slots and, like I don't know. It seems like a almost like a

overwhelming task. But you said that you have people that you're doing it

with. Is it almost like something that you guys are forming

as a business and and you plan on doing, like, year after year because this

will be the first one. Right? Yes. I would love to make it an

annual event. We are doing, like, a mini summer pop up,

June 15th, teams, which will be free to the public, and it will give them

an opportunity to meet our teachers and, like, the courts. So I think

that would be a fun offering. But, Yeah. I mean, it

was a lot, and it's still a lot. Working like a 9 to

5, and then, like, I call it a 5 to 9, which is my passion,

which is Transcend, and it's a lot of meetings,

getting content because you're supporting 90 teachers as well as you're

creating this festival. You're creating an experience for the people that are gonna

come. And, you know, the daytime with 90

workshops, we're also doing an after which is,

that's gonna be fun and exciting, so it's definitely a different vibe.

It's going to be Saturday night, and we have a DJ

like mantra music, so we're still tapping into that yoga vibes.

We have Latia who's gonna be doing a botanical mock bar,

and we have a fire performance that's gonna happen. And then we

have, of course, the spirituality aspect with palmistry readers,

tarot readers, and intuitive to plant readers so people could just stop

by and grab a reading. Wow. That's really cool. So will that be

part of, like, the festival ticket, or is it, like, a

separate after party thing? Or So if you

purchase a Saturday day ticket or the mystical warrior weekend

pass, Then the after class is included in that. Sunday is the only one that

doesn't have it, but there is an option to add that on. It really

depends on what you're looking to get out of the End. Very

cool. Very cool. So that sounds like a a

really interesting festival, I think. I definitely like leave links and stuff so people can

get to your website and, like, learn more and see all the different types of

offerings and that sort of thing. But I did wanna, like, maybe,

transition a little bit and talk about purpose. Because for me,

that's, like, kind of a a big word and something that, like, I'm

trying to figure out my own purpose and that sort of thing. So I'd like

to ask people, like, what does purpose mean to them and, like, I don't know,

any anything you're comfortable sharing with you, like, around the term purpose?

Yeah. I mean, for me, purpose is just feeling like

I I could wake up every day, and I'm happy with what

I'm doing. I'm happy with the people that are surrounding me in my life,

and I feel like I'm adding value. That's super important to

me in everything I do. And I think That's kind of

a thing in the yoga community is we really want to add

value to people's lives and help them heal because

Sometimes the world seems super scary and divided, and I feel

like this small piece when I teach a class and I can just see

somebody That may have been dealing with something super stressful, and they

get on their mat, and they either have an emotional release on their mat,

which It's completely great. You know? Nothing to be scared

of. You know? They leave feeling lighter. And to me, that that's my

purpose. I feel like my purpose is here to help others.

Yeah. I love that. And I love the, you know, adding value

and, helping people in a way that you can c. Because that

that was definitely, like, one of the biggest things that I had in my old

career was I just didn't, like, see how I was doing was

helping anything or helping anybody. So for me, it's been, like,

even just, like, getting into podcasting as a side thing, it was

like I was helping people who, you know, didn't know how to

do something or, like, wanted to get their voice out or had, like, something that

they're passionate about and, like, kinda helping them do that thing. So, yeah, for

me, it's I think it's almost something that, like, I keep trying to get closer

to maybe, and maybe I haven't quite figured it out yet. Do you have a

a similar feeling, or or is it maybe, like, you

found yoga to be, like, something that is your calling. What does

that look like for you? Because like I said, for me, it's it's almost like

a thing that, like, I feel like I keep Trying to get closer to.

Yeah. I would say it was trial and error for me

for a lot of it because I Started on a different lineage, and

I just thought I was a bad teacher, and I couldn't get it. And I

just I wasn't happy, and I thought that because yoga makes me

happy as a student that I would be even happier teaching other

people and sharing this gift with them. And then I found

Kundalini yoga, and I I found it at my lowest point in life

where, like, you know, I was seeing therapists, and I wasn't getting

any help. I was having severe anxiety. And

After a week of this practice, I felt purpose. I I

regained confidence. My anxiety diminished, and that

It really is the reason that Transcend was even formed because it

really gave me that confidence to know, like, this is what you should

be doing. And I got certified in it, and I teach classes.

And, you know, my students say all the time how, like, things are going

in their lives and how they're so grateful for this practice. And I you know,

it just it makes me, like, wanna tear up because it's like, I've been there.

I've been in, like, that really bad spot. And if This 45

minutes to an hour class can make you feel any type of relief that I

feel like I did what I came here to do. Yeah.

That's awesome. That's really cool. So so where do you teach

like, can people sign up for your classes? Do you have a studio that you

work with? Or So I do pop up workshops, but

my online class, I run a Kundalini course online

through a closed Instagram page. And, essentially, we do a

daily sadhana, like a a Kundalini Kriya meditation every

single morning, and then there's an additional class that's offered

with 9 minutes of chanting because mantra's super powerful, and

I wanna give everyone that opportunity. And then I teach, like,

a mini workshop and a mini meditation every

single week. So, essentially, like, you would just sign it.

You would Tell me that you wanna go to the class. It's 125 for the

month. I accept you in, and then you have access to all previous

classes as well as the new month. So we're getting close to the new

month, and I just gave a teaser for my class,

today. And we're working on anger. I I base a lot

through numerology as well. And the universal

energy for February is a one, Which is new

beginnings, but it also has a lot of aggressive energy. And it

seems like in January, anger has been coming up for

everyone. So I really wanted to target next month on

anger and learning how to transmute that and have a stronger

nervous system. Oh, very cool. So what is

what is a closed Instagram community? I didn't even know that was, like, a thing.

Is that kinda just, like, posting community through Instagram that's,

like, behind, like, a paywall or something like that? So, essentially, it's

just an Instagram page that I have on private. I'm working on, like,

revamping my website right now so that people can just, like, kinda go through

that. But, essentially, you know, You would just go through the website

or you would contact me through, like, the closed Instagram. I call it

closed, but it's private Instagram page. Oh, cool. If you need

a payment plan, we can work that out, and then I would accept you in

and you would have access to everything. Interesting. That's that's a

interesting way to use Instagram. I've never heard of anybody doing that before. I just

feel like some of the other posting platforms, it it's just

complicated. And I like that I can live stream it so you can catch it

live with me. But if that's not convenient for you, then the video's saved on

the page, and you can access it whenever it's convenient.

Interesting. Where did you come up with that idea? I'm curious. Have you did you

see, like, somebody else doing that? Or Actually, my, Kundalini

teacher did And it worked really well for me because I'm an early

riser, so I used to catch her alive all the time. But then I realized

that I like to meditate at night better, So now I just do her

saved classes, and it's it's really cool because when I started, she

was doing the class for, I think 2 years. So I

had access to all her videos, and I got to pick and find new

meditations for, like, what I was feeling. And it it was really cool.

So I wanted to kinda, like, go forward with that myself because I

think you know, I have a lot of friends all over, and it would be

really hard to, like, commit to A daily class in studio

with just the stress of work and driving and kids

and life that, you know, if you have it At the disposal on your

cell phone, you can do it whenever you want, and you can stay committed,

which is so important. Yeah. Definitely. And that's

this gives me ideas of, like, other things you could do like that.

But, yeah, I totally love the idea of, like, being able to do something when

even, like, from both ends, from, you know, the the teacher

or the person who's hosting the community to the person who's consuming the

content. It's nice to be able to do it whenever you feel like you're inspired

to do it or you wanna be doing it instead of being kinda forced to

do it on a routine. I think it just works better for everybody that

way. Yeah. I I love it, and my students seem to really

have some positive feedback with it. So I'm really excited to see how the

page grows and to just be able to offer Kundalini on a daily

basis. I mean, for me, it's definitely It's

a challenge because it's pushing me to show up on my mat every day to

teach classes, which I think is kind of fun. Like, you know,

when you start to get into the conscious mind, and it's like, you know, you

don't have to do it today, but you do. You have to push yourself.

Because if you can push yourself Through any struggles on your mat, then everything

else in life just gets significantly easier.

Yeah. Yeah. I like that. As we're getting kinda to

the end of our time here, I wanted to ask, I know you're probably super

busy with the Transcend Fest, but is there anything, like, you're excited

about in the future that you, you know, wanna wanna

share or anything like that. I like to always think about future and and, you

know, speak those things into existence. Yeah. I mean, I'm

excited really just for festival season this year in general

because I'm also teaching at, I think, between 8 12

festivals myself. One of them is Transcend.

I'm very excited to see Transcend come together and meet new people

and just be out in the community and watch, You know, the positive

experiences we'll have and really just growing, like,

my own spiritual practice and my Kundalini course And

just bottling and chasing everything that I wanna do in life, which I'm sort

of on that trajectory right now, and I I really am Excited for

what 2024 has in store for men. That's

awesome. And where's, like, the best place for somebody to, like, find you if

they resonated with us? Yeah. I would say on my Instagram,

it's mystical_babe_. That's

my main home page. I have Transcend link there. I have

my private Kundalini course link there. So I would definitely say

right now, while my website's under construction, that's definitely the

best place. Awesome. Well, I'll link that in the show notes as

well as the website for the Transcend Fest. And, Yeah. Thank you so

much for your time and for telling us all about yoga and your your

festival that's I'm super excited for. I'm really appreciative to be

on this podcast and to hang out with you for the last 30, 45

minutes. Yeah. Awesome. Same. Same. Thank you so much.

You. This has been phenomenal. Thank

you for listening to Working Towards Our Purpose. If you liked today's

episode and are interested in more, you can sign up for my Substack

newsletter with the link in the show notes, where I share thoughts,

tips, and ideas that I'm learning along my journey to help inspire

you. The show was produced by Pleasant Podcast at pleasant podcast

.com.

E26 Creating a Yoga and Wellness Festival with Allie O'Kane
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