264: How to Unleash Yourself with Yarixa Ferrao

Namaste, it's Sahara Rose. And welcome back to the Highest Self podcast, A place for discuss what makes you your soul's highest evolvement? Well, it is no secret that I love to dance. That if it is your first time listening, then no that I love to dance. I love all forms of cathartic ecstatic, free form dance movement. So not choreography that's super in your head and you're trying to memorize dance moves, but really to allow your body to dance the dance that it's been wanting to dance inside. I shared this before, but ecstatic dance literally saved my life. When I was 23 years old, I bought a one way ticket to Bali because I was so confused about what I wanted to do with my life and what my truth was. And my parents constantly telling me, you need to get a normal job, you're never going to survive. You essentially need to get serious and back into reality. And I knew that working a 9 to 5 desk job was not for me. But I didn't know how I would make it. So going to Bali and finding that ecstatic dance floor changed everything for me because for the first time I was able to be 100% fully free. And not just in my dance moves, but the dance really reflects your life. And the way that you show up on the dance floor is how you show up in your everyday. So at first when I got there, I was looking at other people going crazy and I was kind of like doing choreography in my head and trying to dance moves. We think, oh, a dance is like you learn something and you make sure it looks right and you do it in front of the mirror. But seeing people just jumping and shaking and rolling on the floor and being so free was so inspiring for me and it also felt so foreign for me and so freaking weird. So I kept going and I kept showing up and little by little I would unravel and unpeel these layers of myself. And sometimes I would be in bliss and other times I'd be so angry, other times I'd be so guilty, other times I'd be so sad, other times I'd find forgiveness. And this all happened through the dance on the ecstatic dance floor. So I am super grateful for cathartic free flowing dance releases. And I honestly never thought that I would find something like that outside of Bali. When I moved to LA five years ago, there wasn't an ecstatic dance. Like there were some people like doing it in a very small setting, but it wasn't really a big thing and I'm so grateful that I stuck it out because recently there really has been an uprising in global movement. And I truly believe that ecstatic and free flowing dances will be the yoga of the future. Because yoga is still so masculine, it was created to keep men or young boys like hormonally in check. That's how the asana practice, physical asana practice really came to be. So it's all about structure, it's all about discipline. It's all about holding the right pose and making sure you do it the right way and listening to your teacher and following the path. And that's great. And I think we also do need discipline and focus in our society. But where do we let go? Where do we let ourselves be free? Where do we just allow our bodies to move us instead of us moving our bodies? You know, even when you work out, you're, you're making sure you're doing your posture correctly and you're holding the weights correctly. And it's still coming from the mind to the body. But when in society are we allowing the body to dictate the mind? I mean even during sex, most of us are still in our minds. Most of us are still narrating, still dictating, still saying, oh, you look fat, oh, would they like this? Oh, I'm tired, let me fake an orgasm. You know, we're saying these things in our minds. I sure hope you are not faking orgasms because that's not doing any good for yourself. You got to teach your partner what you like. But all of these examples are us dictating to the mind. And what we really need is to drop out of the mind. And the way to drop out of the mind for me has not been through sitting and telling my mind to be quiet. Like that is the way to get my mind hyper loud. That is the way if I want to turn up my mind is sit down and be quiet. That's not going to work for me. For me, if I get into my body, my mind naturally dissipates. And that is why dance is such a healing and expansive practice. Because you don't need to try, you don't need to focus, you don't need to discipline. All you have to do is let go. And I truly believe that that's what we need as a society. More places that we can be like, ah, just exhale and stop trying and stop forcing and stop memorizing and just let ourselves be. That's really what we need as a collective. And that is what cathartic freeing dance does for Us. So there are many different forms of dance. Ecstatic dance is kind of like the baseline of an open floor dance party that is done absolutely sober during the day, that there's only one rule, and it's no talking. Because when you get into conversations, then people get out of their bodies, they're like, oh, so like, how was the wedding you went to? And this. And then, you know what happens is you, both of you stop dancing. And then when you stop dancing on the dance floor, that creates stagnation. And then other people stop dancing and then the energy is not flowing. So if there's no dancing, then people stay in their bodies, people keep dancing. You don't come with your friend and hang around with your friend the whole time. You keep moving, you keep flowing. So that is what ecstasy static dance is really all about. And then there are many variations of it, spin offs of it. So there are different types of guided healing dance forms from 5Rhythms, which is a very common form. I was trained in five elements Shamanic Dance activation with Malaika, who's been on the podcast a couple times. I've created my own forms, Dance your Doshas, Goddess Dance Activation, Sahara's manifestation, Abundance. And other people have created their own forms too. So this episode is with one of my friends, Yarixa, who created her form, which is called Unleash. I love Unleash so much. It is probably my favorite dance party that is in LA or like in existence really, because Yari is just a really beautiful example of someone who has completely unplugged herself, released herself, stopped living life in accordance to anyone's rules, and really allowed herself to be, to go to flow. And she shares that so beautifully with us in, in this episode. So you're going to hear all about how she created Unleash, what Unleash is about. We're going to talk more about dance, why it's so healing, what to do if you feel like you're not a dancer and this isn't for you. All of this is going to be addressed and conversed and made fun in this episode. So without further ado, let's welcome Yari to the Highest Self podcast. Want to come on a retreat with me and the one and only Deepak Chopra? Then you are officially invited to join us for the seven Spiritual Laws of Success retreat in Riviera, Maya, Mexico, this May 13th through 17th. I am so excited to be co hosting this magical experience with Deepak. Filled with deep spiritual wisdom, fun, manifestation dance parties, healing, yoga, transcendental meditation, delicious Ayurvedic cuisine and so much more. As you know, Deepak Chopra radically changed my life when I began reading his books when I was just 12 years old. When I was 25 years old, I walked up to him at a conference and today he's written the forwards of multiple of my books and has been such a major support in my career and I am so grateful to be able to share his incredible work with you. Please, if you have any opportunity to study directly under him like this, take that opportunity. And I'm so excited to join you as we're going to be diving deep into Dharma, Ayurveda and dance activations from me. So if you are interested in learning more and joining us, head over to the Show Notes. You will see the link. All the information is there. You can also find it in my link in bio on my Instagram at I am Sahara Rose and I cannot wait to eat guacamole and talk doshas with you in Mexico. So you may have heard me talk about how much I love Uveda's Mood Formula, but now they've just come out with a new mood essentially Essential oil roller. It contains a blend of Ayurvedic herbs including jatamansi, calamus, ashwagandha, bacopa, centella, rose and tulsi, which is holy basil. It works to support mental clarity, reduce stress, and produce feelings of calmness. I love putting it on my temples and the soles of my feet to absorb it straight into my bloodstream. And best of all, it's 100% therapeutic grade, vegan and cruelty free. It balances all three doshas, vata, pitta and kapha. So it works for anyone. Because, you know, we could all use a little bit more help with the stress in our lives. So you can head over to Uveda.com and use coupon code Sahara for 35 off their kits and 10% off their oils. That's Uveda. Y-O-U V-E-A.com welcome Yarixa to the Highest Self podcast. It's so great to have you here.

Yay. Thank you. I love being here with you. This is great already. Yes.

So the first question I would love to ask you is, what makes you your highest self?

My fierceness in how I face my fears and that allows me to continuously grow and continuously step into my power.

Mm, so true. And you do that so well. So I was at one of your so you have this amazing dance movement that you have created. Unleash and we'll dive into that. How you created that, all of it. But I just want to share a memory of you that I have, which was. It was one of your unleashes, like, maybe in fall of last year, and you were sharing how you had gone through this massive personal financial issue of bankruptcy and that you declared it out to all of us. Like, I'm here as your leader, and I'm going through filing bankruptcy right now. And then also, you. You were just in little, like, boob pasties, which I think maybe even disappeared at some point. And. And the whole thing was about, like, vulnerability and being your complete, authentic self, and you just took it to a whole other level. Like, I feel like authenticity is such a buzzword right now. It's like a strategy people use, like, let me be authentic to get followers or whatever. And you are just, like, completely bearing it all. There's no agenda behind it. And it was so, to me, just, like, restrained. Not only respectable, but, like, expansive to see someone really bear it all in that way. And very few people, like, expand and challenge me, because I feel like I've, like, just been in this world for so long. But you truly do that. So just thank you for that, for that memory.

I one up to you.

You did. You. I have not declared bankruptcy while show my entire breasts to the world yet. It's on my to do list. Wow.

Thank you for that. That was. Yeah. Wow. That was unexpected. You know, at every unleashed, there's a theme, right? And I think that one was own it.

Yes.

And every time, it's like some new layers come off of me personally so that I can show up as, you know, the frequency of whatever's about to go down. Right. So it's really showing up as the frequency. It's not just like I'm gonna, you know, verbally cue you to do certain things, but it's like, how can you show up as the. As the example and setting the tone, you know, for whatever it is that you're creating? And so own it. I was like, when it first came through, because I usually just channel, oh, it's this. Oh, it's. This is the theme. Blah, blah, blah. And when it first came through, I was like, own it. Got it. God. Easy, you know, because I'm very confident in who I am at this point in my life. It wasn't always like that, but I definitely am now. And I was like, cool, this is going to be an easy theme. And I'm gonna, you know, like, probably have everybody, like, own it and, like, claim their stuff and something happened along the way that the last week right before I got into unleashed something just financially really hit hard. That was one and two. It almost felt like I had a lobotomy. It felt like I didn't know who I was like a couple of days before Unleash, which was like this mental disturbance for me because I'm. Then I'm fre and I'm like, how am I going to show up for Own it if I don't even know who I am right now in this moment? And I know that sounds a little strange and weird, but that's how it goes. I never know what to expect. And so literally upon, like feeling like I've lost my identity, like I just prayed to God the day before Unleash. And I was like, God, angels, guides, just please show me what to do because I have no idea how I'm going to show up today. And then at 6am I woke up and I'm like, oh, it's vulnerability. And then I start writing, you know, in the morning before Unleash. And then this thing comes through its vulnerability. So I'm just going to be vulnerable. Okay. I didn't even know what that meant until I get to unleash. And one of the things that happened was I put on some pasties and these were new pasties that were like, durable and I don't know what, but they. They didn't stick. And so I was just there. And then I have what's called bedazzlers that they bedazzle you, you know, like paint you up and get you all, like, sparkly and, you know, personified. And I just was like, oh, well, this doesn't look good. All like cringed up on my boobs. So I'm just going to just take it off. I mean, it's not that big of a deal. So I just took them off and had them bedazzle my. My nipples. And that's what happened. And the rest is history. And then what was so beautiful about that day though, was that when women, you know, I greet people at the door and when I'm greeting them, they look at me and I'm so comfortable in my skin that they're like, can we do that too? And I'm like, of course it's Unleash. So I had at least. And I think you remember there was at least seven other women that were topless at Unleash. And it's not to say that this is what happens at Unleash all the time, but that's just what it called for. And the other beautiful part about that was how we weren't sexualized in the space. Because the way that I got to hold the space was being so comfortable in that that it, it neutralizes it so that it's normal. And there wasn't like this feeling that men are looking at us, like in this weird way that they want us and they want to sexualize us. It just felt like so free. And these women felt so free. And that all of the Reviews I got 100%.

And it's like, you know, most people, if they're topless, they're like, you know, performing a sexy strip tees. They're not like bearing their soul. And I think just something of you being like physically naked and then emotionally naked for us was just so beautifully embodied. And I'm sure a lot of people listening right now is like, okay, Erica is just one of those girls who's just always been comfortable in her body. She's always been just like, really courageous. She's the Durga embodiment, Kalima. But you aren't. So can you share with us what your childhood was like because you weren't always like this.

Definitely not. I'll definitely share. So my. I'm from Puerto Rico, and even though in Puerto Rico we're very. There's a lot of musicality and I feel like there's a lot of sauciness to us and a lot of sass and, you know, we're very passionate beings. There's still the, you know, like, catholic and there's the religious parts. So it's, you know, it's looked down upon if you dance in a certain way, or at least in my. My parents definitely would look down upon that and cross your legs, don't shave your legs until you're 15. Like, there's a lot of like, rules. And even when I was growing up, reggaeton, because reggaeton was born in Puerto Rico in like, let's say the hood, right? And when that played, my mom used to sort of like cringe a little bit and sort of criticize the people, dance that. And it also has to do, I guess, with your, you know, level of status to a degree of, you know, the more poor are gonna dance that and then the rich are going to listen to a different music, like more Americanized music or salsa or something like that.

So it's almost like the richer you are, the less connected you are to your body.

Right? And so there's like just certain things looked down upon. I remember just growing up and certain things being criticized along the way. And with that, I started to have a lot of insecurities around just the expression of dance, you know, in and of itself. And later I moved to the United States around the age of seven, which is when I felt that there was a lot of culture shock because I went from, you know, a really, like, lively musical. Everybody is very affectionate in their way of being. To all of a sudden there's like, you know, that arm length. Distance. Distance. That's respectable. You can't really look at people in the eyes as much because then you're staring at them and, you know, I remember even told by this little girl, she's like, teacher. She's staring at me. And I was just like, you know. And then that started to sort of dim my light of who I was.

So true. Staring problem was like, such a word back then.

Yeah, staring problem.

Yeah, right. Do you remember, like, she has a staring problem. Like, where is that one word? Did.

Yeah, totally. And so then I moved to, you know, I moved to Tennessee, which was like, I wasn't black or white. I was just this, you know, Puerto Rican kid in the mix. And I was called ugly left and right. I was spit on. I was asked if I ate cockroaches. I was just very bullied and very started. I just started to come more inward in my shell because I was like, oh, my God, like, I don't fit in. And I didn't know who to be. I had no idea. Tried to fit in, but that didn't quite work. And I was still criticized and bullied. I remember just the silliest things. Even a kid in the cafeteria, I remember he took a Pringle chip and he rubs. You know how the Pringle chips are curved? Well, he took the flat part of it and rubs it on the floor. And he then tells me, he's like, hey, do you want to eat this Pringle chip? And I look at him, I'm like, no, I don't. You just rubbed that on the floor. And he's like, no, I didn't. And like, I had all kids, like, looking at me while he's asking me to eat this chip. And I'm like, I just saw you rub it. He's like, no, but I only rub the other part of it when it doesn't have that much dirt. And then can you believe that I actually ate the chip to fit in, you know? And it was like that type of bullying that I got to experience. So overall, through time, I just became so shy, so introverted, so Insecure. I wouldn't look at people in their eyes when I talk to them. And it wasn't until 10th grade that this, you know, boy in my sophomore year just says, hey, why do you look down at the floor when you're talking to us? I'm like, I don't know. And he's like, you know, it's a sign of insecurity when you look down at the floor and you're talking to people. Right? And I'm like, I guess. And he's like, well, you and I are gonna practice. And it was actually two of them. I can't remember the other kid's name, but we're gonna practice, and you're gonna look at us in our eyes every single time you talk to us. And so literally, that was one of the breakthroug began to occur for me. But, yeah, I feel like, you know.

These boys must have really nice parents.

They must have. Yeah, they did a really good job. Yeah. Yeah. That was, like, such a breakthrough for me. And then theater started to break me through as well in my senior year, where I just could feel my spirit, like, it couldn't take it anymore. It was just so inside that I was like, ah. Like, I just want this shiny thing to come out and play. And so theater was actually one of the other things that started helping then the fitness journey. That was like the next big thing that really shifted everything. And I think in the fitness aspect of it, since I started when I was 19, I was like, okay, I'm a good athlete, so I'm gonna use this, and I think I can win at this, and I'm gonna have the best body ever, right? And thinking to myself, well, when my. When I get this body, all of my insecurities, my wounds will probably go away. I didn't quite know that I was thinking that, but in retrospect, that's what I was thinking. And also my body became the thing that I utilized, and sexuality was the thing that I utilized with men to make me feel worthy. So I always was so hyper focused on my body to look a certain way so that I could be loved. Right. And so that also took, you know, a toll. But now, when these men weren't in my life because, you know, now I. I didn't have personality because I wasn't allowing myself to come out. It was just all about the body then. Yeah. Like, it just. Man, it was it. That was sort of the road that I had to undertake to finally go deep into my spirituality because I was like, you know, I kept suffering every single time for six months, sometimes a year, when I would have breakups, because that was my worth. Yeah.

And so, so beautifully shared. And I think so many all women, like, the feminine is the body, it's embodiment. So I think all women have had such a journey, which is a reflection of their, of their connection to spirit through the vessel of their body. So whether it is fitness competition, which I see as very pitta and you're very pitta fire, people who do fitness competition tend to be good business people. They have a goal and they will do that goal no matter what. They won't meet their friends, they won't do anything. Like, it's just about that goal. Whereas anorexia, which I suffered from, is more like, I'm stronger than my body. Like, I can convince my body it's not even hungry. I don't even need food. I'm above food. Again, very vata. It's like air. And I was also, you know, doing a lot of yoga and raw veganism, and all of these things were like, you know, allowing me to think that not eating is a spiritual thing. It's a good thing. And I mean, that's still happening a lot in the spiritual community. And then kapha of just like, emotionally eating and essentially making your body like the martyr that has to suffer because your life is so hard and just you, you're trying to numb yourself. So all women listening to this, like, look at what your relationship with your body has been like. And that's going to tell you so much of how you have evolved spiritually.

Yeah, 100%. And I think, like, you know, even still, like, as you move through the body, because I move so much, there's still a lot of energy that I'm transmuting. Like, and I think that because of that, through the body is how you really get to discover yourself. Spirit in a way that's, I feel like, even faster than reading books. And it just allows you, because you, you drop into the very present moment. So it's like mind starts to go away when you're in the movement part. And so naturally you connect with your heart more. You're going to connect with just being more present. And the presence is what allows your spirit to soar. It's because, like, now you're connected with your body and spirit and the mind is not doing this chatter thing. So I find that to be one of the most helpful ways if, you know, you're looking to really connect with your spirit, it's through your body.

I so 100% agree. And especially dance, which is something that we have united and connected and torqued on. So I see, you know, for me, dance has been that, that thing that has connected me to my spirit so much more than, than anything else. Because even when we look at a lot of body based practices like yoga, for example, it's still very masculine, still very structured, it's still rigid. Like you do the yoga poses, are you in the right pose, are you in alignment? And if we look at the history of yoga and we were talking about this, cause I did an Instagram post on it. Yoga, physical, asana, yoga, that aspect of it was essentially created in India to keep adolescent boys hormones at bay. Because when they started to become adolescent, they were acting out and you know, they couldn't be controlled as much. So the yoga practice, practice was about essentially wearing out their physical body. So they could sit in meditation, but then also be trained for the military. So it was like a military training thing as well as, you know, for meditative practices. But again, Shiva, consciousness meditation, seated meditation, detachment from desire. Desire is a bad thing. Detach from the body, detach from everything. Like, and you know, there is a beauty in that. We all also need to be still. We all also need to detach from our surroundings, including our body. But I'm seeing in like, you know, with most of people say, what does it mean to be spiritual? They'll say to sit in meditation. And that's just one aspect of it. And interestingly enough, the masculine aspect of it, which we're already doing all day. We're already sitting all day and working and thinking about our Instagram strategies or whatever else that I feel like what we really need right now is more of the unleashing. So can you share with us just your journey of coming to this realization of creating unleashed.

Yeah, Unleash. Feels like it's just this pure raw energy that wants to pattern interrupt anything that is confined, anything that feels like you're boxed in. That's exactly what unleashes. If you, you know, watch a dog on a leash and then you unleash this dog, it's like, go, freedom, go. You know, like, because it's just this level of joy that you gets to happen when you are all of who you are, right. Without having to fit into any kind of mold or box or anything like that. So I had felt throughout my fitness journey that cool. I got really good at what I did. I did a couple of weight loss shows, one for mtv, one for tlc. I became Very successful, you know, in that game. And I still felt like there's a. This part of me that's missing, like, and I couldn't put my finger on it, because anytime I did think about dance, I didn't grow up a dancer. I was terrible at choreography. And so because I was made fun of, I also didn't want to put myself in platforms that would have me get made fun of again or be rejected, right? And so, like, I just put that to the side. And I remember taking one time, like, when I saw these salsa dancers, I'm like, oh, my God, I want to. To do that. And so I signed myself up for salsa for 10 lessons in. Because I started with group, and then I would. I would literally bust out crying because I couldn't get the steps. So I. I had to sign up for a personal 10 sessions. And in those 10 sessions, I really learned a lot. But I still couldn't understand how to fit in, dance into my fitness, because I didn't know choreography, blah, blah, blah. And then just. Just over time, as I got really good at the heavy lifting and helping people lose weight and all of that, I started to become bored. I was like, there's something just off on this. And at one time, I was deadlifting, and it was on my third lift, and I was carrying over more than my weight in this deadlift, and my back went out fully. I couldn't work for two whole months. I couldn't move for two whole months. And I'm also in the field of helping people, rehab and corrective exercise. And so I knew a lot of this stuff, and I worked with the people that knew a lot of this stuff. And even with those corrective exercises, my back wouldn't get better. It was like, there's something still off. Like, what is it? And, you know, anything that happens, you know, for my body, I always check in, like, what is the emotional part of this? Right? And what am I. What am I not seeing? And so I began the question, and upon entering those questions, once, the. Some of the stuff that came up were things around my dad and forgiveness around my dad, right? And, like, and then some other parts were just. I. My spirit wasn't happy because it wasn't doing the thing that it really wanted to do. It still felt very structured because fitness is very structured, and I wanted to break free of that. And so what I did was, like, I don't know why, but I want to go to Miami for my birthday, and I want to just go dance. And even though my back was Completely hurt, like I couldn't bend over. I took a flight, I went to Miami, I took a shot of vodka and I put these. And before I did that, I put on red high heels and I just went all out and I stroked, started dancing. And I don't know how, if you ask me how, I, you know, my back was thrown out, but yet I could walk and dance in high heels. And then the next day when I woke up, I no longer had a back problem. That was like one of the first things that opened me up. And then I started to realize dance is really important for me to incorporate. And finally I did a plant medicine ceremony about like six months later. And upon doing that plant ceremony, there's something that happened inside of my body that I had. I literally went into a full Kundalini awakening. I literally tore off all my clothes and I just started dancing in a way that was ancient. That was this, like I knew how to dance. Like there was no question, I've done this before. And it was the inquiry though it had to the end. Injury led to the reflection, led to the asking, led to the answer. So then when I did that, holy shit, this new world opened up for me because I was finally free in my body and doing it in a way that would have. My mom would have shamed completely. My mom wasn't on, on board, by the way, for unleash at the beginning or my parents, they were all like criticizing the shit out of it. But I knew in my heart I had to continue. So right after that plant ceremony, I went to Burning man like a couple months later. And when I went to Burning man then it really clicked for me. I was dancing with this man at the end and it felt like we had been dancing for 20 years. It felt like, oh my God. It felt like he gave me codes and I gave him codes. And I was called Jungle. And he was dressed like the jungle. He was a 6 foot 5 Nigerian. Just pick me up and do whatever with me. I'm four, eleven and a half, so like you can just imagine what that looks like. And, and when I woke up from that, that dance, almost like, because I was so in it, I was just pure spirit. There was no thought, it was just in it that I felt to my knees and I was like, oh my God, like, I have to do this for work. And my girlfriend was like, yeah, you have to do this for work. You have to incorporate this into your life and you're going to be on my music video. And I was like, I. I know And I have no idea how, but, like, one week later, you know that pitta thing that you were talking about, you just. When you're determined to do something, you just do it. I just needed clarity. And I just needed to know. I just needed to know. And once I knew, then I just went all in and I started the process. And it started with 10 women coming to my house. And I had no idea what I was creating. I was just like, I'm going to have you over and we're going to, like, it wasn't called Unleashed, and it was called Soul Body Dance. And we're just going to dance and I'm going to guide you through this. And I was super excited. So they were excited because I'm excited. So it's like, cool. And it was cathartic. It was like they were purging. I mean, it was just like, oh, my God. This is actually what I meant to do. And I think by the second month, something happened the second time I did it that didn't feel so good. And that's just because a friend of mine came to help. But know you, she was like, trying to be in leadership role. And I was like, oh, maybe I'm not a good leader. Maybe I'm not meant to do this. So I sort of recoiled and went back. And about a month later is when I started asking my soul again, is this what I meant to do? Like, please let me know. I just want clarity. So it was a day of my birthday, and I went to this thing called the Wild Vessel that a friend of mine, Alana Mehta, had created. And I was dancing and I could feel myself. And it was my birthday, and I was throwing confetti. And then this girl started, starts throwing confetti with me, and she's like. And I'm like, yay, it's my birthday. Come play. And she's like, yay, what do you wish for your birthday? And I'm like, I just want clarity. I just want clarity. That would be the best thing ever. And then I said goodbye to her. I'm going to walk to the other side of the room. And I walk to the other side of the room 30 seconds later, after I just said to her, I want clarity. And this woman stares at me as I'm walking by. And I'm staring at her because she's staring at me. And so then she just comes up to me, grabs my arm and says, says, you're meant to dance. You're meant to bring men and women with you. You're meant to perform. And I couldn't leave this room without giving you this information. This has to be done now and it has to be done fast. Wow. So it's like, how did unleash come about? It was through just always asking because my soul felt suppressed and I knew that there was more. And so it was divinely guided through my asking. And that's how it happened. And then a month after that lady said that I created it. I found the DJ that I wanted to work with because I thought it was women at first. But then I was like, no, I'm such a bridge for men and women. I'm so good at having that balance for both. And then I knew it wasn't just going to be from a playlist. I knew it felt bigger. And on my first unleash, I had 75 people show up. And then now we're at like 180ish. And just through word of mouth, you know, I barely even advertise this on Facebook. I haven't even gotten to that yet.

It's so good. Every time you have one, I text all of my friends to go and I post in rose gold goddesses. And thank you for sharing that story. So beautiful. Like, I rarely cry and I was literally about to start crying when you shared just, just like the codes and you remembering that ancient dance inside of you. Because that's so how I feel. And I believe that we all have been dancing in many, many lifetimes. And these dances that we see, such as different African forms of dance or mudra based dances, temple dances, et cetera, this is not our first time doing it. And, you know, for me, those codes definitely came out especially with belly dancing and, like, realizing, remembering my past lives in the harem, like belly dancing and then also with like classical Indian odyssey dancing. Like, I've never taken classes and it just, it just comes through. And when I'm in that state, there's no mind, there's no thought. I am 100% connected to the music and it's just moving me. And. And my body is the mudra. It is the code. And something in me is channeling from a greater source that is spreading this resonance out to everyone who's around me. And that's why I've seen, I've seen you dance. And I really want to drive home to people is like, like, look, Yari is not a trained dancer. Like, she's never taken dance classes before.

Like, I've gone to 35 is when that happened. At 35 years old. Do you Know what I'm saying?

Exactly. And I remember. I think you came to that dance class that I go to, was like, your first choreography class. And you were like, this is so difficult for me. Whereas if I were to see you on your dance, on the dance floor, I think, oh, she goes to all the dance classes and all the choreographies. And that was like, your first one. Like, yeah. This year you're 39.

No, I'm 38.

38, yeah. Yeah. So it just shows that it's not about being a dancer or not. Like, you never considered yourself a dancer or thought that that was your path at all. But we all have the dance within us.

Totally. And not at all to the point that I remember just watching dancers and being mesmerized by them on TV and thinking to myself, okay, in my next time life, I'm gonna be a dancer. Right. That's what I used to say. And it just. It got to the point that was like, nope, hope in this lifetime, I'm gonna be a dancer. And now I consider myself. When people ask me, are you a dancer? I'm like, yeah, I'm a dancer, and I dance, so I'm a dancer.

You are.

And so is everybody. If you just claim that you're a dancer, you just are. You are. Everybody has this capability. And, you know, one, it's some of the fears. And I don't know if that's. This has happened for you or for the people listening, but, like, what was around the shame of being too much or too sexy? I was like, oh, no, this might call the wrong attention. And I just was afraid to let go because of those thoughts. And I can share with you that on the other side of when you do is full liberation. And all that shame that you have been sort of cultivating in your mind will go away, because you're going to realize that, oh, this is so natural. This is my primal self. And that's the other thing with Unleash is that it's very primal. One thing that I want to help people let go of is the shame around your sexuality. And, like, we twerk. I've had hundreds of people just twerk on the floor, right. All at one time, and. And just really putting on music and beats that allows for our hips to move, because that's where a lot of our locking is at, and that's where a lot of our. Our stagnation, both men and women, is in. Because men are also, like, if they move their hips too much, that would be too flamboyant or it would not be manly enough or, you know, whatever. Also, constructs have been built up for them to not allow them to move their hips either. And so for women, it was too. Then you're a. Or you're, you know, that's. Then you know, you're opening up your legs and whatever the shame around that. And it's like, oh, my God. This is the unlocking of everything. Like, literally all your ideas. When you start moving your hips, your ideas will start coming through, your dreams will start manifesting, like I'm telling you, like, unleash. And dancing in general, I believe, is the medicine for this world to heal at its fastest rate. And specifically because it's in group, it's a lot of fun. It's like you're. When you're on a yoga mat, the difference is that, well, you're on your own journey a lot. And when you're dancing with others, it does create a whole new alchemy and a whole new mirroring for you that you don't get sometimes when you're just doing yoga. And also, what I love about dance is the level of joy that you get to experience. And being in the frequency of joy is when you have your highest manifestations, when you're like, everything just downloads and comes through and you drop into your heart the fastest. So I feel like for humanity, dance is the medicine. Yeah. Moving forward. And it's not to say that all these other modalities that are so ancient and so wise aren't useful. It's just that we are moving into new times, that new modalities are required to accelerate us at the level of acceleration that we're going. The other stuff is a little bit too stagnant for the movement that is happening. And so I feel like, yeah, like, you know, whether it's through unleash, or you create your own thing or five rhythms, ecstatic dance. Like, go to all the dance things that you possibly can, and you're gonna see your whole life shift.

I 100% agree with that. I always say. Exactly. Dance taped my life. There's nothing like a good night's sleep. And Banyan Botanicals helps you catch those Z's a little easier with their Deep Sleep bundle. This bundle is a dynamic duo designed to nurture your nighttime sequence. Take Sleep Soundly tablets half an hour before bedtime to help calm your mind and body from the inside out. And unwind with a gentle head and foot massage using Banion's luxurious Sleep Easy oil. Both of these formulas use gentle natural herbal ingredients including the amazing adaptation Oxygen Ashwagandha to promote restful sleep at night and renewed energy during the day. Banning Botanicals also has great tips on their website on self massage, nighttime super milks and the best practices to get you ready for Dreamland. If you haven't checked out Banyan yet, you totally should. Plus they're offering us a very dreamy 20% off discount on their Deep Sleep bundle. Head over to banyan botanicals.com Sahara you can find that link to in the show notes and you'll see it all there. Okay, Real Talk the products I'm about to tell you about is literally the best thing I've ever put into my mouth and that is saying a lot. And this is Organifi's Gold. So essentially it is the hot chocolate of your dreams with none of the sugar and all of the turmeric and reishi with a touch of ginger as well. It is delicious on its own, just with water. When I was on my Pachi Karma and I couldn't have any sugar or chocolate, anything like that, I brought my Organifi Gold with me. Panchakarma approved and all I needed was hot water and it was the perfect just sweet, soothing, desserty taste that I so deeply crave after meals. And it makes me feel so calm, so restorative. It is my optimal nighttime tonic and literally I've gotten all my friends on it and I'm pinching myself that they are my podcast sponsors because even if they weren't, I would still be telling everyone about it. So head over to Organifi.com and use coupon code Sahara for 20 off that is Organifi O R G A N I F I.com use coupon code Sahara for 20% off your gold. When I was just at the most difficult point of my life of not knowing if I was crazy for wanting, you know, to be an author. Spiritual journey. My parents are also very against my path and it was like constantly fighting with them at this. I was like living between India and Bali and it was just such you would think that's awesome, but I was the most confused I had ever been. But I would go to ecstatic dance and the whole time often I would be like angry at my mom and then like feeling guilty and this and I would just be dancing out, dancing out and I would walk out of that dance floor just feeling so much more uplifted, grounded, inspired and guess what? That would actually change the frequency of the way that she would take text me. Because vibrationally I shifted and I was no longer in that, like, fighting against her energy of like, I need to prove you wrong. But I just raised my vibration up to be enjoy. And even though she was on the other side of the world, she could feel that. And it shifted the way that she would interact with me.

Totally. It totally. And like whenever, whatever you shift within yourself, you're going to see it in your external relationships or your external, you know, environments just as much too. And I do believe that. And the more I stuck to just believing in what I'm doing because it feels truthful and it resonates with me, the more my mom has come around and my parents, and now they're seeing the benefits of what I'm doing, you know, because, you know, they would be totally okay with people going get wasted in a club, but they're not cool with unleash. And like, I remember my mom asking, but why is it that you, you just have to like, you know, undress and get naked? I'm like, mom, I, I don't have to. That's just the way that my body and my soul wants to be expressed, but I don't have to do any of that. That's just, I don't know.

If your mom says you're doing it for attention, that's something my mom would say. She, she would be like, the only reason why you'd post on social media is for attention. And that would put it in my head of like, is me fully expressing myself, like for validation of outside people. And it would really screw with my head because a lot of people, like, for example, now I put post my twerk videos etc, and I'll get comments and feedback like, you're just doing this for attention. And it just shows how much that that paradigm of you're only sexy or dance or in your body for other people to like you.

Yeah, yeah.

No, not that you could ever enjoy it for yourself.

Right, right, totally. And I could, you know, I could see how people could see it as, you know, you're doing that for attention. I could see how that can come across just visually speaking out of context. Right. Because a lot of people don't know you have no idea who you are. You know, they're just watching the pictures on Instagram and they really don't know you.

And it's easy to be triggered by someone who's just fully unleashed, wild and be like, she must be a. Yeah, she must have nothing going for her. She must not, you know, be friends with the type people I'm friends with. Because I could never do something like that and, and create those stories around you because it's really just a part of themselves they haven't met.

Exactly. And so I'm happy to be the trigger. I'm happy to ruffle people's feathers in that way because I know my truth, right. I know why I'm showing up and I do it in the most like natural way that. Yeah, no, I don't feel like I have to prove anything to anyone. I literally just show up. I'm like, oh my God, guys, if you knew how fun this is. Like, that's why I'm like sharing, you know, like, just because, just because I want to. Just because I want to. And there's nothing to prove. I feel like, like in the past, in my early 20s, I could say that, you know, I wanted to really prove to the world something, but now it's such a different experience for me. I just really show up and I think people do, a lot of people do get that and they're inspired by it. I do get a lot of people that are inspired and there's going to be those 10% of the people that are going to be triggered and that's totally okay. It's like, what aspect of you are you not loving and accepting? What are you seeing in me that you're not loving, loving, accepting about yourself? Yeah, and I've definitely had like just recently, not that long ago, I'm part of a chat. I don't know how many WhatsApp friggin chats I'm like part of. It's just like crazy. I've had to like dumb it down to like two now because it was getting distracting. But in one of them there's like, you know, we had, you know, community of people that are game changers and doing a lot of beautiful things for the world and was part of this chat and I excitedly shared about Unleash and some of the things that were going on for me in 20, 19, 19 and. And then the admin of the group, he literally sends me the longest message possible and judging, shaming, putting me down. Like the way that I would do it would be like this. And when you change your behavior, then you can come back on the chat and it's like what? Like patriarchal. And it was just like, it was just like, no, like that's not happening for me. Like I'm triggering this person, person so much that he wants to change me to make himself feel better around me. It's because he's not giving himself the permission to celebrate himself and to be excited about things. And to whatever it was that I was triggering, I was just like, okay, dude. Like, but I'm not changing. And I'm not gonna like, tiptoe around the group and no, I'm not gonna change my behavior. I'm just gonna exit this group because it's not my group. Like, I don't want to be a part of something that I can't be myself in. So he didn't even have a conversation with me. It was just through text and was just like, oh my God, I can't even. Moving right along, you know, like, you're gonna have people that are haters and you're gonna have people that are gonna try to like dim your light and you're like, nope, I'm gonna show up even brighter, you know, and, and just continue to do it because you know who you are.

So true. And I think we're. You know, it's so funny because I see a lot in the spiritual community. It's almost like level one or whatever. When you first get in is like, okay, these are the things that are spiritual. Like, I will only wear mullabee white loose clothes and only eat at Cafe Gratitude. And like these, these are the things that I must do to be spiritual. And like hip hop music bad. This thing bad. Like being sexy heels. Oh my God, no. And like, you shun all of those things way because they remind you of who you for previously were. And I think that, you know, I've definitely been in that too of just like, I'm spiritual. You can tell by my Indian scarf, can you not? You know, but then as I got, you know, further into it, you realize that it's all spiritual, like, and you can, you can take something that wasn't spiritual and still integrate in your life in, you know, what does spirit mean? It's like to incorporate your spirit. So that's why I think a lot of people with dance and I've, I've noticed this, for example, in places like in Latin culture where dance is a part of the culture. In Miami, I was just in Miami. But a lot of the people relate to hate more. Sexual dancing, twerking, etc, to the kinds of people they don't want to be like. So oftentimes it's the people who come from those cultures, like Latin American cultures, etc, that dancing is a part of their culture. But they see it as this like dirty slutty whore thing. And now that I'm spiritual, I don't do that anymore. That. Actually, like, I noticed that in when I was doing my Rosewell Goddess parties in New York, there was like, more of just like, everyone's twerking. But in Miami, it was actually a lot harder for people because they didn't want to be, like, judged and shamed to be the sluts, because there's so many of those in Miami, you know, And I was like, wow, I thought that this would be, like, the most open place, but there it was the most complex around it.

And actually, I'm glad that you're pointing that out, because it's what I was referring to earlier. You know, even though that we're culture that is very expressed in dance and things like that, there's definitely a lot of shaming around.

It's like, I don't. I don't do that anymore.

I don't do that anymore. Right. I don't do that. And those were my, like, you know, my younger days. Or like.

Or like, oh, honey. And like that. That, like belittling and. And like, well, now that I'm spiritual, I'm like this. And like, not realizing that, like, everything that is spiritual. Yeah, everything is. And. And in fact, like, you releasing all judgments, expectations, identity around what spirituality is, is the ultimate embodiment of it.

Exactly. It's just, unleash that.

Unleash that. Hashtag, unleash that. And. And also, I think it's really important for people. So a lot of people are saying, well, I don't really express myself in dance. I'm not a dancer. I don't do dance. Like, it's not fun for me. What would you say for people like that? Like, I tried going to a dance thing, but it. I just didn't want to dance. Do you think that everyone, like, this is the code for them to activate or it's just for certain people?

You know, I personally would feel like, you know, just as we have a voice that's part of our human nature, right. A lot of times we don't sing because we aren't good singers, right. But our voice is what recalibrates our system, right. So when we tone right, we're recalibrating and bringing our bodies back to harmony. And I feel very much so with dance that it's part of our. What we get to do to bring harmony back into our body. So I feel that if you have a body, I feel like, honestly, if you have a body, dance is just part of you, whether you acknowledge it or not. You know, it's just like your spirit, whether you acknowledge it or not, and you're in a human body. The spirit is expressing through you. But it doesn't mean that it's, you know, for just one people or another people. And there's going to be preferences. Yeah, I think that that's the part. It's like, you know, are you not dancing because you have judgments about yourself, you have judgments around or others, culturally or not culturally or you know, what was passed down to you? What is it that you're thinking about? And to truly inquire, I think that that's what I would say. It's like, really, if you're not dancing, really, where is it coming from? From? And I would encourage you to write out, like, okay, I'm not dancing. And like, start mind dumping, like, why am I not dancing? Right. And write out all the things that come to mind of why you're not dancing. And I feel you're going to find your answer within that. And if you then find like, there's not really a valid reason for you to not dance, then that's just gonna be the challenge that you now get to really lean into in that edge. Because your gift lies in specifically the things that create most fear for you. I believe that when it scares you and excites you, you go do it like every time. You're gonna find your greatest gift there. But yeah, but preferences and sometimes people like certain kind of music and so go towards the music that you do like. It doesn't have to be like, what, Sahara, you know, with reggaeton and more like, you know, tribal beats. It may not be that. It may be more like waltz, I don't know. But there's definitely, like, if you're alive, you like. Music is as a connector for all like, I don't know one person. I don't know one. Do you know one that doesn't like music?

I've actually heard someone say that and I was like, huh. It's like saying like, I don't like food. Just, just not into it. It's not my sex, not my, not my thing.

Yeah, I'm just eating.

No, not really. Yeah, that's how I see dance too. It's essential to life. I do see some people and I, I think it kind of has to do with like, what chakras you're most naturally anchored and connected to. Like some people. Like you, obviously you're a body person. You're. You're super root sacral chakra. I'm a body person too. I definitely learn from my body ayurveda. It's always body based wisdom. But other people I see, they're more galactic, airy and they might be more into like crystal bowls and sound frequencies. Like my husband is very into sound, but not so much of the embodiment. So like for him to ecstatic dance is just not really his thing. But I do think he would have massive growth if he was able to step further into it. Because, you know, how you behave in one thing is everything. And if you, if you can't dance, if you can't be in your body, what are the other ways that you're not being in your body? Maybe you're not being anchored into who you are, maybe you're not fully stepping into your identity. Like these are all embodiment. And dancing is just like the practice of it. But how it shows up in our lives is through everything. And then also like, you know, for example, I'm not a good singer. And when I would sing when I was a kid, like everyone would tell me to stop. So I pick up the story that I'm not a good singer, but I actually do have fun singing. And when I'm by myself, sometimes I'll sing, but then I'll just like kind of notice. I'll just stop. And it's because of this like indoctrination in my brain of like, I'm not a good singer so I shouldn't sing. And I think a lot of us have that towards dance, towards art. I'm not a creative, I'm not a whatever. And like, whatever that thing is that you're not not, that is your biggest lesson to show you that you are totally.

Because, like, you know, whether it's been public speaking for me, that was a huge fear. Dancing was a huge fear to dance like this in front of others. Singing was like karaoke was like my biggest fear. You know, like, just because of the same story that you have that people just tell me like, stop. Or you know, when I was little and I kept breaking through, every time I'm like, I acknowledge that there's a fear I have contraction in my body. I then am like, hmm, what's the opportunity in that? Okay, what's the worst thing that can happen? Why am I so scared of this thing? And so I do go down that rabbit hole in order to break that. And singing in particular, I was so scared that I'm like, okay, I'm just gonna do, I'm just gonna take singing lessons because I'm so scared of it. So I took five singing lessons. I think it was like a year and a half ago. And in those five singing lessons, I bawled the entire time, partially because what. It felt like a lineage trauma that I've had, that I could literally feel my ancestral healing. And then on one one occasion, I started to see the future as I'm singing and toning in a certain kind of the nasal tone when you do, like, more of that E sound, like. So when I started do that sound as part of the practice, practiced from the singing coach, I started seeing visuals of spaceships in my head as I'm doing that. And it started to teach me that this, the sound and the waves, is how we communicate in the future. So it's going to be less of word and construct, but rather through the waves and through the feeling and through that is how we get to communicate. So I was literally opening up a pathway for, you know, my new self and my new lineage in the future and literally releasing all of the suppression of the voice from the lineage, from the past. I could feel that healing happening as I began to take on these singing lessons. Right? So that thing that your teacher told you that you couldn't sing or your friends and, you know, telling you to stop singing or whatever, that was just planted there in this lifetime so that you could just have that courage to break through it, because that's your greatest gift. It's almost like your higher self puts things in place so that you lean into it, because that's how you're gonna find your greatest life. So I'm so grateful for, you know, being bullied, and I'm grateful. I'm grateful for literally everything that has occurred because. Because it took me to unleash, which now gets to be this movement. And I'm actually calling it a modern day ceremony, because that's what unleash is. It's a modern day ceremony. And it doesn't have to look like calling in all the different directions, and it doesn't have to look like a very traditional sense of doing it. You know, we add sparkles to, you know, the entire thing. And. And the music that we utilize, this is more modern and the way we play throughout it, that's the modernization of this ceremony. It's the playfulness that it doesn't have to look so serious anymore, because joy is just one of the highest frequencies that you can be in. But I encourage anybody that has any kind of fear to truly step into it, because I can promise you that it is where a lot of times your dharma lies 100%.

And a lot of Times the things that we're afraid of. Like, I know that there have been some professional dancers that unleash who said, I've never been able to dance this way before despite being professional dancer. And I've noticed this too. I would go to parties that there were all these dancers and no one was dancing. If one person danced, it was like very like small and kind of like choreography based. And even when I started to go to ecstatic dance, I like would do choreography because I didn't know what to do. I always thought dancing was like, you memorize this dance and then you perform it and then you're judged on it and were your toes pointed enough, etc. So even if like you are accustomed to singing or dancing, are you doing it in a free and expressed way?

Exactly. And that's so interesting that you pointed that out because I've had a lot of professional dancers come through unleashed and you'd think that they're already free, but they're actually not because they've been judged their whole life on this is their worth, you know, if they don't get the audition or get the audition, you know, that sort of thing. And this last one that I did, I remember very vividly this girl said, said, you know, I've been dancing all my life. This is literally one of the best times I've ever had in my life. And she's a professional dancer. And the reason she said that, she's like, it wasn't just letting go, it was I actually felt my body like. And so that's like a testament that goes to show. It's just the freedom of expression and not giving a screaming, sticking out your tongue, looking weird, look weird, sing ugly, like, do that so that you can get over it. And yeah, I really do appreciate, you know, all the people that get to come through, whether you're dancer, non dancer, everyone's a dancer, period. And you just get to expand more. It's like, where are those edges? Let's continue to expand so that way you know your greatness 100%.

And really what we were talking about right before, before is this is what spirituality is all about. It's all about having fun. It's all about being in that state of joy. It's not about studying the books. Like, I feel like so many people, they join, you know, join spirituality or they begin their spiritual journey and they're like, okay, I need to read all the books. Have I studied Abraham Hicks? Do I know about my past lives? Do I know about my Enneagram My human design, my. My sun sign, my moon sign, my rising sign, my Vedic ones. Like, and it like, turns into like, all this headiness. And it's because our school system has taught us, like, if you want to learn about a subject, you must study it for the whole year out of these books that were written like a thousand years ago by a white man. And that's how you learn about a subject and you regurgitate the knowledge. And I see a lot of people who have the spiritual knowledge and not the embodiment. And if you just take one thing, like, for example, I even have an Oracle card deck, and I'm like, I don't really need to pull the deck every single day, because if I just take one thing and really embody it, take one fucking concept and embody it for the rest of my life, life, I'll be there. And so many times we're looking for that next thing. What's the next card, the next book, the next pod? Someone's going to listen to this. Actually, a lot of people are going to listen to this. Okay, next, like, what if you just. If you just embodied everything we just said, you will be set for life. You don't need any more information, you know, and. And I find this too. I'm. I'm also like, definitely an information type person. So I understand it of like, you know, back in the day when I was trying to learn about spirituality, I would just like, listen to always an audiobook, a podcast, a YouTub videos, just like trying to. And then I was like, why am I putting all these other voices in my head all the time when I'm not even listening to my own voice? And now if, honestly, if I'm not recording this podcast, I'm listening to music, because if I'm listening to music, I'm getting my vibes high. And then when I am in a space to have a conversation or create, it's coming from me, it's not coming from regurgitated information.

Yeah. And that's one thing I love about you. You know, I really do appreciate the way. Way your being is, because it's just there's not many people, you know, that I find, like you, that you just. You're just you. And I love that so much. Like, your level of freedom is felt. You're not trying to be anyone or anything. You're just being Sahara. That's who you're being. And it's great. And thank you for showing up in the way that you do. Like, the more we get to show up. Like, you know, you do you, I do me. That other person does them great. This is how we actually unify. It's through the embrace of our individuality. You know, that's the unification of us all because we lose judgment for everybody else because we're being ourselves, you know, and so I love that about you. It's just so easy. You're so easy to get along with because there's. I don't find any judgment, I don't find any stickiness to your being. And I just appreciate that so much. I just want to. Yeah. Point that out.

Thank you so much for that beautiful acknowledgment. And I want to share that I was not always this way. And honestly, it's because of dance that I've become this way. You know, when I was also 23 on that journey, I knew that I needed to go back to India. It was after I had so much drama there. And I went to this thing called Nataraj Dance Festival, which is in an Osho ashram in Delhi. And basically you just dance all day. But like, all types of, like, kind of theory, like Osho dynamic meditation and tantra dance, tarot dance, all of these different. All we did was dance. And in that, like, those experiences, one week of my life changed me more than like a decade of reading the books and knowing the information and, you know, even like, with your unleash, it's one time a month. But if you really go and you unleash that one time a month, the month, it will. It will blast you far past more books, knowledges. And I'm not saying, like, information is great. Like, I'm a fan of podcasts. We're on a podcast right now. And like, I always say, you know, people are like, how do you create so much? I work and twerk while I'm working, I'm twerking while I'm writing my book, I'm moving my hips. I'm. Even if I'm going through bank statements, because that's sacral chakra energy. I'm doing my hip circles. Even while you were just talking about that, I was like, I need to be moving my body. I'm always moving my body. I'm always dancing. And I think a lot of people listening, like, well, lucky for them, they live in la, so they get to go to all the fun dance things. And I don't get to go to unleash. I live in Tennessee or Kentucky or wherever it is. So what would you say to someone who lives in a place that there's no ecstatic dance community yet.

Yet. I would say start in your living room.

We need an unleash teacher training.

We do. Yeah, yeah, that's. That's going to happen for sure. And I definitely am gonna get them out into the world. More and more festivals and just different parts of the country. I'm really excited to do that. But yeah, I would say, like, put on music, start in your living room. You know, get some of your friends to come and join you. If that's like something that your friends also enjoy is dance, do it together. I think that that would, that would start it and then create. Like if you want to start. Start your own ecstatic dance or your own whatever. Start it. You can do it. Like it's. It's missing, right. If it's not there, it's how.

How did you start it? If someone's like, okay, I want to create a conscious dance experience was the.

First step, you know, like the way. Let me just share the way that I started. Right. Unleash was like, I had an idea, right. Oh yeah, it's going to be men and women. I want a dj. Dj. I heard the DJ and then I spoke to the DJ and I'm like, hey, do you want to do this thing with me? Great. And then the next step was get a date. Like, put it on the calendar.

And people don't even need a DJ. They could just do a Spotify playlist 100.

I sounded like I started mix. Yeah. When I started Soul Body Dance, that was just through. I just put the list on Spotify.

And you still do the little unleashes. I came.

Yep.

That's just Spotify.

Spotify playlist 100. It doesn't even. You don't even need a DJ. Like, let's just be real. Like, that's how easy it is. And you set a date. I think that's really important to book the date. And then you work, you reverse engineer it from there, right? And then you tell the people, like when you write out your flyer or whatever you're posting on your social media, like, tell them what they're going to, you know, be getting in these two hours worth of dancing. Like excite them with the benefits that they're going to receive. Post little videos of you dancing. And that's. That's how it starts. And then you just really pump people up and. And you visualize it. And then it happens because you set a date. That's when it's happening. That's when you, you know, rented the studio space or, you know, put your house opened up your house for it. That's how it started for me. I was in my house. My house, guys. So, yeah, it doesn't require a lot. It just requires an idea idea. It requires you to set up a date and then it requires you to reverse engineer it by like then. Okay, now doing the flyer and telling people about it. Getting a ticket sales page if you wanted to. Only if you wanted to, because you could just tell people, venmo me at whatever. You don't even need anything. I definitely wrote out a description because I feel like that was really helpful to get that crystal clear vision of the feeling. And I spoke a lot about the feeling on my page. Like right now, I guess the page that it's on, it's unleash wend.com and if you go there, you can read about it and you can already start to experience it through the words. Right? So I do feel like a one pager. Not like short, simple, sweet, and just your passion behind it. That's it.

A hundred percent. And I think that at the end of the day, that's it. When they see that you're in that embodiment of the dance and joy and having fun, it gives people permission. A lot of times having, you know, facilitated conscious dance experiences, people at the beginning can feel really weird. Their look can be looking around at each other like kind of the community at Unleash has like been there and they. They fully let go. But I'm sure you see this when you go to new places. They might just not know what to do because they've never been in the space. They're like, I don't know how to dance if I'm not drunk, you know, because these are all sober events, guys. So too. So you being that person to take that first step of like, I'm gonna play this song, maybe it's your favorite song and you just go crazy, whatever that looks like for you. Or maybe your craziness is more of like a beautiful, like elegant dance. Or you're tap dancing or whatever it is that makes you feel fully expressed and not to do it as a performance. It's not like everyone's gonna go in the middle and like do a dance. I think again, our culture instantly, like when someone's on a dance floor, everyone crowds around them and just has to watch them instead of like they're dancing. And that triggers me to start dancing too. So I think you just being that first person and then bringing people in to dance with You. And then bringing another person and. And then having them two dance with each other, and you bring another person in and just getting everyone to that state at the beginning, it's gonna feel a little bit like you have to be that caricature of the dance to get people there. But then once people are in it, they're gonna be holding the energy up 100%.

Do you remember what happened at Burning man this past last year? Were you. Did you come to my sleeping?

Yeah. Remember, girl?

Yeah. And do you remember that my DJ decided to not play because of that, I had to play my own playlist at Burning Man.

Oh, I didn't even know you were supposed to have a dj. Oh, I didn't even know.

You didn't even know?

No. Right. I was, like, twerking on the flow and the.

Totally.

Yeah, yeah.

And you just take the reins, you know, you just, like, you just create the space. You share maybe a little bit of story at the beginning of what, you know, what's going to take place, what we're going to be here to do. Set the intention right so that you set a good container for people to understand even what's happening. I think that container setting is important part of this process, you know, just to let them know what's going down, what's the intention, who you are, what got you inspired to do this, and why you want to bring this to them. Right. And I think that people can really connect and relate to your story. I do believe in storytelling, and I do believe that you unifies people quite a bit. And so then they start, the. The guards start to come down because they see you, that you're not just this pro, you know, they're like, oh, like, she's just human, you know? And like, it's just. Then it humanizes the person. And. And you don't go up there like you're. You're on a pedestal. So I think that that's important. Just speak from your heart. When you speak to people, I think that that's the bottom line. Speak from your heart, share with them your story. And cool. We're here to dance. And that's like, literally, that's it. And just let your. And the more you do it, your personality will come out more, you know, and just know that's not going to be perfect. You know, from the beginning, you're going to start like, oh, I could do this differently next time. And you're going to start adding different things. And I have, for instance, performers that come and play at Unleash and sometimes storytellers or sometimes I just had eft tapping at the beginning, which was really great. And it deepened us. And then I just got invited to be a moon dancer, which is happy happens in Mexico. And it's four days where four nights where women, for about 400 women get together to dance to the moon. And it's by invitation and it's this ancient sort of passed down lineage sort of thing about dancing to the moon to receive certain codes of wisdom. And you don't sleep for these four nights, you just literally dance. And the person who invited me to do, I guess a four year commitment, you know, played this one so song and when she played this song, dude, it really hit me where I was like, oh yeah, I'm definitely going to be a moon dancer. And like, I just knew at that moment that this is something that I'm going to be incorporating. So even at this last unleash, I sang this song that I would have never really sang in Unleashed, because I told you I had like, it was one of my biggest fears. And at this Unleashed, because that struck a chord in me. I began Unleash with that particular song from Moondance. And so she's sort of the bridge for me. The person who invited me, she works more with the medicine women and that's more of her niche. And she's now bringing me on board, which then I get to now put it out more into the mainstream masses because that's where I'm at. I'm a bridge between like the spiritual community and the more modern, you know, like, meaning that it's, you know, because if you meet me, I'm. I can do both, right? Like, I don't have to. I'm not too goddessy, if, if we were to call it that. I'm not like wearing all the things and super feminine and like I'm, I'm both. I'm very masculine and feminine and get to express that. But, but even I started incorporating that. And so what I'm. What I'm saying is that as you go, you're going to find new things, things and new discoveries about yourself, that that's how you continue to innovate and it continues to be inspiring throughout the process. You know, I'm sure as you've done your podcast, some things have shifted and changed and you've decided to bring in different types of guests or you understand, like the kind of guests that you want for your show more than anything. So you're going to find what you really want to do as you do, do it. You don't have to know it all at the first blink.

So much juiciness. And now I'm like, I need to hear this Moon dad song. Oh, yeah. So where can listeners connect with you and go to Unleash? Yeah.

So it's February 23rd. That's the next one. It's going to be across campus, Santa Monica. And this one is called this is Love. Just that's the title. And let's see what happens for this is Love. I don't know exactly, exactly, but it definitely feels like very loving vibes for sure. For the page, it's unleash.wedeepen.com that's again, unleash without an ed.wedeepen.com and to connect with me is I basically I. What I, what I get to do also is I work with people to help them unleash at deeper levels as well. So whether that means you want to gain more confidence, you want to break through your blocks and your fears, whether you need transformation for your actual physical body, I get to do that too. Because sometimes our body image and our actual density in our body and the way that we appear stop us from doing, you know, things on the dance floor. And, you know, I want to help, you know, be a bridge even for that because that's obviously those are the building blocks that have led to Unleash. I'm grateful that I got to know all of this information because I can help people from such an array and a real deep way through the body. So you can connect with me by going to calendly.com forward/yarixa and we'll do a 20 minute consult, free complimentary one. And that way I get to really understand you better and seeing how I can help you on a deeper level. But yeah, you can find me through that. And lastly lastly, Instagram @coachyardy, which is coach Y A R I and then at Unleash Movement.

Beautiful. Well, thank you so much for sharing all your wisdom with us. We are definitely soul sister dancers from a past life. And it just makes me, you know, so much of the reason why I left the US and I thought I could never live here was because I felt like there was no conscious dance community. And it feels so good to be able to know that there are or like amazing, expressive, beautiful dance that are just on par with Bali and Goa and all of those places that are known for it here in la, where I get to live. And, and if you're listening to this, this is your invitation to create it where you live too. Like, it's not that this happened to be in la, it's that Yari decided to take action and bring it to here. And now all of us, us get to experience it. And now it's actually one of my favorite parts of living in this freaking city. The fact that you said yes and and not only me, on the 180 people who come every single, every single week. So thank you for stepping up to that gift. Thank you for releasing the limitations and conditions that the universe gifted you with to release. And thank you for saying yes to that opportunity to do so. And thank you. Thank you for inspiring all of us to unleash even further.

Yeah, go be you.

Yes. Don't you want to get up and start dancing right now? Well, you don't have to wait until you go to an unleash. You can start dancing wherever you are. It's free. Just put on some music, your favorite song. I have tons of music, tons of playlists on my Spotify if you follow me. I'm Sahara Rose. I'm always posting songs in Rose Gold Goddesses, my app, my community membership which has a whole music section. I am a DJ and always putting out music, but there are so many forms of dance out there. I highly recommend if you do come to LA to check out Unleashed. She is going to Hawaii for a couple months, so the next one I believe is going to be in May or so. If you just follow her on Instagram, you'll be able to check that out and just deep dive into all of the different healing dance floors out there. Ecstatic Dance five Elements Dance Come to any of my dance experiences. There is so much available to us and all we gotta do is get our bodies moving and we're already in the healing process. If you loved this episode, I would love if you could leave me a review in the itunes store. And as a free gift, I will share with you the first half of my unreleased book Eat Right for your mind body type. Simply email a screenshot of your review over to SaharaetFeelFresh.com again, Sahara S A H A R R AatFeelFresh.com and I will send you over the first half of my unreleased book Eat Right for your mind body type. Thank you and namaste.

Ra.