We recently connected with Sheena Patel and have shared our conversation below.
Sheena, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
Yoga. Yoga gave me the tools to allow me to walk into things that felt very uncomfortable. Tools to be aware of all the doors opening to me everyday and then have the courage to walk through them, to see where they would lead me.
However, most importantly, yoga taught me to meditate, the place where I just listened to what my conciousness, by true self was telling the human me.
We have all arrived here with a gift, a purpose, which when lived fully, not only grows ourself, but grows all those around us.
That is how I found my purpose. I listened to and then followed what I heard, no matter how uncomfortable it was. I was present in my life, so I could be aware of opportunities that were opening for me, to learn something about myself. I sat in awareness of how each experience made me feel. I surrendered and flowed with my life, rather than resisted it.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
It took me to the age of 46 to find my purpose. I learnt the first part of it when I was 35. When I arrived on the island of Cabo Verde, I found myself running a Kite and Windsurf school with my new love. He knew the sport, they were a part of him. I knew none of them, as I had just spent 15 years in International Development and business. One of the things I did as part of running the business, was to learn who to teach Windsurf, to get me out of the school and into the ocean. Here I learnt two things; the first was that I was meant to teach and the second that I was deeply connected to the ocean.
As I began to move deeper into yoga, the seed of opening a studio began to grow. It would be 6 more years before everything would align for me to buy my own studio. A series of events happened, my companion had a property he wanted to sell for a set price. From the moment I saw it, I knew it would be perfect for a studio. My grandmother decided to give all her grandchildren money way before her death. The amount she gave me was the exact amount for the property. There were so many more signs, as well people who kept telling me that a studio on a remote island would never work. But I followed my soul, and against the odds walked into my fear. Fears given to me by others.
The minute I stepped into the studio, I knew that this was what I was meant to do. I was meant to follow the yogic path and teach all that I was learning to others. I knew that to invest in the growth of others, I would have to invest in me. To do that, I spent 2 to 3 months every summer, going around the world to learn from different teachers. Not only yogis and gurus, but doctors, chinese medicine healers, sound healers, etc.
So began the most unknown journey into my purpose. A purpose that challanged me every step of the way. To trust and surrender, knowing that as long as my intention was selfless and good, the universe would always provide. I just had to keep doing the work. To trust that when it got really hard, there was a reason for that wall, that challange.
The studio has been a miricle, with people arriving from all over the world to learn the Ancient Discipline of Yoga.
But it did not stop there. A purpose grows and expands, always seeking new ways to adapt to the changing world and create unique ways to support and help others to find thier purpose, to grow, to be better souls. A few years ago, my conciousness channeled a book through me, to give yoga and all of nature a voice. The book is unique and magnificient, if I may say so.
Yoga: Where the Impossible meets the Possible (found on most amazon platforms)
Recently launched a YouTube Library: The Ancient Yoga Library
Offering all the tools of yoga, to those seeking change, who can’t afford a studio or to travel to learn.
The channel/Library was a massive challange for me. To put myself out there, to learn to make and edit videos, to embrace technology, a tool that scares me for so many reasons. But no matter how much I resisted, what rose in my meditations told be different. So I gave up the battle and took a new uncomfortable path. Once again learning that I was capable of so much more, than what my mind kept limiting me to.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Learn to love yourself, know yourself, be true to yourself, and invest in you.
The greatest gift you can have in your life is to be paid to be you. When the above four things are in place, no one can hurt you, put fear or doubt in you, or discourage you.
Find a discipline, such as yoga, that helps you achieve the above. Know that it is hard work, to break down all the conditioning’s that have been given to you by others. Conditioning’s that are often steeped in fear, judgments, insecurities etc, that prevents you from achieving your purpose. From knowing what you can really do in this magnificient world.
Understand, that all purposes seek to give rise to unique creativity that are in harmony with the planet and the universe. Taking someone elses ideas or regurgitating ideas, is not a true purpose. All purposes firstly lead to involution and growth of yourself to a place of bliss, and then to supporting and helping others selflessly.
Anything else is just ambition and attachments to concepts of success that will keep you in the cycle of suffering.
Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?
FEAR! It is the number one challenge to all of us. Fear of failure, fear of not being good enough, fear of others opinions and judgments, fear of looking like a fool, fear, fear, fear.
Everyday I walk into whatever fear rears its head, through the lens of awareness. Aware that fear is something that exists in my mind and my mind only. I meditate and do my yogic practise everyday. I observe my fear and understand where they have come from and then return them to the source. In some cases walking into my fears is about opening myself up and showing my vulnerabilities and insecurities.
I consciously redefine concepts such as success and failure. Knowing that I will only ever learn and expand if I fail and suffer. I define my life, no longer allowing others to define it for me.
All this works, because I love myself and am deeply invested in me. When your mind is pure, and you lead from a place of love and awareness, you start to become indifferent to the response of the external world to you. As your actions are pure, unpolluted by fear.
Contact Info:
- Website: www..yogacaboverde.com
- Instagram: yoga_caboverde
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrkt4m76uhQ9PdCEessao6w
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
