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A One-Way Flight to Peace and Happiness 
I was a gate agent at Miami International Airport. Sometimes I had to single-handedly de-plane and board passengers on oversold flights in record-breaking time to get the flight back out, and sometimes the scene got pretty ugly. A vegetarian for many years, I considered myself a relatively healthy young person, but I had fallen into some unhealthy habits and lifestyle choices and did not know how to relax.
It was around this time that I “accidentally” found a small book by Swami Sivananda at the airport. It was titled Inspiring Stories and instead of taking it to Lost and Found, I started reading it. It was also around this time that a co-worker noticed I was on the verge of a meltdown and said to me, “Hey, have you ever heard of this yoga retreat in the Bahamas? You should think about going there for a few days to chill out!”
The seed was planted and I immediately got on the phone to find out where, when and how. I had never tried Yoga before, but it was less than one hour away by plane, and I was able to fly there for almost free with my airline benefits.
 I will never forget how I felt after my first yoga class. It was a slow time at the Yoga Retreat, as it was summertime, and there were very few guests and staff there. My first yoga instructor was a gentle hippie-type man with a beat-up straw hat and a guitar who had studied with Swami Vishnu. He gently and patiently instructed me through the breathing exercises (I realized I had never learned how to breathe!), yoga postures and relaxation. But it wasn’t until we sat up from final relaxation that I realized something magical had happened. I had never felt so calm, aware, relaxed and yet energized before. I was literally tingling with prana and excitement, and I loved it! I was only there for a few days on the first visit, but I left with a sense of renewed hope of how wonderful life could be and determined to find a yoga class in Florida that I could attend regularly.
I went to every Yoga class I could find in the South Florida area, but was left unsatisfied and confused, not even knowing what I was really looking for, but knowing that I wasn’t finding “it”, that magical feeling I had felt in the Bahamas. I began to practice (inconsistently) on my own using the Sivananda Companion to Yoga, and making frequent short trips to the Yoga Retreat whenever possible. A few years later, still unsuccessful in finding a teacher in my area and not disciplined enough to practice consistently on my own, I decided to take the Yoga Teachers Training Course myself, even though I wasn’t really planning to teach, so I could learn more and develop the self-discipline I needed to practice more regularly.
It may sound clichéd to say that it was a life-changing event, but it truly was. I was so inspired by the curriculum and the brilliant teachers, who were all extremely knowledgeable, experienced, and dedicated to continue the teachings of Swami Sivananda and Swami Vishnu Devananda. I was amazed to learn that all the teachers and the entire hard-working staff at the Yoga Retreat were Karma Yogis (volunteers), who took their commitment to serve and help others along the path very seriously. The four weeks of the course were challenging. The experience was physically, mentally, and spiritually cleansing and I remember crying a lot. Toward the end of the course we were given the opportunity to receive initiation into our own Mantra and I can honestly say that this was the greatest gift I have ever received.
 In spite of my plans to not teach, I was called upon to start teaching right away and have been teaching ever since. Over the years I have been present at many TTC (Teacher Training Course) initiations and graduations (I still cry at every one), and have even had the blessing of assisting in some of the courses. My favorite part of each TTC is at the initiation of the course when the students are invited to go up to the microphone one-by-one to introduce themselves and tell why they are there for the course. “I want to live a more disciplined life”, “I want to help elderly people”, “I want others to experience the joy this practice has brought me”, “Yoga saved my life, now it’s time to give back”, “I want to help children”, etc. It is so touching and inspiring to me because I see myself in every one of those students and it gives me hope that together we can carry on Swami Vishnu Devananda’s mission in creating a more peaceful world, within and without.
Mohini (TTC 1998) eventually left her airline job and is now co-director of the Yoga Warehouse, an affiliated Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA.
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“Health is wealth, peace of mind is happiness. Yoga shows the way.”
