I’m absolutely loving this series. Hearing everyone’s lessons and insights has been incredibly inspiring, it has certainly helped me to forge a stronger relationship with my practice!
Yoga means something different to each and everyone of us, it doesn’t have to be this way or that. Yoga brings us whatever we need and all we need to do is listen ~ therein lies the lesson!
Today, let me introduce you to Patty Kikos, a Kundalini yoga teacher who is full of life! She is also an energy healer, speaker and wedding celebrant. Her online offerings look amazing, so be sure to check out her website and connect with her.
1. Tell us a little about yourself
My name is Patty Kikos and I hold the space for amazing transformations as a wedding celebrant, yoga teacher or a speaker. My mission is to inspire visionaries to manage their energy & magnify their impact in the world. I want to make spiritual teachings accessible so that entrepreneurs can transform their energy centres (chakras) to strengthen their nervous system and be less triggered by stress.
I’m a vintage loving, sunset worshipping and free spirited dog lover with an uncanny ability to help people magnify their light, despite the fact that I have a visual impediment. (It kinda adds to my charm).
2. Everyone who has ended up on a yoga mat raising their arms in their first sun salutation has a story of what led them there. What’s yours?
I was lost, alone, living in a country where I didn’t speak the language and DESPERATELY in need of something that would connect me to my spirit. Haha – did that get your attention? It was humbling as I had always previously being dismissive of the slow meditative aspect of yoga, and admittedly at that time in my life 17 years ago, I needed to be more physically challenged with dynamic asana before I could relax enough to be still and present, whereas these days, my practice is much more gentle.
It was an incredible experience for me as it was the first time that I noticed such a profound and almost instantaneous shift in my posture (I’d been travelling with a heavy backpack for 6 months prior to this), as well as how happy I felt afterwards. I remember skipping along the streets of Amsterdam feeling like I was high on life right after a yoga class. It inspired me to keep myself clean of shall we say, illicit substances, and the only regret or shoulda, coulda, woulda moment that I have, is that my practice was sporadic for many years after I left Holland.
It’s one of the reasons I felt so inspired to create my 40 day chakra balance e-course, as it provides a framework for you to practice so many aspects of yoga from anywhere in the world without having to go to a yoga studio.
3. What keeps you returning to your yoga mat?
The desire to be a good person, and the absolute knowing that I can potentially turn into a crazy lady if I don’t do my daily practice. Returning to my mat is an investment in myself and in my relationships. The amount of triumphs equal the amount of times I’ve had my arse handed to me – it’s equal parts humbling as it is amazing. The amount of psychic insights I’ve had during a gong bath, meditation or (my favorite) savasana have been life changing enough to inspire me to keep returning to my beloved mat.
4. How has your yoga practice filtered through to your every day life?
Oh my goodness – great question!
These days, I am acutely aware of my body so slowing down my breath has become something that I do naturally when I’m feeling stressed. This is a great thing as it eliminates the predisposition for my adrenals to produce excess adrenalin or cortisol when I feel pressured or time poor.
I use mantra all the time, especially when I want to change my state of mind really quickly and I find it to be the most powerful tool when it comes to practicing mindfulness. I use it when I’m stuck in traffic or a long queue and find it incredibly helpful in staying present and not being so reactive when something doesn’t go my way or as planned.
5. What is your favorite yoga pose, breathing practice or mantra?
FAVE POSE
Ok, I’m going to be wishy washy here and confess that I don’t actually have a favourite pose. And that’s not because I love them all, in fact if you’d asked me what my least favourite pose was, I could share 4 or 5 off the top of my head – ( hanumanasana on the left side – I’m looking at you..)
BREATHING PRACTICE
Again, I don’t have a favorite, I simply call upon the one I need at the time I need it most. For instance breath of fire first thing in the morning in the middle of Winter (and winter is a relative term here in Sydney Australia) works amazingly well because it means I’m getting my body to generate the heat it needs instead of relying on my heater.
Sitali pranayama when I’m too fired up in the middle of summer or when I’m upset really calms me down, as does consciously slowing my breath down. It has a powerful effect on slowing down my thoughts and helping me feel calm really quickly.
MANTRA
This is a great tool and I often maintain a 40 day practice that involves the chanting of a mantra. It’s like an active conscious way of reprogramming my cellular memory. The word mantra comes from the ancient Sanskrit language. Man means “mind,” and tra means “release.” So a mantra is a combination of transcendental sounds meant to release the mind from all the anxieties of everyday life.
6. What advice do you have for those just starting out on their yogajourney?
Don’t feel pressured to go to a certain type of yoga class just because your friends rave about how absolutely-amazing-the-class-or-the-teacher-is. It may not necessarily be the right practice for you. I tried Bikram yoga twice in my life and thought that I was going to die – in fact I threw up the second time because of how badly I responded to the heat. (And the smell of the room, and the germs that thrive in the warmer temperature. *she shudders – eww*.)
Your yoga practice is personal, so it’s important that you feel comfortable in the studio and with your teacher, especially with the latter as you have to be able to trust that she can hold the space for you while your body contorts in a way that you never thought was possible.
7. How has your yoga practice evolved over time?
These days, my practice involves much more pranayama (breathing), chanting and meditation and all 3 of those components are inexplicably linked to how I live my life.
I use my breath to help slow down my mind and my thoughts when I’m typing a blog post or editing copy for my e-course. I chant when I walk my dog, clean the house, find myself in a long queue or even as part of my meditation in the mornings sometimes.
I find that I can either calm down or charge my energy if I need to a lot more rapidly through meditation. It restores my body’s equilibrium without me needing to go to a yoga class or even leave the house.
8. What are you loving right now?
Honestly? The sunrise! I’m blessed to be able to see it from my bedroom window and balcony, but during the warmer months of the year, I often head down to the beach so that I can walk my dog or swim when it’s really hot.
9. How do you nurture yourself?
By remembering to rest, to not take things personally and to be OK about asking for help. One of my favourite quotes is “How you do one thing is how you do most things”. It’s a great reminder about integrity. It reminds me to check in when I’m starting to feel like I’m out of balance or harmony with myself. It’s also a great reminder that all we need are a few simple tweaks to re align with our divine and transform.
Another important way for me to find balance is to be flexible. I used to be someone that was a stickler for routine and I used to be incredibly austere about my daily yoga + meditation practice. But that kind of rigidity wouldn’t allow for any form of spontaneity in my life, which I think is inexplicably linked to abundance and a creative flow, so these days, I’m far less rigid – and much happier!
10. What wisdom has your yoga practice revealed to you that you’d like to share with us?
Where you’re at right now, is perfect. Even if you’re not earning the amount you want to make, or if a particular relationship has just ended, or if you could easily do that difficult pose last week, but can’t for the love of asana do it this week.
It’s all exactly as it’s meant to be.
Your body and your emotions are speaking to you – even if you don’t like what they have to say initially, you’ll be able to draw out the medicine you need for the next step in your life if you accept where you’re at is perfect for you right now.
A huge thank you to Patty for sharing the lessons yoga has taught her and the reminder that we are exactly where we’re meant to be! Now go check out her work…
Bio:
Patty Kikos is a speaker, yoga teacher and energy healer renowned for inspiring visionaries and entrepreneurs to make incredible internal transformations that magnify their effectiveness and impact on the world.
She has an innate ability to demystify timeless teachings that makes ancient wisdom, deep spiritual teachings and advanced energetic practices easily accessible to her students through her writing, courses and trainings.
Her methods quickly help you transform your energy centres (chakras) to strengthen your nervous system, dissolve stress triggers and unleash your true energetic potential. Her energetic entrepreneur sequence helps busy spiritual seekers boost their vitality and maintain a daily practice from anywhere in the world in only 10 minutes per day.
When Patty isn’t moonlighting as a celebrant, she’s usually watching a sunset, walking her dog or trawling for vintage. You can stay up to date by sending her a witty message on her Facebook page, showing her how to use a filter properly on Instagram, or by subscribing to her fortnightly-ish newsletters.
