Earth Chats ft. Allie Wilhelm

The HVTT is committing to a plastic free November and will be focusing our content this month on caring for Mama Earth. We are by no means perfect but want to try our best to do our part, to share tips and information we learn along the way. Earth chats will feature radiant beings passionate about sustainability and saving this planet. Tune in to hear the magic! The first chat is with my sister Allie who first inspired me to dig deeper with her passion for the earth and all beings. Allie discusses ways to begin the journey and how she connects all of this back to the philosophies of yoga. Below you will find links to Allie's course Connecting Yoga and her Instagram.

https://wholeheartedlyallie.podia.com/connecting-yoga-group-coaching-program

https://instagram.com/wholeheartedlyallie?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Transcript

[00:13] Taylor Wilhelm: Hi, everyone. Welcome back to cosmic connections. I am so stoked to be here with you today. I'm here with my sister Ali hi. Which I'm so excited to share this magic today. I know in the last episode we started season two and we explained the shift that this podcast is going to be taking. And it's that as we expand the tribe and continue to create magic around the world, we really want to include so many different voices on here to share what we've learned from them, what they're sharing with the world, and really just let this be a place for connection that continues to grow. So a little bit of a backstory about the tribe when we started was that me and my sister both have been very into yoga. And we both started with more of the physical practice. And then as we got more into it. Learned about the lineage and the mental health aspect and all these different limbs and branches and philosophies of yoga. And we really started making that a lifestyle. And it was super special to be inspired by my little sister in this way because she created this epic course that synthesized this ancient text in a way that helped me understand like I had never understood before, and it was a way that I could understand and execute and share with the world. And that actually is the foundation of the high vibe travel tribe, is these principles that have been around for thousands of years, but it's how we speak and share and educate on these principles. So, yeah, the course was called connecting yoga. And ally, if you want to just speak on that and share what that is.

[02:13] Allie Wilhelm: Yeah. Connecting yoga was definitely my first baby. I have a real baby now. And that was a whole labor of love in itself. I really got into the physical asana as a catalyst just during a time of self discovery, and I started taking a lot of classes, and I was really starting to feel the shift and feel really different. And that was super exciting. And I had an opportunity to take a teacher training, and I jumped right in. And during that couple of months, I mean, my whole world, I feel flipped upside down. It was such an expansive opportunity to realize how much more there was to everything. You know, that was the first time I really stopped, like, looking at myself as a physical entity. I really started saying, like, oh, who am I? You know? And I, like I said was going through a really dark time. So having this whole window into my soul basically be flooded open was extremely overwhelming. So for the next couple of months and years, I feel like I grounded into what I learned in my training, and I'm a very type a person. And I just felt like it was me dipping my toes into it, but I wanted to really dive and swim. I wanted to be completely immersed in this. So I really just started studying it and started trying to understand the best I could. And then that led me to a lot of my clients and people, and I was getting the same questions over and over again about how to implement these practices. So then I just started writing them down and I started creating kind of what the outline for Connecting Yoga was. And then fast forward a few months and I created the whole program that explains everything about yoga and granite. I mean, it's still not people study this their whole lives and I am by no means a master of any of this, but it definitely is a good entry point for a lot of people who are just maybe started in the physical asthma like I did, and then wanted to deepen into the spirituality aspect of it. It was a beautiful program. I ran it, I think, three or four times and it's awesome. I was so happy to be able to share that.

[04:53] Taylor Wilhelm: Yes, it was truly a life changing course and I feel so blessed to have been included in that and the way that it's changed my life in the sense of for example, you can use the term Karma yoga in a book and you can read about it all you want, but to actually implement that is a completely different story. You know, are you expecting a thank you from someone who unpacks the dishwasher? Right. Like, you have these concrete examples in there that I was able to track in my life. Whoa, that's where I'm not practicing that. That's where this fog is coming up. And it was just you took it with the history and real life examples and married those together and yeah, it's truly magical. I'm curious, are you still offering Connecting Yoga?

[05:45] Allie Wilhelm: Yeah, so, I mean, I would totally offer it to anyone who would be interested in it. It's just not going to have that live aspect. However, I recorded every group call. We did discussion questions, we did discussions, all of that. So that is accessible. But of course, it's a little different than someone walking you through it every step of the way, but essentially you are being walked through.

[06:11] Taylor Wilhelm: Yeah. And I think that with the course, you really helped me embody the teachings. And I feel like that's something that I really I could just cry saying this, like I admire so much about you is that you embody what you teach and teach what you embody. Like, you are a walking embodiment of what you preach.

[06:33] Allie Wilhelm: I really, really appreciate that. And your support was huge. It was so nervewracking to do a course like that. And I'm happy that I'm so happy you were there. And for anyone who is interested in what the course is, I'm happy to all share the link with you today and people can read about it or whatever, but I'm open for questions and discussions always, even though it's not actively running.

[07:00] Taylor Wilhelm: Yeah, I think I would love for you to just when I think of you, right, and the way that you've impacted me and the way that I'm impacting the world through my business, the things that come to my mind are the environment, living, connecting yoga principles and being vegan. Although I don't I don't follow a fully vegan lifestyle. The awareness that you've brought into my field around meat consumption and choosing the meat that we eat and just like, really having that mindful component of the connection that we lose in today's society. I would love to know, out of these topics, what are you most passionate about sharing with the people listening to this podcast? Where do you want to start?

[07:57] Allie Wilhelm: I mean, I'll start with that environment aspect just because that has been a really deep place I've been in recently with the birth of my daughter, essentially. I'm so thankful that you mentioned that embodiment aspect because that's all I'm trying to do. I feel this first year of motherhood is like, how can I embody a better human? Like, you know, so Amber, my daughter, can grow up with that awareness and with that knowing that I don't feel like we all get that connection sometimes until we're older. So with mother gaia with the environment, I just feel that this is so interlaced with yoga, but also just humanity in general. It's such a unifying aspect. And whether you're reducing your waste, whether you're choosing a more compassionate lifestyle, any of these things, that's going to help you deepen into not only your yoga practice, but it's going to deepen your level of compassion, like your level of love. And to me, that transforms who you are. So I think a point that maybe would be fun to dive into deeper would just be talking and sharing about little ways that we all can shift. And you mentioned, of course, consuming less meat is a great option, but even further than that, this is going to sound so silly, but things that are so simple, how can you bring a deeper awareness into what you're doing every single day? To try to lessen your impact and lessening my impact seems like such a daunting task. But if you start with little things every single day, like, it makes a huge difference. And it can be really easy to get caught up in the environmental overwhelm of feeling hopeless for the state of the world. I am, like, always pulling myself out of that. But it's up to us to embody that yoga and to live that way, so that way we can hopefully make a collective difference before it's too late. But the example I was about to use was I've recently started making my own butter. So just like, things like that, you know, that it's, like so silly, like, oh, you're just like making butter. But I mean, think about that. That's so much less. We would have probably bought four or five plastic cartons of butter by now.

[10:50] Taylor Wilhelm: Oh, my gosh. Alike. When I think of you, you guys, let me tell you, like, this woman, she seriously when I think of lessening my own impact, right? And we truly track through a day. It's like the containers that we buy. We buy spinach, and it comes in a plastic container. We buy a latte in the morning, it comes in a plastic cup. I feel like, Ali, you literally do so much. You make your own butters, you make your own milk. You go to a coop and you use bags and you bring your own. You don't even use produce bags. You have an electric car. I feel like you do so many things. And I feel like when someone's just beginning this journey of, like, what does that even mean to lessen the impact? Like, let's open up. What are we even talking about?

[11:45] Allie Wilhelm: Yeah. For me, I think how can I almost seem as if I haven't been here? I love that when I go into the grocery store, can I leave with only the things that I'm going to consume within that week and maybe not have anything in my cart that's going through to create waste? Which, of course, I have a husband, he eats Raisin brand every week. Can I convince him to get the Raisin brand out of the bulk section? No, apparently it's not. Yes. I mean, there are I'm by no means perfect, but when I am choosing and trying to make that conscious decision, it's like, okay, how can I pretend like I wasn't even here?

[12:32] Taylor Wilhelm: I love that. How can we pretend like we weren't here? And it's like when you leave, you probably don't have that many things you're throwing away in a day, do you?

[12:41] Allie Wilhelm: No. And I would say I'm an extremist. I'm really trying. This is an element of myself that I have. Feel like I've been like this since I was little. If you look at everything we've talked about with the connecting yoga program, it wasn't like, oh, I want to share yoga. It was like, no, what is yoga? What's every aspect of yoga? How can we really know? Same with being vegan. Like, I went vegan overnight. I was like, okay, this is it all in. And with the zero waste, my husband's constantly reminding me, like, Ali, we live in a society that doesn't support the way you're trying to live. And it's so great we can do all the things every day, but there is that balance. Am I never, ever going to get take out? No, I'm going to get take out, basically. So it's definitely like finding that. But to me, these are the things that it's great to be all in. Why aren't we all in? Because we all live in the same place. That isn't going to last forever. And it's a part of our yoga to take care of this Earth. And by doing that, we need to treat her as if she is this entity that needs support, needs love, needs nurturing. And I don't feel like we live like that.

[14:11] Taylor Wilhelm: Yeah. I always say, Mama Earth takes care of all of us. How do we care for her? And in my journey right now, the ways that I've learned from you, I feel like you inspire me and then I apply it in my own life in a way that I didn't think about it because our brains are passionate about different topics. And one of the things I'm feeling right now is sadness and pain around. I feel like I look around and I'm just seeing consumption, consumption, consumption. And it's like I'm like creating people to just think about how am I giving back? If I'm consuming, how am I giving back? And so as the awareness increases to doing our part, there's also this sadness arising in me and it's like this balance. I'm trying to find such a deep pain.

[15:01] Allie Wilhelm: It really is. I feel like I get so down in the dump sometimes because I just feel heartbroken for the world that my daughter is going to grow up into. It's like I yearn for that normal of consistently taking care in a way that's more sustainable. And I think when we look at that pain, we have to contrast that like it's the light in the dark, it's the yin and the yang. It's the Shiva. The Shah. Yeah. Because you are able to have such love for the Earth and such awareness and such passion for, you know, in this circumstance, lowering your consumption, that is because that level of love is so great. We have to feel that contrast of the deep pain. So it's just something that I feel like we have to continue to grow through.

[16:02] Taylor Wilhelm: Yeah. And share and educate and not be hardened by the lack of that we need. Because then our joy is gone.

[16:09] Allie Wilhelm: Yeah. And everybody can take simple steps like growing your own herbs, starting little like vegetables, like kale. Kale is actually a very winter resistant. I'm in Virginia, so it frosts here and gets pretty cold. I can grow kale in the winter, which my kale at the coop doesn't necessarily come in a bag, but a lot of kales are bags. It's like that's one bag you could consume and you can grow herbs on your windows, cell. How many people are buying the tubes of basil or the basil in that plastic package every single week because you want to make pesto or something when it's like you could grow that.

[16:53] Taylor Wilhelm: Yes. So growing finding maybe one or two things to start, because for me, when I think of growing something, it's a little overwhelming when running a business in my lifestyle. But what I've started doing is reaching out to local farmers instead of going to the grocery store. And that way here, it's like, we try to find a farmer so we can grab the greens instead of buying the greens in the plastic tub. But just yeah, I think other ways would be any suggestions you have as people are listening, just of, like, how to start this.

[17:25] Allie Wilhelm: Yeah, I would definitely say the bulk shopping is so great. I mean, it's a lot cheaper, and you can go in there and buy your rice, your beans, your oats, your lentils, like, all of the things.

[17:39] Taylor Wilhelm: And what, are you putting those in if you're not using that?

[17:42] Allie Wilhelm: No, so I usually use my own jars. I just have mason jars. I also have just, like, canvas bags that for things like mushrooms or stuff like that. I just put it in a canvas bag instead. And bulk shopping can be overwhelming if you've never done it before. But, I mean, really, you just have to weigh your jar before or weigh your container, and then you fill it up, and then you write the skew on it, and then they weigh it at the cashier, and that's it, you're done. I know the first time I was going in to do it, I was so like, oh, my God, this is crazy. Which I also had, like, a baby with me.

[18:24] Taylor Wilhelm: Yes. And then I feel like this call to action can be in so many places besides just our waste and our food. I mean, you've educated me, and it's opened up a passion for me of, like, no more fast fashion.

[18:41] Allie Wilhelm: Why are we so obsessed with A, B, and C? That so and so is wearing, and it's because that's how our society is designed. So for me, turning off that craving is hard at first, but then I have fallen in love with Thrifting, and if anybody here wants to transform their organizational life, marie Kondo is such a good place to start. But it really is like that concept of does this spark joy? You know, just really looking at the things that you wear and you feel and asking, does this make me feel good? Does this align? And that's like, a really easy way to consume less because you're perfect and beautiful as you are. And that's what yoga teaches us.

[19:35] Taylor Wilhelm: And as we consume even something as, like, a pair of jeans, it's like, how many pairs of jeans are already out there existing without adding to this overconsumption? And there's, you know, clothes are being dumped in other countries, covering the floors of their Earth there due to America's overconsumption of clothes. And it's heartbreaking. And I think I've really adopted that. My own life of, like, how can I not add to the continued consumption? Can I go to a local thrift store and ReWare something and feel fabulous in it for what my heart wants, not what is in right now? And I feel like a service that you should offer honestly every birthday y'all I'm like I tell my sister. I'm like please. Like here's some money. Go thrifting for me. Help me and we have a system I like feel we both do this when we get something new we donate something out of our closet so it's like trading process essentially totally and I.

[20:40] Allie Wilhelm: Think even being creative with how you reuse some things like you can make a KVIs bag out of a Tshirt pretty easily you can make cotton rags like we use cloth diapers and we wipe instead of using the wipes that come in that container we use like cloth wipes so it's like a cloth wipe can be made out of a cloth from a dress. A t shirt it's super. Super creative I guess to figure out how can I stop this from going to the landfill?

[21:17] Taylor Wilhelm: Yeah I feel like I'm thinking we're going to need a workshop or something on this stuff because I feel like a lot of times it's not that people don't want to. They just don't know how or where to start so I would say from this if we were going to give them three actionable steps of if you were going to focus on three things for one month what would you say those three things should be.

[21:47] Allie Wilhelm: Specifically for waste reduction or just in general?

[21:51] Taylor Wilhelm: I would say any way that they can contribute to saving Mother Earth. I feel like we have a lot of different types of people that listen to this we have teenagers. We have moms. We have businesswomen. We have 30 year olds it's like such a vast variety so yeah. Maybe just like three points that people could hear this and be like I'm going to try this for one month.

[22:14] Allie Wilhelm: So the first thing that came to my mind which is a little bit obscure is just a preference. I'm so passionate about so many things that sometimes I feel like I have a hard time like staying centered and talking about one thing so my back on that but the first thing that I was thinking of is just the whole concept of Yana yoga so like asking yourself who am I? If every single day for a month you ask yourself who am I? I guarantee your actions are going to follow probably some days they will, some days they won't but it's like if I wake up in the morning and say who am I? And I am connecting with the fact that I'm a strong, confident, beautiful woman who needs X, Y and Z, I'm more likely to give myself that because I checked in and asked like who am I? That would be my first one and.

[23:15] Taylor Wilhelm: So Johnny yeah, let's dive into more of that after I'm okay, point number.

[23:20] Allie Wilhelm: Two my second point would probably be just to nourish in a way that really serves your soul and that can be with that. And that can be like the whole cycle of your food. So like, we talked about the bulk shopping, like getting your food in a sustainable way, eating a nourishing meal, and then it's like when you're done, are you composting it? Are you putting it in the trash like that? Nourishment, to me is that full cycle that is beautiful.

[23:55] Taylor Wilhelm: Like not just ourselves, but like preparation process, the intentional eating process and then what's happening after we've eaten.

[24:03] Allie Wilhelm: Yeah, so probably nourishment would be my second one and then my third one would probably be to just creating some sort of connection, whether that's like a mantra or journaling. For me, it's been a lot of mantra work lately of just like attuning to who it is you're trying to align with. We all have that highest self and we have to tap into it. And often we get so rigid and I mean, I can't even explain to you how crazy this past year has been, especially with my particular practices that I love. Like, I used to wake up, journal, meditate, do my yoga. Now I'm lucky if I literally get any sleep at night. So finding those different ways to attune to that higherself and releasing all other aspects. So it might not be journaling every day. Maybe it's just listening to a five minute mantra on your way or maybe it's a walk or turning off your phone or whatever that does is for you, but just like taking some time to attune your heart with who you are.

[25:18] Taylor Wilhelm: And I'm really hearing through these three points of who am I? The full nourishment cycle and creating connection is all with self. And the depth we can go with ourselves is the depth we can go with another person in our lives, our family. And I feel like to have even that relationship with saving the earth, like we were talking about earlier, to connect to her, we first have to connect to ourselves. So I absolutely love those three points and I couldn't agree more. And if we were going to say on top of that, what are three ways to reduce the environmental impact if you are just doing the bare minimum starting this, you know, the first thing that comes to my mind is buy a reusable water bottle.

[26:08] Allie Wilhelm: Yes, definitely. I would say compost if you can. I mean, if you can't compost, throw it in your backyard. Composting doesn't have to be super fancy. You might not be able to use your compost if you're chucking it in the woods, but at least something's using it.

[26:30] Taylor Wilhelm: Yes, I love that. And what else? Let's see somebody who's never really thought about this.

[26:37] Allie Wilhelm: Yeah, I mean, I would probably say focusing on, I don't know, because that's going to depend on focusing on whole plant foods is like a pretty easy way to reduce your waste. Just because if you're only eating plants, you're less likely to buy all this stuff that comes, like, already made. But I totally get that not everybody wants to buy dried beans and make beans.

[27:09] Taylor Wilhelm: But yeah, you're kind of saying, like, buying things that don't require the cans and the plastic containers and the cardboard boxes. Because you're right. Like if we are mainly shopping the produce section and using the bulk grains and rice and beans, it's like, yeah, we really don't have that much waste. And we're actually doing for November, we're doing a plastic free November through the tribe. So we're all making a commitment to do plastic free. We're going to do the whole retreat plastic free. And so for anyone listening, please message us if you want to join this challenge. It's going to be a challenge, but what an eye opening experience like we're about to go through.

[27:52] Allie Wilhelm: Yeah, it's overwhelming.

[27:56] Taylor Wilhelm: It is. And so as we tie this back into I feel like one podcast episode would never be enough for things I want to talk about with you. But the connecting yoga, the reason I brought that in is because it truly is the foundation of this entire tribe and business. And so, yeah, I don't know if it feels resonant to you to maybe briefly touch on the four paths and maybe just like a real life example from each one or I'll let you intuitively slow, but I would love for if people aren't familiar with these philosophies, to just get a little taste of, like, what is this magic that you shared with me?

[28:48] Allie Wilhelm: Yeah, I mean, I'll try to, like, keep it so not surface, but just not go off into it. But you can start with just that path of Karma Yoga because I feel as if that is such a great entry point. So Karma Yoga is essentially, how can I live of service with no expectation? So having that every moment be serving the universe, essentially. And it's that small little thing of realizing when your ego comes in and expects things. I would say that's the biggest awakening of Karma Yoga, at least it was for me, was realizing, like, how much I did expect. How many times was I doing something just to get a compliment when it was like, not even intentionally me wanting a compliment. Like, subconsciously, that was you know, it's crazy how we're wired like that.

[29:54] Taylor Wilhelm: I remember you shared a story about giving out sandwiches.

[30:00] Allie Wilhelm: I mean, essentially this was before my zero waste journey, but I made hundreds of TB and Jays and went all around downtown Charlotte and just passed them out as a challenge to myself to see what it would feel like to just give and not want a thank you. You know, there were some people who looked at me like, no, I don't want your freaking sandwich. And then there were other and that did activate me inside. It was like, that's so rude. Like, I went through all this trouble. What else are you going to eat? You know, that's eat. And that was a point to reflect and be like, wait, why is this upsetting me? Like, I didn't make this sandwich so this person would be grateful for this sandwich. And then on the other hand, when I pass out a sandwich and someone is like, thank you. I haven't eaten in a few days. You have no idea how much this means to me. That lit me up inside. It makes me want to do it again. But that's also a point to observe because it's like, oh, so that really is that is what I was wanting.

[31:14] Taylor Wilhelm: Yes. Wow, that was so powerful. Whenever I did that module, I had read about Karma Yoga for years. But your examples of, like, tracking that and even with family, like, unpacking the dishwasher and then wanting someone to be like, thank you so much for making my day easier, it's like, why did I need that? I like a statement you said from that module was, can we live to give? And I keep that true to my heart so often.

[31:48] Allie Wilhelm: I love that I'll maybe give it a little thing of how to maybe start Karma Yoga if that was, like, a very so intro. But start with the areas you're passionate about. Is it cooking? Is it cleaning? Where can you just give a little bit more and just see where that takes you? It doesn't have to be you going and doing these crazy things that's out. Is it going to be a little inconvenient? Maybe, but it's a chance to better yourself, better the world, and just start with where you're passionate about and see where it takes you.

[32:30] Taylor Wilhelm: Amazing. Thank you.

[32:33] Allie Wilhelm: So I guess the next one I'll go to is it's so hard? Okay, let's maybe go to we'll go to Yana Yoga since we talked about that one. So Yani Yoga is that question of who am I? So right now, if we pause, let's take a breath, close your eyes and ask that question, who am I? And just notice, like, do you hear anything? Do you hear a voice? Do you notice labels coming up? I'm a mother, I'm a wife. What is that story for you? And then realize you're none of those things. All of that is literally fake. It's completely an illusion. So just without being harsh, kind of realizing that just as we're all breathing the same air, like, we all are the same cosmic consciousness, so who are you? You are as divine as it comes. Truly. So how can we connect with that deeper? And a simple practice to connect with that one would be to just really ask yourself that question anytime you're caught up in your emotions, or maybe you're telling a story or whatever that is for you. There's definitely a lot of healing in that question. Do you feel like that was a summary of that one?

[34:12] Taylor Wilhelm: Yeah, I just. Wanted, like, small touch points on each. If you guys ever see when people say, what's your business? I show them, like, the business model. And it's amazing because it's created by Katie, an artist on our tribe, and it's so beautiful. But basically, it's a lily flower that I'll explain in another episode sometime, like, why this vision came to life. But the four petals of the flower are these four paths that Ally is speaking about. And then one of the paths leads into the eight limbs. And so that alley's basically giving you a little summary of each of our each of the petals that come from you know, this isn't our information. This is ancient wisdom that's been around for thousands and thousands of years that we're choosing to be flame keepers for and keep alive in this lifetime. Nobody owns this information.

[35:05] Allie Wilhelm: No. And it's such a deep tradition that this is none of my own concepts.

[35:10] Taylor Wilhelm: Like, whatsoever, but you're communicating it beautifully. So that was we've got Karma Yoga. We started with we went to Geni Yoga. And now which one are you using.

[35:20] Allie Wilhelm: Now we have Bakti Yoga. So this one, I would say, is probably the most challenging just because it is very in the clouds. And I will just preface this with it doesn't matter what your religion is. It doesn't matter what God you believe in, if you even believe in one. But this path is really calling us to connect to something beyond ourselves. Even if you don't believe in anything, you have to take a step back and realize you are a human who has all of these organs functioning at the same time. You're breathing, you're literally swallowing. You're hearing these words I'm saying, food might be digesting like that, and of itself is divine. That is divinely organized. How did your soul get here? There is something greater at work here, no matter what you believe in. So this path is calling you to connect with that. Connect with that through prayer, connect with that through mantra. Whatever ways you get lost in that flow state, that is your way right now to deepen your practice in Bakhta Yoga.

[36:34] Taylor Wilhelm: Would you say essentially, like, this is the path of devotion to the work?

[36:38] Allie Wilhelm: Yes, 100%.

[36:40] Taylor Wilhelm: How are you choosing to practice devotion daily? What is your devotion look like?

[36:46] Allie Wilhelm: Yes.

[36:48] Taylor Wilhelm: Beautiful.

[36:50] Allie Wilhelm: And then finally, we're into Raja Yoga, which is the one everybody is probably the most familiar with, because that is what physical asana physical yoga practice is in this limb. However, that is like one baby aspect. There's the yamas, there's the niyamas. There's so much within Raja Yoga, but it's the yoga of action. So it's really taking all of these things and actually implementing them into your body, keeping your space clean, keeping your energy clean, your meals clean, you know, showing up for yourself, dedication, discipline. Like, I would say, this is such an actionable branch that it's the easiest to start with, but it's almost the one, in my opinion, that I like to focus on last, just because I feel like the stuff is the most tangible. So sometimes when we're in our physical yoga practice, it can be easy to forget that, oh, we could connect with back to yoga here. If you study Raja yoga at the end, to me, that allows you to integrate all of the concepts, like, a little bit deeper.

[38:06] Taylor Wilhelm: I agree, especially because in our society in America, we take yoga as a physical workout practice, and we leave out the ancient teachings of, like, that asana, which means physical poses, is just literally one microfiber of this lineage. And we don't want this to seem over. Like, from the perspective of, like, you don't practice yoga if you don't know this. We're just opening the conversation of, like, once you invite the lineage practice and teachings into the physical practice, your life can transform so much.

[38:48] Allie Wilhelm: It's a lifestyle.

[38:51] Taylor Wilhelm: It completely is.

[38:52] Allie Wilhelm: And it's not even a lifestyle shift because you become a different person. It was not intentional for me when I began this journey. I was not like, I'm going to do this and become spiritual and hold my crystal, sing Alani Pod mehum in the shower.

[39:17] Taylor Wilhelm: So how would you tie this back to what we talked about earlier, of, like, saving Mama Earth and these principles? Like, if you were going to integrate these two together in this episode, what would you say?

[39:35] Allie Wilhelm: I would say to think of Earth as, like, an extension of yourself. So if we look at each of the paths, it's like, okay, Karmically, how can I do better for myself and for her? That's pretty self explanatory. And then when you look at boxy, it's like, okay, how can I admire the beauty that's outside and try to protect it? So devoted to this amazing place, but, like, my soul chose to land. Like, this is ******* crazy that we're here. Like, really, truly like, it's crazy. So how can I show that gratitude through my devotion, I would say the yoga of action is, how can I I don't like the idea of staying in our bubble, but through our own bubbles, we can start those changes that then ripple out. So how can I look into my little bubble and see what actions I could make? And then through the practice of Yana yoga, it's like, how can I continuously revisit myself and what I'm passionate about and what I feel called to? What messages am I getting? Am I getting the message that I need to be more of service here, that I need to be more devoted here, that this part of my life needs more action? That's all about going within. And when we can go within and look at the Earth as a reflection of ourselves, we would not want to make change.

[41:22] Taylor Wilhelm: Wow. It's like yeah. And small things like just picking up a piece of trash when you see it and saying, I'm sorry, Earth, and just creating I'm really hearing just like recreating the relationship with self and Earth and merging the two.

[41:38] Allie Wilhelm: Yeah.

[41:40] Taylor Wilhelm: Wow. Thank you so much. Yeah.

[41:44] Allie Wilhelm: I hope that wasn't too all over the map.

[41:47] Taylor Wilhelm: I no, I think it's real excited. Yeah. I love hearing you talk about this and I just want to reflect what an inspiration that you are to me, truly.

[41:59] Allie Wilhelm: Like, I could just cry for reflection.

[42:04] Taylor Wilhelm: So grateful that you could share this magic. And do you have any final thoughts or shares? We have a few more minutes, so no rush. But yeah, just anything else that's coming up for you as we wrap up.

[42:20] Allie Wilhelm: Probably just to say that yoga is unity. So this is a whole conversation and everything that I've talked about, that you've talked a bit about today, isn't to create a division. It isn't to create this idea that I'm higher than so and so because I am doing this. I am taking care of the Earth and they're not so. They are bad and they need to do more. It's like no, yoga is unity. Unity means we're going to come together. Unity means we all have to do what is right on our path right now. So for you to take these actions might feel right and that's great. And you can inspire other people, but that doesn't mean we can place judgment or harsh viewpoints or words or anything on other people. So just keeping that unity aspect in mind is so important just for the integrity of like, what this whole like, lineage even means.

[43:19] Taylor Wilhelm: Yes. That's so beautiful. You couldn't have said that better. It's so important. Like that unity, that oneness that not being judgmental is part of the teachings and is part of that duality that we were speaking about earlier.

[43:36] Allie Wilhelm: And it can be like really easy, I feel, to get into that sometimes when you are first on this, if a lot of things in your life are shifting and you have such a big awakening. This really happened for me when I went plant based, for sure of just like it is that tragedy, that pain we were talking about of just being devastated that everybody isn't like what? But there is hope and we are light workers. We are a part of that cosmic connection and we are all one. So we're all just always walking each other home, like hand in hand. We're not on different levels. It's all of us here just chilling on Earth.

[44:19] Taylor Wilhelm: Yes. So beautifully said. Thank you so much, Ally, for being here and for making the time. I'm so grateful that you're my sister. Seriously.

[44:35] Allie Wilhelm: It's pretty crazy when you think about how our souls chose to be connected like time in this way. It truly is magic.

[44:46] Taylor Wilhelm: It is. And excited to continue learning from each other. And we'll post in the comments maybe if someone is interested in that connecting yoga course or just connecting with you or talking about more of this, what would you say? The best way to get in contact with you is via Instagram email?

[45:08] Allie Wilhelm: Instagram. My instagram is wholeheartedly alley. But also, if you do want to know anything about the course, it's all still on. I have the platform, so I'm happy to make it live again, and you can ask your questions there or anything like that, so just let me know. Amazing.

[45:30] Taylor Wilhelm: And I'm thinking we'll definitely have to have you on for another episode to talk about this journey of motherhood, because I know that I've really taken them through my journey of, like, losing my grandmother, our grandmother, and starting the business at that same time. And, you know, you are someone who lost our grandma and then brought life into the world two weeks later. And I think that would be really powerful too, sometimes. So I'll be excited to have you back on.

[46:02] Allie Wilhelm: Yeah, I would love that, and I definitely would love to connect with all the mothers out there, and it's such a challenging and lonely journey sometimes, but it's the biggest spiritual awakening I've ever had, so I would love that.

[46:18] Taylor Wilhelm: Thank you. And, everyone, as we close out today, if you just want to take your hands to your heart, take a nice deep breath, feel that pranayama that breath, that life force energy coming into your being and know that you are deserving, you are worthy, and you are loved. Thank you so much for being here today. And we will catch you next week on Cosmic Connection. Thanks, Ali.

[46:47] Allie Wilhelm: Bye.