Today we’d like to introduce you to Ankati Day.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Ankati. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
In my first year at a competitive, small college, I fell prey to the voices of my inner critic. According to her, I could never be good enough – ever – unless I was thinner, more academically successful, more liked. Fast forward (if only I could have!) through three painful years of disordered eating, anxiety, and loneliness, and yoga found me. Injured physically, emotionally, and spiritually, yoga began to work its subtle and deep magic on my soul.
And by dipping a toe into yoga, my path has changed completely.
Years later, with a graduate degree that still wasn’t satisfying my drive for purpose, I quit my job, put my belongings in storage, and went to a community in Costa Rica for my 200-hour yoga teacher training. I knew that yoga had completely changed MY life, and I wanted to empower others to see what I could finally see:
The power in embracing, caring for, and celebrating my body, my full emotional range, and my wild spirit.
That trip would, once again, be a complete redirect in ways I never would have imagined for myself. Nine months afterward, I returned to that same intentional community to support my teacher in her next training. And I didn’t go home. Blessed to immerse myself in the healing field of the jungle and a community of soulful support, I spent two years in a deep personal inquiry. I took countless workshops, dove into silent retreats, cleansed my body, danced through the night in full moon ceremony, and received initiation into a path I never knew I needed so very much.
Now, it is my personal commitment to share the incredible tools, modalities, and gifts that I received along the way. I believe that healing, wellbeing, and joy are already within us — and I feel passionate about the work of helping people remember with an alchemical blend of yoga, meditation, dance, sound healing, and ritual. I teach mostly in New England, with trips back to Costa Rica to bring seekers to the transformational field in the jungle. It is a blessing to share this work while living in Maine – the place of my roots, and the forest that speaks to my bones.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My goodness, it has not been a smooth road. Not at all! I think the theme throughout all of the various challenges and the forms they’ve taken has been Self Doubt… that dark, sticky belief that somehow, I wasn’t “good enough” yet for whatever it was I wanted or wanted to do. That I wasn’t good enough to receive mature and beautiful love in a relationship, that I wasn’t good enough to step into my role as a yoga teacher, that I wasn’t worthy of nourishing my body in the case of my disordered eating.
And the worst part? I believed that I was suffering through it all alone. It has taken me a long time to learn that I am worthy of being loved, being supported and that there are women out there who WANT to offer that space.
When you are struggling, when you feel alone, when you feel like nobody else could possibly be in as much pain as you are in that moment, REACH OUT. Women need one another. We need to share our stories, share our hearts, give one another love and attention and validation. We need to give each other permission to feel messy and imperfect and depressed and angry and ALL of those things. And we need to do so without trying to fix or change one another: loving one another in the totality of our messiness is one of the greatest gifts we can offer.
And when you’re feeling good? GIVE. Give someone a compliment. Give someone support. Reach out to that friend who’s been a little quiet lately and provide her with a nonjudgemental space to just be heard. She may not have the courage to reach out and ask for help just yet.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about your business – what should we know?
I currently span quite a range of offerings: I teach regular yoga classes at a few studios around the Seacoast as well as leading the 200 hr Yoga Teacher Training for Barre & Soul’s Portsmouth location. I also lead group sound healing sessions, offer 1-1 sessions, and teach a variety of workshops in the area depending on the season.
What sets me apart is my unique blend of soulful heart, creative sequencing in yoga, and skillful, loving space holding for the journey of transformation. I’ve done a LOT of deep work within myself to explore the big themes that face many of the yogis and seekers I encounter, so I have a lot of perspectives and the spaciousness to guide them into their own inquiry- whether in a brief conversation after class, a private session or in group process.
I also don’t box myself in with allegiance to any particular tradition. My work comes from a blend of traditional yoga, dance, psychological inquiry processes, earth ritual, and a rich history of women’s wisdom – with a BIG dose of experimentation and a willingness to evolve. My students know that we are continually on an adventure together through the body, deeper into this experience of being human!
Finding a mentor and building a network are often cited in studies as a major factor impacting one’s success. Do you have any advice or lessons to share regarding finding a mentor or networking in general?
For me, identifying who you respect and why is an amazing starting point. A TRUE mentor is someone who not only inspires you with their accomplishments but inspires your respect with their character. So, reach out to those you admire and get to know them as little as a person. The best mentors are the ones who not only share their tips and tricks but who can see and believe in the BEST in you as you grow.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.ankatiday.com
- Email: ankati@ankatiday.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ankatiheather/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnkatiYoga/
Image Credit:
Raya Al-Hashmi, WildVibes Festival
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