We recently connected with Chand Ananda and have shared our conversation below.

Chand, appreciate you joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

Embarking on my journey of becoming a 200-hour yoga teacher it felt like the odds were stacked against me. I was in a place in my life where I know I needed to make major changes, but I also didn’t want to give up on helping others. Before I had a terrible habit of putting others needs before my own sometimes to the point of becoming sick & exhausted. I knew I wanted to become a teacher. I also knew yoga was the route to go as being on the mat had become a place of solace for me. I prayed to the universe and asked if this be a part of my path, please give me a sign. I submitted my application and continued operating my life as before . I received my acceptance letter about a week later. I said another prayer asking that I be able to raise the money needed for tuition before the first day so I could solely focus on school. I had a little over a month and a half before classes started. I created a go fund me posted on social media hoping my community would help. I received a few donations but not nearly enough to scratch the surface. I felt discouraged and frustrated from the lack of support. I felt like I needed help, and no one cared. Instead of continuing to throw a pity party for myself I went back to the drawing board. I reached out to all the contacts I had in my phone a few responded giving what they could I was so grateful . I then took both my Loc and jewelry business created specials and started reaching out to my clients. In less than I month I was able to raise $2,000 to pay my tuition in full . I want to send a special shoutout and thank you to each person who helped me plant the seeds to turn my dream it into a living reality. Raising the money was only the beginning. Over the course of 10 weeks my life as I knew it before drastically transformed. I shed so many layers of my former self ,the greatest battle I faced was the feeling of not being good enough. After many tears lots of journaling meditation and of course yoga I was able to take control of my health get my A1c levels down 3 points& I lost 11 pounds. I now know I am enough just as I am anything I do to improve myself is an enhancement of the greatest I already possess.

Chand, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Hello, my name is Chand Ananda. I am a native of Birmingham, Al. I am the owner and founder of Mystical Vibrations;  we specialize in tools and services to aid our clients on the journey of self-discovery. I started our business in 2019 after a health scare left me needing an outlet of focus. We started with creating copper wrapped crystal jewelry and providing crystal education. Shortly after our establishment we elevated to also providing intuitive tarot reading. At the beginning of 2022 we welcomed yoga as a further healing tool to our clients . The yoga aspect of the business started with restorative yoga which is the practice of stillness. This area of focus allowed us to share the benefits of rest and being present in the moment with our community. September of 2022, we embarked on the journey of becoming a 200-hour yoga teacher to further explore the benefits of yoga the healing it possess and how to continue to incorporate yoga into our own lives our clients and community. As of December 11th, 2022, I am a graduate of The Blkyogitribe 200-hour yoga teacher training program. With all the knowledge we have acquired and the tools we’ve been given we plan to continue helping our community and clients this time from a more healed space with proven methods and plans of action. We currently host a weekly community-based yoga class Mondays 6pm at Fountain Heights Recreational Center. All bodies and yoga levels are encouraged to join.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

There were many times during training I wanted to give up and throw in the towel. But one time that stands out to me is when we were introduced to inversions. By this point in our training I had already overcome a-lot but that little voice of self doubt was extra loud this particular day. We had a guest instructor in the studio ; he walked us through the practice first verbally then through demonstration. I felt my nerves instantly begin to go into overdrive. I could hear “ your body can’t do that , you might as well not even try , you can’t do it “. Instead of listening I tried and give it my all. Each week after that day I kept trying I kept sounding the voices out and practices daily at home. About two weeks before our journey came to an end, the asana I struggled with the most came to my body naturally. My body felt like it was floating. The voice that once tried to discourage cheered with so much joy. The feeling I felt in my heart and spirit made all the attempts worth it 1000x. The lesson I learned from this experience THE LIMIT IS YOU!

Do you think you’d choose a different profession or specialty if you were starting now?

No! Yoga is more than a profession to me it’s a way of life. Everything that brought me to this moment in my life I would do it all over again.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.mysticalvibration.com
• Instagram: Instagram.com/mysticvibes2020
• Facebook: Chand Ananda
• Youtube: Chand Ananda