We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Andrea L. Wehlann a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Andrea L. thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I am still learning about my craft. I am a firm believer that to be a yoga teacher I also need to be a yoga student. I practice what I teach. I repeatedly fall in love with yoga over and over again. Yoga is much like music and love, there is no ending, and it keeps on. I learned through constant and continuous seeking. I read local newspapers when my mind felt chaotic and found an NLP meditation teacher looking for students. I sought yoga classes when I traveled. I found teachers I resonated with and in turn, through consistent practice, they took me seriously. It is important to seek for what you feel you need inside. Finances were always an issue. Classes and teachers’ courses and training are expensive and it is worth it to receive their wisdom and knowledge. There are ways around every obstacle that arises when you follow your inner intelligence. I learned through seeking, travel, trial and error. I learned through healing, solitude, and writing in journals. I could not have sped up my learning process as for me, I wanted to overturn every stone within me and transform all pain into light, so I may use my experiences to help others heal their lives. Always trusting my inner voice gave me courage, and being honest about my circumstances was crucial when meeting others.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My journey hasn’t always been sunshine and yoga mats. Today, I am the Founder and CEO of Ganga Moon Yoga & Reiki Skool I am a bestselling author, poet, reiki master and a Certified Hatha Yoga Teacher. I also hold a BA in Psychology from Brock University and a Social Services Diploma from Niagara College.
Behind the titles and accomplishments, there’s a story of overcoming immense challenges. As a child and young adult, I faced and survived mental, physical, and emotional abuse. I’ve also climbed through the trauma of rape, sexual assault, and infant loss. These experiences led me down a dark path of bulimia and suicidal tendencies.
It’s precisely because I found my way through that darkness that I’m so passionate about helping others. My personal experiences combined with my professional knowledge fuel my dedication to spiritual healing.
These struggles also shaped my writing. In my three impactful books, where I share the insights I’ve gained from both the depths of my personal journey and the heights of my professional training:
• Deeper Days: 365 Yoga-spirations for Inner Calm Amidst Chaos is a lovingly crafted book designed to guide you towards inner peace and self-discovery, even amidst life’s chaos. It’s a daily companion to help you find stillness and realize your full potential.
• No Matter How Dark The Stain: Poems and Inspiration for the Woman in Pain is essentially a collection of love poems for those struggling with anxiety. It offers solace and hope to those facing pain and navigating difficult emotional patterns.
• Stillness In The Storm: A Conscious Daily Journal of Yoga & Spiritual Healing is my latest creation. It’s a tool to help you connect your mind and spirit, and celebrate the power of listening to your heart in the present moment.

If you’d like to learn more about my work, visit: https://ganga-moon-yoga.square.site/

My message is the dark and the light parts of your life are both love. There is greatness within you. You have all you need within you now, you are destiny, it is never too late to shine.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding part of being creative for me is a mind free of chaos, confusion, and indecision. My creative passions, purpose, poetry, and sense of self are solid. I feel freedom from a chaotic outer world. The books I have written, my poetry, and my teachings are published and shared in the world. Knowing I will not die with my hopes and dreams inside me is phenomenal. I am rewarded every moment I remember that my creative gifts may help another person. Being creative allows me to create experiences and live extraordinarily.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

The book: Being Peace by Thich Nhat Hanh calmed and retrained any seeds of anger from childhood and adolescence and revealed a way of being that I resonated deeply with. I continue to practice Zen and read his books, The Alchemist from Paolo Coelho was a book that showed me a solo journey can reveal many gems and even love. A Course in Miracles trained my thoughts daily from fear to love. A Return to Love and A Woman’s Worth by Marianne Williamson healed self-doubts and watered the seeds of love, womanhood, and strength within me.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ganga-moon-yoga.square.site/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andrea_l_wehlann/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gangamoonyoga
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrea-l-wehlann-a6b03b187/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_qZt1XbHc2DSPFzqje04Zg
• Other: https://www.eventbrite.com/o/andrea-lynn-wehlann-14668342646

Image Credits

Peris Photography
Jeff Fortier
Mahnoor Portrait Art