S03E08 – Balance of Life – Yoga – Hazar

00:03
Ali
Hey, everybody, welcome back. Ali here and I keep saying welcome back. Some of you always been listening to me, but that’s how it should be, should always have been listening to me. So this episode is going to be interesting. I’ve got a very good friend of mine, we go back a bit. She has always impressed me with the things that she’s done. We hopped on a call, we had a conversation, and then we’re like, you know what, let’s get this on podcast. Let’s get this on podcast and talk a little bit more. I’m going to let her introduce herself. So, ma’am, please go ahead.

00:39
Hazar
Thank you for having me, Ali. It’s always fun and a pleasure to have a conversation with you. And I hope that our discussion today is going to be of use for some people. So just a little bit about myself. My academic background is completely different from what I’m doing now in yoga. So it goes back to the American University of Sharjah, where you also work. Now, I was qualified to work as an electrical engineer, but I never did. So I always had a different route in life. And after graduation, I’ve established a career in copywriting and translation. And about 910 years ago, I started working for myself. So I established a working space called Nightingale’s Echo. And you know how the entrepreneur life has its ups and downs. And I was really lucky to come across Ashtanga Yoga. That has been my anchor among the ups and downs of this journey.

01:45
Hazar
And only three years ago, a friend of mine asked, hey, why don’t you teach us? So that’s how actually it all started. And besides my original career in copywriting, I started to teach Ashtanga Yoga. And yeah, it’s a great joy to help people also develop this personal tool where they can also cope with the ups and downs of our constantly changing and world at a very fast pace.

02:18
Ali
Wow, that’s interesting. I always keep telling people, I’m like, guys, you plan and you try and you do, but sometimes in life’s way of doing things, even if you think that you are laying out your path, sometimes the path finds you. I think this is a perfect example of where you started and what you found and you organically fell into it. This is absolutely, you know, listeners, you guys know, this is our mental health podcast. We’re always talking about mental health and wellness and things associated and surrounding with it. Azar, tell me a little bit more about yoga and what it can do for me.

02:59
Hazar
Well, now, you’ve mentioned something very interesting, Ali, when you said that the path finds you. And to me, in my experience, and this is what it’s all about, it’s about having a purpose in life. And it’s not about what I want, it’s about what life wants from me. And life will tell you if you are ready to listen, life will tell you, if you’re not too immersed in yourself, if you are more in tune with this entire universe, with the people. And it all starts from being more connected with yourself. So this leads me to, if we are going to speak in the constant of balance because that’s all what we want to ultimately achieve, first, let us agree on the term balance. We will never be in balance. And there is a really interesting and infamous yoga teacher and yoga researcher. His name is Eddie Stern.

04:06
Hazar
You can search him and the way he puts it in his book, a book with a really long title. He says we are never in a state of balance. I’m only paraphrasing and remembering what he says. Actually, achieving balance is a constant state of trying to be in balance because the fact that you and I manifested in this life, it means that matter moved in such a way and went out of balance. So we left the state of equilibrium and we exist now. But in order to try to somehow lead a life of balance, we need this matter to be more or less in good proportion. Yeah. So, for example, people come to yoga for, let’s say, the two very obvious examples. People are either hyperactive, super stressed, they don’t know how to slow down, or people are really very slow and they need to pump it up a little bit.

05:09
Hazar
Yeah. So yoga is more about regulating this energy. Some people think of yoga just like sitting and being in Ohm, which is, yeah, it’s really beautiful and it’s a big part of what we do, whether we meditate or we have breath work. But also sometimes it can really be physically demanding, depending also on the state of the person. And that’s what we do in yoga, really. It’s about establishing a healthy connection within and moving from there to connect in a healthy way with people, with the environment. And of course, all of that in line with the purpose we are divine, purpose we are created for.

05:57
Ali
I like that. It’s very wonderfully said. And I agree with you. A lot of people that I have spoken to over the years, we always have interesting discussions. And I’ve, over the years, settled with my initial philosophy on thought of life, that it was not necessarily designed to be destination oriented, but journey oriented. And in that journey we’re talking about self improvement. We’re talking about finding the balance in all things that you do. This is absolutely in line with exactly how I think also, this is absolutely wonderful. Hazar. Tell me a little bit more. You started and launched this practice. How is that going for you? You’re meeting people. What sort of impact do you feel you’ve created? What are some of the pitfalls or the downsides or difficulties that you face along that way?

06:50
Hazar
Well, this is an interesting question, Ali, because this journey, usually when you start on such a way. It’s never simple, it’s never easy. Especially that now I have two careers. So one of the biggest challenges when you find your life purpose now you are in a big challenge, you need to be responsible towards that, whether you will be material oriented or you’ll be purpose oriented. So in order to create that balance, I lead two careers. So I don’t want to be 100% dependent financially in what I do. But at the same time it needs to make financial sense because also people appreciate things when they work for them, when they invest in them, when they put some resource in them. So this is one challenge and somehow I think I found my way around this still it is demanding. For example, waking up this early is not strange to me.

07:54
Hazar
Usually I even wake up even earlier at three or something, and then instilling discipline in people because, for example, in the case of my students, there are many distractions around us and sometimes they don’t show up to practice because they have been, I don’t know, in a party or they had people over. And in that case, they loosen up their practice a little bit and this balance kind of go off balance. So I need to continuously talk to them. Of course, you need to also understand this borderline of how much you can push and when you need to let go. And I have seen that when they are coming to practice every day, how that has really impacted their lives in so many ways. So the mind starts to function differently. The level of focus enhances miraculously and they’ve actually reported like I never thought I can do this.

08:58
Hazar
I thought it’s impossible. I’m really surprised at what their human body can do, what their body can do, because they start to identify themselves in space differently through what they can do with the body. So basically when you see people putting themselves in a difficult body posture, it’s nothing about the form. Yes, of course it can look nice and impressive, but when you come down to it’s like a simulation of real life. So we come to the mat every day before we meet the world, trying to calibrate ourselves and creating life simulation. How balanced am I today? How strong am I today? How flexible I am? So the body is a reflection of the mind and everything that happens the day before will manifest on the mat the second day, what you ate, what you thought, how much you rested or not rested. Yeah. So this is kind of your if you like it, your balance compass before you go and you face the world.

10:04
Hazar
So if you give me the option whether I should wear makeup or do my yoga no, I will do my yoga because I know that’s a better makeup for myself. Yeah. So this is basically yeah, I mean, having them said, well, I had this kind of Rheumatism case, and now it’s on its way to recovery. And you can see all that on my page as well. Or I understood the pattern of life and how the mind works through it. Now I know my priority is to be with myself and then everything can wait because then life demands me to be connected before I meet it. So all of these examples assure you that you are on the right path. Or when a student in the UK after having practiced with me for several months, I i am grateful for you, and I express this and send you this gratitude every day when I practice.

11:03
Hazar
Because what we do in Ashtanga is empowering people. So they don’t just come for a class, they learn a tool. Whether I am with them now or not, they’ve already had their own practice and now they’re responsible. And it’s up to them, really, whether they want to keep practicing it or not.

11:24
Ali
Thank you for sharing that. One of the reasons that we communicate so well is we’re coming from common ground and common context in the sense that you’re an entrepreneur, you got into the game very early. You understand the hustle and the bustle and the difficulties and the stresses associated with it. Getting your business off the ground, thinking about financial security, thinking about all of these things. And it’s not like born with silver spoon in the mouth and yoga is just my fun pastime. You’ve integrated it into life. And one of the things that I talk about and my listeners have always I’m sure they’ve heard me repeat it many times, is I hate the term work life balance because what that implies to me is that these are two separate things. I have to live a torturous work life, and then I need to balance out that torturous work with something nice so my overall average turns out correct.

12:17
Ali
I hate that visualization, even. And I tell everybody there’s no work in life. There’s life work is a piece of it, and all the other pieces are part of the entirety of life. And this is where I think that balance discussion always comes in. I think I could barely go five minutes without throwing the word balance in there that haven’t explain it. And I think this is why I appreciate your feedback, because it connects to life. And when we’re talking about balance of life in its entirety and all of its components. Not just the work and the fun stuff, but we’re talking about yourself, we’re talking about work, we’re talking about career, we’re talking about things you enjoy, we’re talking about relationships, even. We’re talking about how we exist as a human and how we interact with other humans. It’s an entire all encompassing life that whenever we discuss that’s at know the vision that I have always had azar talk to me a little bit is I’m going to switch to a little bit more on the practical side of things.

13:25
Ali
So how is yoga going to help me today if I operationalize it as part of my life?

13:35
Hazar
So the first thing that yoga works with is the mind, of course, if you approach it as such. So, for example, the sacred text of yoga, or let’s say, the foundational text on which yoga is based. The yoga philosophy is nothing but formulas to understand the mind, purify it, if you like, and lead a life of balance, ultimately connecting to everything. This totality of life that you’ve just spoken about, that we cannot just separate things. We need to integrate them all together. So it’s about ultimately, of course, creating this laser like mind where you can differentiate things better, classify things better, and be centered in yourself. And I think that’s what we need the most, really, whether you are going to work, whether you’re having a relationship with someone also knowing how much you’re investing energy, how much you should be within, how much you should be without, how much you should be introvert, how much you should be extrovert.

14:50
Hazar
Because we need both. You don’t want to give too much and lack inside. You don’t want to give too much inside and then lack outside. So this is another aspect, as well as creating an inherent sense of joy that is independent of whatever happens around you. Yes. So this is happening and this is happening. And maybe the business is not doing very well, but my relationship is fine. So, okay, maybe I can spend a couple of hours discussing this business issue thing, but I shouldn’t at the same time let everything else fall around me because we don’t just focus on the negative aspect of what’s going on. So this is another thing, the practice of yoga cultivates gratitude. Yeah. You look at the full cup of the water, not the empty one. So also you start to feel yourself better in the body. We purify the body in the sense of creating a balance.

15:58
Hazar
If we want to talk more material, which we need this body, we need to take care of it because it’s going to serve us for a very long time. And of course, even in psychology agrees that taking care of the body and being physically active as well goes a long way in terms how we lead a balanced life and how more fulfilling as well, being able to breathe better, to nourish our body through this breath as well. So if you breathe better, it’s an indication of how you’re going to handle basically life in a better way. So, yeah, more or less. I don’t know if I answered your question the way you expected.

16:41
Ali
Yes, for sure. No, this is exactly what I was talking about and you’ve said it exactly perfectly. I think this is very important. What you touched upon is that is to understand how it’s all connected and I think we lose perspective because we’re so busy in our corporate lives and in our work and our career and to prove whatever people are trying to prove. I’ve never understood why we’re chasing things that are arbitrary and nonsensical. But nonetheless, we’re in this chase to prove whatever we’re aiming to prove. And we burden ourselves, not just the physical body, but we burden our souls, we burden our relationships, we burden everything else around us. And that’s just one fire that we decide to carry everywhere. And like you very rightfully said, okay, yes, I might be dealing with something in my work situation or my job or my startup on the other side.

17:38
Ali
I’m here to take care of myself. I’m here to find that balance. I’m here to equalize that energy into a lot of different things and circling back to things I’ve said in earlier episodes also, we always talk about at least what I say is a sphere of control that I have. There are things that are in my control and there are things that are outside my control. And I always talk to my friends about the same thing, and I say, look, the things that are outside your control, you can look at them, you can recognize them, you can understand and appreciate them, but that’s all you can do. You can’t impact or change them. And because you can’t impact or change them, why are you letting it burn you? Why are you letting that heat burn you? Look at the things that are in your control.

18:20
Ali
Look at those things, and those are the things that you need to think about and actively kind of pursue and push forward. So you’ve echoed exactly what my thoughts have always been and is absolutely wonderful. Azar, I know you have put together a retreat of sorts. Tell me more about the retreats that you have done, and I know you have one that’s upcoming also. So I want to know a little bit more about what can be expected out of it. How can one participate? Thank you.

18:52
Hazar
Ali, just touch base on what you said, I think the big issue is being consumed by what we consume. Yeah. Whether it’s a thought, whether it’s a product, whether it’s what we want, not what life wants from us. So I think the balance really is to, of course, put the intention of the things we want in life. And hopefully these things are not selfish things. They connect to others as well and then work towards them with the trust, which is very important, that eventually things will work for the best. Now, thank you so much for giving me the chance to talk about the last retreat and the upcoming retreat. Last one also happened in September. It was a great experience. I had people coming from the UK, from Turkey, they came from Dubai as well. And it really was so nourishing rich to have all these people from different backgrounds coming and connected to the same practice regarding of their background.

20:01
Hazar
They mostly all were from the corporate world, hardworking people, ambitious, successful, and they all reported how great an impact it had on them when they came back. And I’m not trying to say this about the retreat, but I’m just using their feedback because they said like, well, it led me to take big decisions in my life and how I can look at things, I can’t really describe it in words, but they said, for example, I’m not the same person. It just things are never the same after that. Because that’s the intention which I set before any retreat is that people will be inspired for a lifetime to develop some sort of tools. Of course, you cannot fit everything in one week, but you can definitely learn tools that you can reach to at any time and utilize according to where you are, what stage you are in now.

21:05
Hazar
The upcoming one is going to be a Mediterranean retreat. And true to the concept of what we need today, it’s called or theme of it is back to basics. Because most of the stress that we live today is because we want too much, way too much than we really need. We still act from a fight or flight response where really it is no longer a matter of fight or flight. I mean, if we look at life now compared to life in the past, we all have decent food to eat, we have decent places, we have roof over our head. But like thousands of years ago, people were still trying to secure those basic needs which are more or less guaranteed on the level with I’m very thankful that I have these things. So it’s no longer that. But we still operate from that place of fear of losing our life where it’s no longer there.

22:14
Hazar
So it’s about really reminding people of what really matters. And the venue is going to be absolutely stunning and awakening in that sense. I personally checked it and made sure that it is what it looks like. It really strikes the perfect balance between luxury living and natural living because it’s a sustainable project itself. So they are self sufficient, they create their own water, electricity, they treat their own water, they plant their own trees. So they really live in a way that respects nature, which is another thing we really need to contemplate if we are going to make it in the coming decades as a human species. So yeah, it’s going to integrate all these aspects we spoke about. We’re going to do the physical yoga, the asana as well as the meditation. We’re going to integrate chanting as well of pranayama or breath work. So it’s going to be a week program.

23:20
Hazar
It’s going to take place between the 18th and 24 September. The venue is small so it’s not designed to host. So many people, which I think is fantastic. We’re going to be energetically aligned and I really hope I can welcome people on this journey and share what I know and leave them inspired as well when their retreat has finished.

23:48
Ali
That was absolutely wonderful. I think that’s a wonderful initiative and I think so well needed also. We get so used to the life that we’re living and just kind of chasing the next target or chasing the next Deliverable and chasing the next KPI. We forget. We forget that we’re human. We forget we’re part of humanity and the species. We forget about the planet also. Yes, we see that, hey, don’t use plastic straws anymore type of stuff going on. But that’s really not going to make an impact. We need to have substantial changes in our own lives and our lifestyles to have substantial impact, positive impact on the planet. And this goes back to the thing we started our discussion with. It’s not just about balance in oneself, but it’s about balance of oneself with the world that’s around you and the people that are all around you.

24:38
Ali
This retreat sounds absolutely fantastic. For those listening, I will include details on where to click and all that type of stuff to find out more about Hazar herself as well as the retreat and how to register for it. This has been absolutely fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. Before we go, I’m going to put you on the spot for those people who are stuck in an office chair listening to this right now. What’s something they can do right now that will take that stress down a notch, that will take away from that constant buzzing in their head just a couple of notches down. What can they do right now?

25:20
Hazar
Just start shaking yourself a little bit. You don’t need just to be sitting and looking into your skin. And this is by the way, this is really a problem. Just jotting the face down so you can just take your hand back and make sure you’re sending your head back into your skull. As simple as that. You can just move around a little bit. Twisting is great because it improves this communication between the right and the left hand sphere. You can just stretch up and let life open, let your chest open and roll it forward and backward where you inhale as you go up and you exhale as you go down, and just connect to this breath of life. There is so much you can do. You can just move out of your chair and start a conversation. Feel the atmosphere around you. It’s incredible, Ali, that maybe someone next to me, a colleague, is not nasty because he or she wants to be nasty, but because they are in deep suffering and they just need someone to say, hey, is everything okay?

26:25
Hazar
And most of the time we just overlook these people. We can do so much just by looking around, connecting basically with the round around us.

26:37
Ali
I like that. My solution is, Ali, don’t throw this guy out the don’t. That’s my self talk, but perhaps very rightfully so, a shift in know, to let loose, to move the body around because everything’s connected and just to kind of let that stress level down and look left and right. And like you said, ask your colleague, man how’s your day going and is there something I can do to make it better. Can I get you a cup of coffee or whatever it is? I think the small things always have great impact. I think gratitude is very important. I think peace and loving yourself really needs to be at top of the list for everybody. This has been absolutely wonderful, as I’m having, you having this conversation. Very insightful, as always, as all our conversations have been over the years. I’m very excited for the retreat.

27:27
Ali
As much as I would love to come, I will be in the middle of my teaching semester. But anytime you do your next retreat that pings with my vacation days, I will most definitely be coming over 100% for sure. Once again, thank you very much.

27:42
Hazar
Thank you so much, Ali. Thank you.

27:45
Ali
Thank you.