YOGAJOURNAL.COM / 10 / DECEMBER 2017
PHOTO: PAUL MILLER; STYLIST: JESSICA JEANNE EATON; HAIR/MAKEUP: BETH WALKER; CLOTHING AND JEWELRY: MODEL’S OWNTHE CONVERSATION
WITH CARIN GORRELL, EDITOR IN CHIEF
Sesa
O’Connor
YJ ’ s cover model talks about her
bhakti upbringing, raising a little yogi
solo, and the booming yoga industry.I grew up around the spiritual philosophy of yoga.
My parents got into bhakti yoga back in the ’60s, and
my godparents made their house like an ashram, so that
anyone who was searching could come and live for free
as long as they partook in chores. I can probably count
on two hands the number of times I did asana growing
up, because they’re not required to progress one’s
spiritual life—they’re there to keep the temple of the
body healthy as a means to continue to live out service.
I got pregnant unexpectedly at 21, and I started
practicing asana to keep my body fit and ready for the
labor process. That’s when I realized that even though
asana have nothing to do with the grand scheme of
yoga, they can still be used as stepping stones, and a lot
of people who come to yoga are searching, or at least
open-minded. So after I had my son, I decided to go
through teacher training, and now I end every class by
planting a philosophical seed. Even if only one or two
people hear me out of a class of 50, I’ve done my job.
My son’s biological father wasn’t ready to be a
father. So I said that’s fine, I’ll do it on my own—this
child was given to me for a reason. Nakula was born
and raised vegetarian, and we practice ahimsa
(nonviolence), mindfulness, asana, and being present
to whatever shows up. As a result, he’s a very kind and
sweet boy, and I feel his practice helps him deal with
frustration and other feelings that come up.
Watching the popularity of yoga grow has been very
bittersweet. The more popular it becomes, the more
diluted it gets. I find some teacher trainings can be
more of a moneymaking scheme; there are a few
programs I know of where teachers who come out on
the other end shouldn’t be certified to teach because
they could be hurting people. They don’t know, for
instance, what proper breathing is. Breath is the key
to the physical practice.
The driving force behind my practice is the idea of
yolking with God at the end of life. Within our material
form, that’s not something we can do. But if we can
really identify as being a spirit, then we understand
the body is just temporary, a shell, a tool we’re given
to reach yoga’s end goal of uniting with God.YOGAJOURNAL.COM / 10 / DECEMBER 2017