6 Ways To Find & Ignite Your Passions

Igniting New Passions: The Yoga of Doing What We Love

What does passion have to do with yoga?

Passion drives us, and like yoga, it heightens all the senses, awakens us, stirs us, delves the hidden reaches of the mind, body and soul.

One of the core principles of yoga is to practice tapas. Tapas is one of the inner keys of yoga that you learn in Yoga Teacher Training that teaches us to follow our burning desires.

Here at Ignite, we’ve been diving deep into practices to guide awakening our own inner wisdom and passion. We’ve been reading lots of experts, exploring and researching passion.

First of all, passion is different than excitement. Passion is lasting.

It’s often more than a passing fancy.

Passion makes us want to talk about it, whatever it is! And experience it all day long, all the time.

We can formulize it.

(curiosity + engagement) x time = passion

But basically, with passion, it’s best to just feel it.

The good news is: Passion experts encourage us to follow it. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (of “flow” fame) says in his book, Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention:

“When something strikes a spark of interest, follow it.”

What sparks it, sustains it, creates it?

There are many ways to cultivate passion. Here are a few...

6 Ways To Find And Ignite Your Passion

1. Creating a Passion-Zone

This is simply space to play. It could be filled with books, trees, sensuous food and drink. It could be as empty as a zen meditation corner. A yoga mat in the corner of the room with a flower next to it. Passion zones are unique and personal. Think about what lights you up, turns you on.

2. Escape the Passion Rut

If you're feeling stuck, and you're not sure why, then you're probably in a passion rut. You feel like you clue what to do, or what your next step is.

Simply let go. Get soft and curious.

Open up without expectation. Try new things. Attend a new yoga event or meditation class. Eventually, it’ll discover you.

And if you know you're in a passion rut, why wait to do something about it? Dive into something new!

3. Let the Body Talk, Tingle, Zing and Sing

Do what feels good and then notice how passion feels in the body. Be super specific.

Tingles, chills, zings. You know in a great yoga class when you feel like crying on your mat because you are so moved?

Hair stands up on the nape of the neck and along the arms. You feel so alive as if every cell is drinking the world in. These are physical cues of a new found passion.

Your body is showing you the way. Follow it.

4. Explore the Edge

We all experience fear. Especially when we're faced with something new and unknown - Like when you're on the edge of trying something new and you're about to jump.

Don't afraid to follow that fear. Just make sure it’s a healthy fear. Maybe you're a little bit afraid of who you will become if you follow what is lighting us up. That's ok!

It’s great to let yourself explore those edges and discover something new.

5. Feel Hyper-Real

When we follow our passions it’s a falling in love for first time kind of feeling.

Perhaps a little unstable and unreal. Everything is in technicolor and heightened. Like you're living in 4D. These are signs.

These 4D states are actually a portal to another reality. The reality of living in the flow of passion that comes from doing what we love.

6. And Most of All, Enjoy Cultivating Your Passions.

A truly holistic life is based on passionate experiences. This type of life leads to integration, insight and power.

Yoga is a deep dive into exploring ourselves and our passions even more fully.

Remember your own true answers and deepen into the inner livability of your passion. Your own passionate inner wisdom gives so much to the world as you explore, cultivate and create.