Over the past few days, I was fortunate to participate, along with an esteemed community of musical artists, thought leaders, and yoga and meditation teachers in a very different setting – a 3-day music and yoga celebration called Shakti Festival. Shakti, in ancient Vedic teachings, is the vitalizing force that runs through all of us, and what Yogis often refer to as the Divine Feminine. With the festival finale on Mother’s Day, the latter definition was both timely and resonating. Hundreds gathered together to raise their voices, play their instruments, move their bodies, chant mantras, and dance together in honor of the divine Mother – be it their own family, the Mother Earth, or the power and wisdom of Shakti within each of us.

While the concept of the 3M’s (Music, Movement and Meditation) was already part of what I was sharing and practicing, I witnessed something profound on that sacred soil known as Joshua Tree: the power of devotion and ritual. When we practice something long enough – be it music, yoga, dance, meditation, our work, even eating and bathing – it becomes routine. When we add devotion – along with an intention and recognition that the action connects us to something deeper, something sacred, routine becomes ritual. Add the 3M’s to that the devotion, and we awaken an almost magical sense of aliveness.

I highly suggest exploring ways you can not only introduce the 3M’s into each day, but taking this power mix to another level – by treating them as sacred rituals. I can assure you that the depth of the practices, and the transformative effect on your mood, energy, sense of wellbeing, will be elevated from the ordinary to the extraordinary.