Community Highlights: Meet Dekim Yay

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dekim Yay.

Hi Dekim, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My long journey to becoming a devoted Yoga Teacher and owner of Dekim Yay Yoga began about 15 years when my aunt let me ‘borrow’ a Kundalini Yoga book. At this time in my life, I was mostly concerned with heavy partying, music, and sports. I found myself intuitively interested in the concepts explored in the book, but I had not the discipline nor belief to actually take up a consistent practice with it. But it was always in the background, and I would return to it every few months. As I progressed through my twenties Yoga videos were growing easily accessible as online streaming exploded. I remember very specifically the first Hatha Yoga practice I ever did with an online video. It is still on YouTube. I tried many other videos at the time, but I kept coming back to this one. There was something about the simplicity of the guidance and presentation. I did not know what that something was until many years later. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbyHCkNEOKo. Anyway, back to me I suppose lol . . . Two major things were happening to me during those twenties. I was growing ever more depressed and dependent on various substances which of course led to many tremendous mistakes and lessons to be learned. Unbeknownst to me at the time, I was already at that age, living life with complex PTSD from multiple traumatic childhood events and onward through young adulthood. The second thing that was happening to me, accepting the risk of sounding slightly pretentious, was a spiritual awakening of sorts. I spent years researching quantum physics, sacred geometry, and the various webs of cultural deception that shape our society. I was raised by an atheist, and while those beliefs were not pushed onto me, of course we tend to believe what our parents do.

All of this research eventually lead me to a very clear knowing that there was “something else” going on than what had been presented to me my entire life. But there was no clarity available to me around what that was. So I began researching various religions, philosophy, and mythology. As I progressed through my twenties, I gradually stopped the partying, but continued to grow more depressed. At this time my life consisted mostly of working a job I felt that I hated, playing video games, and avoiding the responsibilities of life at all costs, and grew increasingly attached to “making it” as that rock-star, which I had always envisioned would be the platform for my voice. For a few years, I was convinced that I was not going to live to see 40, whether I was successful or not – that I would either take my own life, or succumb to drugs. During this time though, I would have 3 very distinct and spontaneous spiritually enlightening experiences, of which there are not enough words in this existence to describe, which kept me vaguely connected to some sense of purpose. A less fantastical, but still very interesting event occurred one afternoon while I was meditating on a small crystal ball I was holding. Plain as day, this crystal spoke to me. She told me that she was there to guide me. She gave me no other details, other than her name – *Laura*. I carried this crystal around with me. Then she spoke to me once again months later, telling me that I was to give her to a coworker who was going through her own mental health issues. So I did. The last band I was in before my life changed completely was very talented.

At this point in my life, I had very little sincere self-confidence, and buckled under even the thought of the success that may come. I wasn’t practicing enough or much fun to be around so we gradually broke up. At the same time all of this was going on, my mother was diagnosed with cancer for a second time, and only had a few months left. With my increasing depression, and the loss of the band and my mother, I knew I had to make some drastic changes to my life. The first thing I did was pick up that Kundalini Yoga book, and truly commit to one of the practices. I did a throat chakra set of kriyas for 40 days straight. I really had no clue what I was doing, or the amazing fruits that would one day sprout from that practice. This was the true beginning of my devoted Yoga practice. Though it would not pick back up until several months later. During this time I began meditating more consistently though. I had always planned on moving to Hawaii, but didn’t know when. I figured this was the perfect time to start saving up. But I was absolutely miserable and couldn’t bring myself to wait tables any more than I had to after about a decade of the job. The only option seemed to be to try anything that would make me a little more at peace so that I could make the money to move. I knew I was getting something out of that Yoga practice, but I really didn’t know what. I decided it was time to actually take some group classes. I googled nearby studios and it turned out there was less than a mile away from my house at the time – Spirit Of Yoga. After perusing the website I came across their Yoga Teacher Training program. With a ton of anxiety and trepidation, yet somehow without hesitation, I soon found myself signed up for it. The very first day of training, the first time I heard my teacher, *Laura* McKinzie speak, even though my mind couldn’t yet make sense of it, I knew that this was what I was supposed to do – that somehow all those times on stage as a musician, all the altered states of mind, all the mistakes, all the bad luck, all the mind-boggling and expanding research, all the mistakes made and lessons learned, all the poems and lyrics written and forgotten, the countless hours of basketball, football, running, biking, and all the injuries – it was all in various ways preparing me for this. It was the first time in my life I was ever truly sure about anything. My 16 month 600 hour teacher training journey at Spirit Of Yoga was just as much a personal healing journey as it was learning about teaching Yoga. Through the physical practice of Yoga, I found my own truth, hidden deep underneath layers of protective trauma response, and developed much lacking discipline.

Through the philosophy of Yoga I was gifted a framework for the many understandings I had already been coming to over the last several years. Through sound healing training and Hatha Gong, I learned who my ego-self is, my charisma – what my dharma, my purpose in this lifetime is. Through the blessing of IAM Yoga Nidra and consistent meditation, I ended my longstanding war with God and truly found my voice. Through that community of growing and learning, I began to connect with people in ways that I had been so fearful of doing for many years by then. I am so eternally grateful for the shifts in my life that Yoga and my teachers and classmates have inspired in me. There is so much more I could say about that whole experience, but we’ll be here forever. When my 600 hour training was complete, I immediately started subbing classes at Spirit Of Yoga, and at Sumits in Chandler, where I had been working at the front a couple shifts a week for a few months. After a few months I was given the opportunity to share two studio classes a week at Spirit Of Yoga – the very place that housed the early goings of my transformation. What an amazing blessing! I knew when I first started teaching, I was going to focus on studio classes, just to get more practice in. I subbed any class that was available. I offered two fellow students at the school two Yoga Nidra sessions a week for two months to hone that craft. I threw myself into it fully. I left many classes feeling like my teachings were not good enough. But I never lost that knowing I had on the very first day of training. Life was no longer about my reactions. I was allowing something bigger to move through me than the little voice in my head that always talked me down.

During this time I also began coaching practicums for the Yoga Teachers in training, which I immediately fell in love with. It was clear to me that I have a deep passion for training Yoga teachers. My first year or so of teaching and coaching helped me develop deeper levels of sincere faith and surrender. These virtues would come very much in handy in early 2020 when everything shut-down. I was slated to begin teaching at two new studios when they both closed for good. I began sharing classes and Yogic scripture readings on Facebook live which helped me branch out and begin to truly start growing a community of students and clients. It gave me great practice simply orating, which is something I plan to do alongside teaching. It also gave me my first tastes in video production. When studios opened back up, I began hosting my first private group class events. 2020 also gave me time for very much needed rest after, well, the many years you just got a brief taste of lol. In the final quarter of 2021 I received the tremendous blessing of assisting my teacher and my good friend Crystal with Yoga Teacher Training for the first time. Today I continue to offer two weekly studio classes at Spirit Of Yoga. I also hold a Hatha-Gong class almost every Sunday, also at SOY. I offer various events; sound healing, meditation, Yoga Nidra, mini-retreats, etc. Information on these events is kept up to date at dekimyayyoga.com/events. My website also hosts a blog which I post to frequently. I am currently working on recording audio and video content which will be available on my website by the end of spring. I am available for private classes, in person and via zoom. I appreciate, study, and practice a wide range of Yoga styles and modalities. I use this large toolbox to craft transformative practices for a variety of students’ needs. I am also currently writing a contemporary contemplation of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras and another book focused on broader aspects of spirituality, healing, and communication, philosophy, and God. Beyond Yoga, now void of the pressures of “making it” as a musician, I have recently enjoyed writing music and poetry again. I have well over a dozen songs which I will be recording leisurely over the next few months to eventually be released under the name Knot Wearing Shoes. I continue to grow and heal within my own personal practice and study. What does the future hold? I don’t know, and I don’t need to. But I hope to continue sharing these profound and life-changing teachings of Yoga and meditation with more and more people in which ever ways it chooses to manifest.

I hope to inspire Peace, faith, and understanding in everyone I meet. I hope to complete the IAM Yoga Therapy and other Yoga related trainings. I would love to have the opportunity to share the tools of Yoga with a professional sports team. I am happy to continue assisting the Yoga Teacher Training program at Spirit Of Yoga. And I’ll eventually make it to Hawaii 😃 I am incredibly blessed to be of service to the community in a way that is continually inspiring to me while also continually serving my own growth and evolution. While I find myself more content and at Peace with life than I ever have, the last few years have been a whirlwind of beautiful transformation. Today this it is accelerating dramatically and whenever I feel a sense of overwhelm creeping in, I remember the wise, loving words of my teacher, “Hands up, enjoy the ride!” I humbly offer infinite gratitude and the fruits of my actions to God. I am devoted to Truth. I offer this same eternal gratitude to my teachers: Laura McKinzie, Aradhana Singh, Kamini Desai, Juli Burdette, Will Zecco, Kim Gaziano, Gullveig and more; to my good friend Freeman; and to KC Miller and Southwest Institute Of Healing Arts/Spirt Of Yoga.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The road has rarely ever been smooth. The difference between now and from when I first began Yoga teacher training just those few years ago is that it no longer matters very much how smooth the road is. This is the gift that I have received, and wish to share with others. There is Peace even in the bumpiest of roads. One of the bumpiest roads we can choose is that of the entrepreneur. There are innumerous struggles along the way. I think what I have gained the most from these struggles is a certain level of comfort within failure. Within that comfort, that peace, we can see the shortcomings clearly and learn from them and adjust quickly. When we react to a perceived failure, and identify with those reactions we take on a victim role and learn very little. I have started classes that haven’t panned out. I have personally struggled with the very concept of marketing – thought I am clearly getting better with that in time. Without the obstacles and challenges we would never grow. Struggle is one of our greatest teachers. We should welcome it. Enjoy the bumpy roads, as much as the smooth ones. It takes some work to get there, but it is truly a choice once we do.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Dekim Yay Yoga?
I am Dekim Yay! Dekim Yay Yoga offers a uniquely integrative approach to learning about and practicing Yoga through a combination of many different styles tailored specifically to an individual’s or a group’s needs. I know the transformative power of Yoga intimately, as it has helped me personally heal from various mental health issues, addictions, PTSD, and physical injuries. I teach from a sincere place of knowing with reverence, humor, and humility. These practices include safe, mindful, and rewarding physical movements for strengthening and opening the body, breathwork, concentration, meditation, and story. Yogic virtues are explored relative to the student’s own sense of morality. I am a fully dedicated Yoga Instructor AND practitioner. Yoga is the very foundation of my life. Spending the majority of my time and energy with these profound ancient teachings gives me the utmost confidence that I have the experience, wisdom, and intuitive connection to pass them on in easily digestible and inspiring ways. I provide weekly classes and events at Spirit Of Yoga in Tempe. I provide in-home and virtual private sessions to both individuals and groups/businesses. I occasionally share free Facebook live discussions at Dekim Yay Yoga on Facebook. I offer guided meditations and Yoga practices on my website at dekimyayyoga.com.

How do you define success?
Success is freedom. Freedom is Peace.

Contact Info:

• Email: dekimyay@dekimyayyoga.com
• Website: www.dekimyayyoga.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dekimyayyoga/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DekimYayYoga/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdlHsnAI95U4OiGU1JkEHZQ