Standing on the Shoulders of Our Ancestors: Honoring Lineage & Trusting the Unknown
The Moment Everything Changed
We stand on the shoulders of our ancestors, but if we’re not aligned with their rhythms, we have to carry them on our backs. If we take up their traditions of sadhana (disciplined and dedicated daily practice), however, their engines give us strength. – Bri Maya Tiwari
There comes a moment when the path we have been walking falls apart, when everything we planned no longer makes sense. In that moment, we have a choice: cling to what was or surrender to what is unfolding.
For me, that moment arrived in April of 2013.
Everything I had built, everything I had envisioned, suddenly unraveled. My usual healing practices felt like they weren’t enough. I found myself returning to my yoga mat daily—sometimes twice a day—because it was the only place I could sit with myself long enough to hear what I needed.
I remember saying to a friend, "I can’t handle this," and then to myself, "Why am I not good enough?"
And so it began—a journey of listening, surrender, and ancestral remembrance.
The Power of Stillness: Where Healing Begins
I had always searched for something outside of myself to fill the missing spaces—books, cultural knowledge, movement. But it wasn’t until I began reading The Path of Practice by Bri Maya Tiwari that I realized the missing piece: I wasn’t fully in relationship with my lineage.
Healing was not just about self-reflection. It was about sitting with the stories, the grief, the practices, and the wisdom of those who came before me.
At the height of my grief, I stopped resisting.
After one particularly intense yoga class, I laid in savasana (corpse pose) and cried through the entire final rest. I whispered, "Okay, I surrender, Universe. Your turn."
That was the moment things began to shift.
When I stopped forcing answers, the path began to reveal itself.
I let go of my apartment, placed most of my belongings in storage, and set out on a journey to honor my lineage and deepen my practice.
A Journey Into Lineage & Self-Discovery
First, I traveled to Richmond, VA, where my dear friend Yogi J Miles and his donation-based yoga studio offered the first motivation to step out of my comfort zone and move forward with my dharma (my life duty, according to the universe) of bringing yoga to my community. His dedication to making yoga accessible to all deeply influenced my own approach to healing and teaching.
From there, I traveled to Orlando, FL, where I spent time with my maternal grandmother and cousin. It was the first time I truly slowed down enough to listen—to their stories, their memories, their way of holding time.
Next, I arrived in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, to spend time with my titi. From there, I traveled across the island with my sister-friend CarmenLeah for three weeks, visiting her uncle and exploring the entire coastline and mountains. This journey allowed me to connect with my maternal lineage in a deep, new, and powerful way—through the land, through shared meals, through the voices of elders who carried stories long before my time.
From Puerto Rico, I journeyed to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, where I met my paternal cousin to explore the lineage of my father’s side. There, I uncovered pieces of myself that I had never been given access to before—stories that explained parts of me that had always felt like a mystery.
There was no return ticket, no fixed plan beyond my next step. I had every intention of visiting Colombia, Los Angeles, and other places where my chosen family lived, but I didn’t need to know exactly where I was going.
I only knew that I was being guided.
Living in the Moment: What Ancestral Healing Taught Me
I had spent so much of my life trying to figure out where I was going. But the moment I surrendered, I realized: I didn’t need to know.
Our ancestors do not require certainty from us—they only require devotion.
We stand on their shoulders, and when we align with their wisdom, they hold us up.
Walking With Our Ancestors: An Invitation
The journey of ancestral remembrance is not about looking backward—it’s about walking forward with their guidance at our back.
If you are feeling disconnected from your lineage, untethered in your healing, or called to deepen your relationship with your ancestors, I invite you to:
May we listen deeply, surrender fully, and allow our ancestors to guide us forward.
