moi at the Taj Mahal

BreatheDreamGo is my vision. The name says it all. It’s a mantra, it summarizes my own experience, and it’s a formula for others to follow. Breathe is the wisdom of yoga and the importance of prana, breath. Dream is knowing who you are and where you want to go. Go is doing it, taking the steps: creating, studying, volunteering, traveling, giving.

What it means to breathe, dream, go

Recently on Twitter, someone used  the name of this blog as a compound verb: “Send/follow Christina to breathe, dream, and go all over New Zealand with @EntirelyKiwi!” I was credited (thanks EntirelyKiwi!) and very flattered.

It got me thinking that perhaps I should explain the name and present it as a motivating formula for others. So here goes. Read on for the story and for your chance to provide motivation and inspiration to others …

Anatomy of a name

I came up for the name of this blog — BreatheDreamGo — in a flash. It was one of those rare moments when an idea hits like a thunderbolt. In fact, it was an epiphany.

In June 2009, I was about halfway through attending a four-day conference for writers, editors, authors and magazine publishers and I was feeling very demoralized and discouraged. The traditional media was shrinking, writers were struggling, editors seemed to have all the power, publishers seemed to be devaluing the written word … I came home after the second day feeling very low. I was wondering if I would ever be able to achieve my dream of being a full-time writer / travel writer in this economic climate.

The next morning, I didn’t even want to go back to the conference. I was in the shower, when I suddenly got the idea of starting my own blog, online magazine and/or community. And the name came to me instantly. I turned it over in my mind and realized that it perfectly summed up my experience.

If not now, when?

moi, yoga pose, Jodhpur

Several years ago, after a series of devastating losses, I fell into a deep depression and yoga got me out of it. I literally “breathed” my way back to health. Then I started “dreaming” about what I wanted to do. I had recently lost both my parents (one to heart disease, the other to cancer), and I felt time was of the essence. If I didn’t start living my dreams now, I never would. My first dream was to do a yoga teacher training course; my second dream was to go to India for six months; and my third dream was to (finally) become a writer.

Breathing and Dreaming gave me the motivation to Go. I went. Traveling in India for six months re-ignited my enthusiasm for life, inspired me to become the writer I always wanted to be, gave me a passion and a purpose — to share the beauty of India’s culture and wisdom — and even gave me a new family and a new home. It was the best thing I have ever done.

So, breathe, dream, go is a summary of my experience — but it’s also a formula. If you are feeling stuck, if you want more from your life, if you feel you haven’t achieved your potential or met your destiny … try it. It doesn’t have to be yoga and a trip to India. Maybe for you it will be running and art classes. Or hiking and overseas volunteering. Or therapy and learning Spanish. Whatever it is that gets you breathing, gets your heart pumping and motivates you to “follow your bliss.”

What about you?

Please submit a comment and let others know how you got going. You never know who you might inspire.