Aligned in Joy

“The real you is joy itself, not just a feeling but a being.” ~ Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

For the past two weeks, I’ve been reflecting on the theme Aligned in Action with my yoga studio community. Each month, we shift focus to explore different aspects of life and healing potential. As I’ve spent time meditating, journaling, and reading around the subject, I find myself moving through many layers. 

It was easy to see all of the things that inhibit action—how resistance has shown up in my own life and how I’ve seen it reflected in the experiences of others. That made me consider the other side of things. Instead of fully focusing on what blocks action, what ignites—or in some cases reignites—inspiration toward action? What is the spark? What inspires intentional movement? 

This led me to happiness. 

In my journey as a yogi, I’ve learned repeatedly that true happiness is untethered and unattached to any one person or thing. Happiness is a guiding light, an internal north star that brings us back to a sense of peace and wholeness. It’s often described as a steady energy within us, and I believe that to be true. It’s our core frequency, who we are beneath the life experiences that sometimes create the illusion of separation from this natural state. 

That reflection led me to joy, and how we might cultivate it consistently. 

I see joy as an amplification of happiness, and like happiness, not dependent on outcomes. In yogic tradition, joy, or Ananda, is not simply an emotion. It’s an energy. A vibrational expression of love and devotion. The presence of bliss woven into our daily lives, through the good and the not-so-good.

Still, roadblocks can arise. 

In the midst of so much suffering, both within and around us, is joy even possible? Is it delusional to reach for joy? Does it seem inconsiderate or irresponsible in the face of real pain? 

We can acknowledge that happiness is our natural state, but is joy something we choose? And if it is a choice, how do we express it when life feels heavy and intense? We definitely can’t “love-and-light” our way out of trauma or tragedy. 

Yogic philosophy doesn’t ask us to pretend suffering doesn’t exist. 

It recognizes suffering as part of the human journey. But it also reminds us that beneath the hurt, our essential nature remains—peaceful, radiant, and whole. And in remembering that, joy becomes not a denial of pain, but an act of resilience, hope, and devotion. A way of saying: I’m still here. 

Joy isn’t always big or expressive. Sometimes it’s a quiet moment of relief in the middle of something hard.

A softening of pain.
A breath that feels like coming up for air.
A spark of faith when everything feels lost. 

Can we consider, even if just for this moment, that joy isn’t the opposite of pain or sorrow? That it may be the stillness that gently returns us to presence, even as life continues to shift and unfold? 

With that, know that we can fully embrace this sacred energy and serve as an inspiration for others to do the same.

With love and gratitude,
Dana Andrea