Unfiltered 1
Hey reader. Welcome to your first “Unfiltered” monthly newsletter where we will get, well,Unfiltered, together. Allow me to re-introduce myself to you, and hopefully give you a small glimpse of what you will be digesting with these raw, honest conversations.
My name Is Dana Spitz, and I have been keepin’ it wayyyy fuckinn’ real since 1993. That’s right- I am in my Saturn return at the ripe age of 27. If you don’t know what a Saturn return is, you’re still golden and everything is FINE. Trust me, keepin’ it real was not always well received while I was growing up, primarily because I had so much energy in my body that was untamed, unruly, all the “un” words, really. My psychiatrist at the time carelessly labeled me a number of things from bipolar, ADD ADHD, you name it. I didn’t know how to harness my energy (still don’t from time to time). I have spent years in countless therapy sessions, with countless doctors, and I even went to boarding school for two years. For most of my childhood, I was convinced there was something terribly wrong with me. It really wasn’t until I attended that therapeutic boarding school in Bend, Oregon at the age of 12 where I was able to start unlocking my potential and start reconciling with myself and what I was destined to give back to the world despite feeling, in many ways, like the world turned its back on me. Now I have come to terms with the fact that although I cannot teleport or read minds (both sound righteous, honestly), I do have a super power to share with the world, and it’s a little thing I like to call UNAPOLOGETIC AUTHENTICITY. And here’s the catch…so do you.
I took this authenticity everywhere I went, although for a long time I fell victim to the self-limiting belief that being me was too much for everyone to handle. I took my super power with me into yoga teacher training in 2017, although between you and me I wasn’t sure that teaching yoga would be in my best interest because 1) ”fuck” is my favorite word 2) I have a lot more energy than I perceived yoga teachers “should” have and 3) up until the month long intensive teacher training, I had a very narrow idea of what “yoga” was and who was eligible to teach it. So, I took a wack at it like everything I do, and I started teaching yoga. Slowly but surely, I got the sense that maybe, just maybe, yoga was far more than looking bendy on instagram over a sick rock formation (most likely stolen from native land) or sitting silently and chanting “ommmm” for god knows how long. Yoga is about the experience and the honest conversation.
Through yoga, I discovered that my authenticity attracted the masses within the studio and beyond. My unfiltered way of thinking and processing related to far more people than I ever thought possible. Don’t get me wrong, staying true to my authenticity is always a work in progress, but it is also proven to be a powerful asset as it has granted the space for my students to start giving themselves permission to be totally and utterly their best advocates. Now more than ever people need the truth (whether they want to admit it or not). Nobody really wants to beat around the bush. Baron Baptiste wrote “In many ways, yoga is a practice of not building, but of uncovering. It is the ultimate excavation tool for the soul.”
That is truly what I found yoga to be; an uncovering of the tools I had all along, a place where I could share my superpower. MY hope is that with these newsletters and my practice, I can help YOU uncover that fearless authenticity in a world that often makes it very hard to be ourselves.
So what exactly is “Unfiltered’’? It’s a space to laugh, be honest and celebrate ourselves. That big, beautiful, honest mess. In this newsletter, I will relay poignant lessons with a yogic lens through each and every life circumstance I find worth sharing and beneficial for you to hear. This could range from interactions with a stranger at Trader Joe’s, a troubling conversation, an embarrassing moment, what I drank last night and what it taught me, you name it. For me, yoga has never been about the work I do on the mat exclusively. It’s always been about the courage I have to take those learnings away from that space and into the world around me. Listen, I am not expecting you to start saying “fuck” all the time, and I am definitely not encouraging you to normalize unprofessional conduct. Rather, I am challenging you to consider how being “Unfiltered” grants you the permission to be more accepting of the person you are and the way you impact others. I am stoked you are on this ride with me, and I am committed to learning right there alongside you as we step off our mats and into this great big (well actually, it’s rather small) world. So my friends, let’s get Unfiltered.
Until next time,
Dana A. Spitz