My Story
Yoga Lifestyle Design introduces you to your Self. It embodies the alchemy of yoga practice and yoga lifestyle, on and off the mat.
It helps you heal your lower back, calm your anxiety, and find yourself when you feel lost. It connects you to your inner knowing, and deep intuition. It awakens the part of you that can truly can make sense of your life, and the world around you. The part of you that knows what is yours to contribute in the grand scheme of life.
Through practice and contemplation, yoga leads you towards inner strength, self love, profound wholeness, and lasting happiness, more of the time.
How do I know this?
Well, this my story. It’s what Yoga has done for me over the past 20 years.
Now, is my life perfect? No. Am I happy 24 hours a day? Not exactly.
Yet, through this practice, I”m moving toward the promise of Yoga. The goal is progress, not perfection. A gradual shift towards more self love, more self acceptance, and less self blame. Trusting my life, as is, more of the time. There is a deep goodness that continues to grow. An inner GPS that keeps finding a way to turn all of life’s challenges into growth, wisdom, and the unique satisfaction of authentic living. This is the experience of spirituality through yoga.
The Challenge
Twenty years ago, I had hit the 20-something jackpot. A sought after engineering career with an innovative and progressive company. A fun and supportive group of friends. Plenty of cash to travel, go out, and live the life I had been envisioning.
But something, or to be honest, many things, were just not right.
I was anxious 24/7, exhausted, and not clear why I was doing what I was doing. I found myself in the rat race I had intended to avoid. At night, my mind wouldn’t shut off. Digestive complaints, weight gain, food allergies, brain fog, mood swings, and other symptoms followed. Getting through each day was a struggle. Anxiety worsened, and panic attacks arose.
The Opportunity
A voice inside kept getting louder. I woke up with it, went to bed with it, and eventually, could no longer ignore it. Something HAD to change. And one day, I had enough. I was ready to change, and willing to do whatever it took to change.
I’d heard yoga was good for stress, and decided to join a friend for a class. Shaky and stiff, I made my way through the class. That class was a game changer. For the first time in years, my 24/7 anxiety actually stopped. Of course, it came back by the time I reached the car, but those few moments were priceless. I had received the gift of hope. My inner voice whispered that somehow, someway, my life could get better.
Over the next 2 years, I dove headfirst into all things yoga and holistic health. I went to yoga once or twice a week. I sought counseling support from my company’s wellness service team. I was riddled with physical symptoms, yet there was no clear diagnosis from my doctors. I worked with a team of holistic practitioners. Slowly, things began to improve.
At the center of it all was yoga. I loved yoga. I felt the best during and after yoga.
The Change
In 2002, I took my 200hr Yoga Teacher at the Himalayan Institute Retreat Center, in Honesdale, PA.
I stayed there for 3 weeks, fully immersed in a yoga lifestyle while training from morning to night. I lived and breathed yoga. The postures, the breathing, the food, the philosophy. By the end, I felt better than I had in years. I didn’t know it at the time, but a seed had been planted.
Back at work, I felt more and more mis-aligned. My health, though improving, continued to go through big swings. The voice inside, that knew engineering wasn’t the path for me, was getting louder. It became clear that not changing was no longer an option. In 2004, I mustered my courage to resign from engineering, and moved to the Himalayan Institute to devote time and space to my healing and next steps.
Never did I think I would be there for 10 years, and that I would become a professional yoga teacher, an ayurvedic health counselor, a yoga therapist, and a life coach. That I would train yoga teachers, coach clients, and travel around the world to share the profound teachings that gave me back my life; physically, energetically, emotionally, and spiritually.
Yoga HAS introduced me to my Self, and it continues to this day, layer by layer.
It has guided me to my Self, through life’s many challenges: anxiety, chronic health problems, divorce, job changes, grief, and self sabotage.
It has guided me to my Self through through life’s many joys: sharing what I love, deeply connecting with friends, family, and partners, reveling in the beauty of nature, traveling the world, and experiencing profound sacred spaces, inside and out.
According to the yogis, this is the purpose of life, to find your Self through all that life brings.
Yoga Lifestyle Design offers a roadmap for that journey.
Sarah Guglielmi MS, E-RYT 500, YACEP, C-IAYT, AHC, LDC
Sarah Guglielmi (Gull-Yell-Me) is a Professional Yoga Educator, Yoga Teacher Trainer, Yoga Therapist, Ayurvedic Health Counselor, and Certified Lifestyle Design Coach. A former engineer, she was drawn to yoga over 20 years ago looking for relief from chronic stress and illness. Sarah not only regained her health, but discovered a spiritual dimension of life that has been richly rewarding. Her overarching intention is to make the healing power of yoga, meditation, ayurveda, and life coaching accessible and transformative to her students and clients.
Founder of Yoga Lifestyle Design, Sarah also serves on the faculty of the Himalayan Institute, where she has lived in residence at the Honesdale, PA and Buffalo, NY centers for the past 17 years.
For the past 15 years she has taught classes and workshops on yoga practice, yoga philosophy, and ayurvedic lifestyle. She has traveled nationally as a teacher trainer for the Himalayan Institute's Yoga and Ayurveda Professional Certification programs. Sarah currently resides in Buffalo, NY, where she serves on the faculty of the Himalayan Institute of Buffalo and Daemen College.
When she’s not doing all things Yoga, Sarah loves to get out in nature, enjoy great food, art and music, dance some swing or tango, and connect with friends and family.
She offers her deepest gratitude to the Sri Vidya, and the Masters of the Himalayan Tradition. She pays homage to all the teachers that have, and continue to guide her as a student and teacher of Yoga and Ayurveda, Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, Ishan Tigunait, Rolf Sovik, Sandra Anderson, Shari Friedrichsen, Mary Cardinal, Carrie Demers, Kathryn Templeton, Rosy Mann, and Fern Meierding. Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti.