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I was not looking for a personal revolution. I did not need one. I was looking for community, a group where I could nurture myself by being around people and meditate and do a little yoga. What I got was far beyond what I ever could have imagined.

In October, 2011 I was laid off from my job of 4 years working at a residential Buddhist meditation center and missed the community aspect of my job. As a staff we meditated together 30 minutes each morning before work. I also was able to attend multiday residential silent meditation retreats as well as access to daily meditation classes and teachings. A few months before I was laid off I was feeling very lost in my life. I was not sleeping well, I was irritable and not my happy go lucky self. I did not recognize me nor did I know how to find me again. So when I read the description of the Three Dog Yoga 40 Day Personal Revolution I saw an opportunity to be with community again. Little did I know I would gain much more that I ever could have anticipated.

In the first week the work book brought up a question that lived in the back of my mind but I did not want to face it. I wanted to remain in denial just because that was easier. The question that changed my life was “Where in my life am I flirting with disaster?” Goodness I could not resist going all the way with this question. It was as if the 40 Days to Revolution Program gave me full permission to GO FOR IT!!! And I did. I cut up my credit cards. I suddenly found a new respect for money and myself while having a sense of relief the cards are gone.

Week after week I could feel myself grow stronger physically and mentally and spiritually. I don’t know if I have ever grown muscles in all three areas at the same time. I was completely new to yoga so that was a challenge in itself. During week 3 the famous Equanimity week I learned that I could take all of the skills I learned in Vipassana meditation and apply the same technique of focusing on my breath and let the thoughts pass by like drifting clouds to my yoga practice. If I got frustrated (and I did) I could come back to my breath and surrender to my body. I learned my body is really smart. She can do amazing things if I just stop trying to control her and judge her with my mind!

So here I am in the last few days of my revolution that I thought I did not need. I have a new respect for myself which includes respect for my awesome body! I have met some amazing people who have become friends and I have a spectacular place to continue practicing yoga. I guess I did need a Personal Revolution and during my revolution I found my community and a whole lot more…myself.

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Hi I am Dawn and I am in Love with Life! I love learning ways to evolve and I am passionate about facilitating the empowerment of others to evolve as well. I do this by getting people in touch with their inner athlete as a cycling coach. I also am a support group facilitator for women escaping Domestic Violence. I have maintained a 150 pound weight loss since 2009 through cycling (my favorite activity) and conscious eating (my other favorite activity). I now can add Yoga to my list of favorite things to do after being introduced to it at Three Dog Yoga. I am in love with my wife of 21 years who is the most beautiful person I have ever known. Life is GREAT!

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Here I am, close to the end of another 40 Days. Anna gave me the opportunity to write a bit about my experience, so here goes!


40 Days is like fertilizer for my yoga practice. This is my third time through 40 Days and as I look back on each one of them, I can see that each one has fueled my personal and spiritual growth in a different way. I started my first 40 Days about a year and a half ago, having only 3 private training sessions with Michaela just the week before to introduce me to yoga.


What a shock it was to my system to immerse myself in yoga for the first time ever. My first impression was ‘Can a human being really sweat that much?’ and ‘Why is this so physically strenuous?’ As Anna sometimes jokes….I thought this would be like rolling around on the floor and perhaps chanting Om a few times. I struggled a lot through that first 40 Days. Physically it was really challenging for me, yet by the time it was over, I knew that something about it was right. My soul felt nourished. So the end result was that I knew I was on a path towards finding greater peace in my life. For 6 months after that, I came to yoga classes but struggled to be consistent. I’d stay away for a few weeks at a time, yet kept having a nagging feeling that I needed to be in class and on my mat.


During my second 40 Days (about a year ago), I realized that setting an intention for that period would help me focus on finding greater meaning in my journey. I wanted to develop consistency, and I committed to being in-studio at least three times each week. I still struggled physically to keep up with my practice and although I think I was able to meet the commitment I made, I felt like something was missing for me. I was being hard on myself for not being on my mat more frequently and at some point during the 40 Days, I focused on finding compassion for myself. That focus on finding compassion ended up evolving into compassion for animals, and so in March of 2011, I became a vegan. That was by far the most meaningful transformation and revolutionary thing that came out of my 40 Days experience and it’s a decision that has had the greatest impact on my life thus far.


For this, my most recent 40 Days, I committed to attending classes in-studio 6 days a week and I set an intention to find joy in my practice. I’d randomly survey people in class, asking them ‘Why do you do yoga?’ I got varied answers. ‘It makes me feel good’, ‘I feel healthier’, and ‘It reduces stress.’ All good answers, but I needed to find my own compelling reason for wanting to practice and it needed to be about what I hadn’t quite found yet. It needed to be stronger than any excuse I’d have for not practicing and it needed to sustain me when I stepped off the mat and into the world.


Through the past 5 weeks, I came to class every time I committed to (minus two days where I got sick), and when we’d join our voices together in the sound of Om, I’d set my intention. Find Joy. Be Joy.


I began to experience moments of joy throughout each week. Here’s what some of them looked like:

Silent non-cued movement in our 40 day classes. As we’d be moving through our Sun A and Sun B flows, Anna would stop cueing us and we’d move together, with no sound other than our breathing. Magical moments of joy!

Getting into a pose for the very first time. Anna helped me get into wheel. I still need her help, but that first time actually feeling myself up there in a wheel was pure, pure joy!

Seeing several bigger gals in class. I’m a big girl, hence my earlier description of finding yoga to be very physically challenging for me, and seeing others in my size range coming to classes has given me inspiration and hope that yoga will continue to draw in people of all diversities.

Meeting several newbies at the studio. Their exuberance is contagious and when I see someone come in and they look around, taking it all in, I get such joy out of asking them if it’s their first time at Three Dog, and welcoming them and saying what a special place it is!

Letting tears of joy come out while in Savasana, for no other reason than just being happy to be there.

Watching others get into a pose for the first time! I’m as excited for them as I’d be for myself!

Learning that integrity comes when you do what you know to be right for you and your body. THAT brings me joy!

And so I have a week left before this 40 Days session is over. It’s a week where I try to look at all I’ve experienced and evaluate if the intention I set was something I found. Looking at the moments of joy above, I’d say I got what I was looking for, but if that wasn’t enough, last night gave me such pure joy that it topped off everything I’ve already experienced this time around. I came to class and could see it was going to be a crowded one. A newbie sat next to me. And not just any newbie, but someone like me. I immediately felt a sense of kinship with this person, seeing myself in her and noticing her as she moved through Sun A and Sun B, resting in Child’s pose when she needed to. I wanted to say to her ‘It gets easier, you’re doing awesome!’ As we all went into Side Plank pose, I saw her struggle and she whispered to me ‘This hurts my wrist’. In that moment I channeled Anna and whispered back ‘Slide your hand out a bit and let one knee down.’ As she shifted into that, I cheered for her on the inside and thought ‘You go, Girl!’ Right then, I realized where joy comes from. It’s getting out of my own head and not being concerned with how I’m doing and instead, watching others succeed and be happy. Now I get why Anna is so lit up all the time! She does this every single day with every single one of us! You find joy not by looking for it for yourself but in wishing for it and seeing it in others. When you do that, you can’t help but get it for yourself!

So if you see me in class and I happen to be on the mat next to you, know that even if we haven’t conversed before class starts, I’ll be next to you, silently cheering you on, wishing you joy for your practice, because when I see you experience joy, that will give me joy. I finally get it!

And finally, will this be my last 40 days? Highly unlikely. I’ll need another shot of fertilizer come Spring!

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Hi there. I’m Gina Drummond. I work up the hill from Three Dog Yoga at Agilent Technologies. I’ve been there for 30 years (although I took a few years off in between while I studied and became a massage therapist and then an esthetician). About 2 years ago I noticed the Three Dog sign on my way home from work. I’d never done yoga before and thought about going. I decided that for my 50th birthday, I’d start taking yoga classes and am so glad I landed at Three Dog! There’s no better place to be. I’ve also worked behind the counter at Three Dog and got a lot of joy out of trying to greet everyone with a big smile, making sure folks felt welcomed!

I live with my husband Dan and my most awesome dog Vinnie and our two cats Mittens and Matty. When I’m not working or at yoga, I’m busy with the pets, sewing, soapmaking, knitting, expanding my vegan cooking repertoire, or spending time with my family who live nearby.