Luke Storey: Sahara Rose, welcome back to the show. 

Sahara Rose: Thanks so much for having me, Luke. It's a pleasure to be here. 

Luke Storey: Yeah. Round two.

Sahara Rose: Yes. 

Luke Storey: You were on the show back when it was a wee little podcast. Now, it's kind of grown up. 

Sahara Rose: It has. I mean, it was never wee little, but, you know, it was two years ago that you were on mine also. And it's just amazing to see how much your work has expanded and how many more lives you've affected, including my husband's, which is awesome because I feel like I couldn't get through to him, so you got through to him. 

Luke Storey: Yeah, it's bro code. 

Sahara Rose: Yes.

Luke Storey: You know what I mean? That that's how it is though sometimes. I've dated people and they don't want anything to do with the stuff that I'm into. 

Sahara Rose: Yeah.

Luke Storey: Now, they're just like, “Dude, you're crazy”, like it's all too much. But then, they'll hear someone else talk about it and they'll come home and be like, “Oh, my God, I'm going to start wearing blue blockers.” I'm like, “Really?” But it's just, you know, you hear it from who you hear from, but I'm sorry to hear that he's perhaps burning through you all’s life savings on all these biohacks. 

Sahara Rose: You know, we need to get that AmpCoil, the meditation neuro device, the chiliPAD. 

Luke Storey: Yeah.

Sahara Rose: I'm excited for it. 

Luke Storey: I'm telling you, bang for your buck the chiliPAD or more specifically, the OOLER—the company's called Chili Technology. They have the chiliPAD, which is the older one. The OOLER is quieter and it’s much lower maintenance. So, I'll get that one. I think it's a little bit more.

Sahara Rose: Okay. 

Luke Storey: But that's like—especially for relationships, it’s the game changer.

Sahara Rose: The OOLER. That's been a major thing in our relationship because I am way more Vata, so I run more cold than he does. 

Luke Storey: Yeah.

Sahara Rose: So, at nighttime, I am like freezing. I'm shivering. I need the socks, like everything. And then, he's putting on the AC and I'm like, “It's freaking winter.” And he's like sweating. He's like, “Well, you can put on more clothes.” I'm like, “I don't feel comfortable wearing 20 layers to sleep.” So, this might just like literally save us from a divorce. So, thank you. 

Luke Storey: And I swear to God, I think it will. 

Sahara Rose: Yeah.

Luke Storey: And what's cool is even like in the summer, let's rant about it. This is a totally weird OOLER commercial now. But, in the summer, when you both agree that it's super-hot, especially in LA, you can have two of them in their individual pads that go on a king size bed, so you each have your own side. And it goes just under your fitted sheet. I mean, you don't even notice it's there. They're just like water veins in these silicone tubes, basically inside of kind of a thick sheet. So, like you could have yours on cool and he could have his on cold. And then, you don't even need to run the AC. So, it actually saves a lot of energy and money. Like in my house, it's, I don't know, maybe 1,500 square feet, it's two stories, I don't need to like AC the entire house for nine hours at night, you know what I mean? 

Sahara Rose: Right. Right.

Luke Storey: So, I usually leave the AC off and just crack a window and then, have that on and it can be hot in the room, but you're still cold, so it's dope. Anyway, enough about that. What's new with you? Since we last spoke, you got married. How's that going? 

Sahara Rose: Yeah, it's going well. We got married in June. And, you know, I think the key to any relationship is for both people to be doing their dharmas, like living their sole purposes because then, you're not projecting all of your own shit like, “Oh, why aren't you here for all my needs and all, everything that I've ever wanted?” And I think a lot of times in, you know, our nuclear family structure is like, “Okay, now, you're husband and wife, so he's going to be your best friend, your confidant, your sex partner”, like everything you've ever wanted. 

And you can't really expect that all from one person. So, you know, I have been creating this Oracle card deck and writing my next book and speaking and doing all of these amazing things and he works in the music business and busy growing that and getting more clients and DJs and whatever. So, it's been great because when we come together, we're like full in our own lives and we can just like share our accomplishments without depending on each other for anything. 

Luke Storey: That's cool. Yeah. That's a really interesting observation. I guess if you have one of the couple ship that's kind of still meandering and hasn't quite found their thing or they're struggling to, maybe they have found their thing, but the world hasn't found them yet. 

Sahara Rose: Yes.

Luke Storey: So, they're unable to be as successful as they want. It's going to put a stress on them. And then, that enters into the relationship. 

Sahara Rose: Absolutely. 

Luke Storey: Yeah, totally. And what do you guys do when you have conflict? What are some tools for resolution that you found useful? 

Sahara Rose: Yeah. I mean, so I've been learning a lot about relationships and how—you know, a thing that I found really helpful is that some people are like waves and some are like islands. So, people who are like waves, which, you know, in a relationship, there tends to be one more wavy person, one more island person. So, someone who's a wave, when there's a conflict, wants to talk about it. They want to know what's happening, like what's going through your mind, like they really want to discuss it and hash it out. 

You know, their energy is more outwards, where someone who is more of an island, when something happens, they retreat. You know, maybe they don't even share what it is for a while. Maybe they want to go take a drive, like they can't really come up with how they're feeling at that time, so they just need time for themselves. But that makes the wave person freak out even more because it's like, here is a conflict and now, you're retreating and you want to like go take a drive in the middle of our conflict. 

So, I realized I was more of a wave and my partner was more of an island. So, when there's a conflict and I can feel him retreating or sometimes, he literally will leave, instead of taking that personally and being like, “What are you doing? You're running away”, I can be like, okay, that's what he needs. Because for him to actually come up with how he's feeling, he needs that space to figure it out in himself. And most of us are attracted to people who are the opposite of us.

Luke Storey: Yeah, totally. That's funny as you—I've heard that paradigm from someone—is that—who-

Sahara Rose: There is a book on it. 

Luke Storey: Oh, there is?

Sahara Rose: Yeah.

Luke Storey: I've heard—I've listened to or read a book with that framework. As you're seeing it though, of course, I'm like, “Hmm. Which one am I?” And it's funny because I'm the wave. If the other person is pissed off, that's very uncomfortable for me and we need to fucking fix it. But if I'm pissed off, then I'm the island and I need to just get away, so I don't say anything that I know that I'll regret later and I can really just process and get my composure and then, come back. Thankfully, I don't get pissed that often. But yeah, I think those kinds of insights are important to have, you know, to understand each other and recognize the differences and value them and just learn how to kind of work with them. 

Sahara Rose: Yeah. Even seeing the doshas of the other person and your person, and your personality and your relationships. So, someone who's more Vata in a relationship is like, they want to be spontaneous. They want a lot of freedom. They want to like try different things. And for them, like having a routine, like come home at 7:00, have dinner, like we have sex at 9:00 p.m. and then, we sleep, like that will kill them. So, a Vata person, which you are definitely a Vata, which we talked about last time, they need the freedom. 

They need to travel. They need to explore. They need to have different friendships in their lives. And that newness will help them keep the relationship alive, whereas people who are very Pitta, they like to really know like, “Okay, where's this relationship going?” Like, “What are our routines?” Like they need to have like, you know, some structure around the relationship. And if they don't have that, they feel like, “Oh, are you not in this? Do you not care?” Like, “You must not be as passionate as I am.” 

So, if you're in a relationship with a Pitta person who needs to know like, okay, this is our plan, this is what we're doing, and not to cancel on them or something, that's really important to honor that. And then, if someone's more Kapha, which is the earth dosha. They’re someone who's just really chill, like they want to just like stay home and like, you know, cuddle and like watch a movie, like they don't want to go travel, they don't want to go to all the parties, like they just want to really be inward. And if you're in a relationship with someone like that and you're someone who's really like, you know, extroverted, trying new things or very Pitta-disciplined, there could be, you know, some differences there. 

And I do think that we are meant to be with people who are the opposite doshas as us. If it's two Vatas, you might just be like really into each other and then, like not care. If it's two Pittas, it could get really intensive, like who's holding the structure and who's holding the energy and who's making the decisions. And if it's two Kaphas, you might be like, “Let's just stop having sex”, like you might just become roommates. So, it's those polarities that make us attracted to our partner, but it's also what can create those differences. 

Luke Storey: I know we talked a little bit about the doshas before in your first appearance, but it was so many episodes ago, people might not. And I would encourage you to go back and listen to Sahara's first one. I don't remember the number offhand because there's so many of them, but we went deeply into that. But just as an update, because you might've learned more, had more experience at this time, other than the framework of relationships like that, give us kind of the archetypes of the three doshas and other ways in which it influences our personalities, in what we eat and how we like to move and all of that. 

Sahara Rose: Yeah. So, these three doses come from Ayurveda, which is the world's oldest health system and the sister science of yoga. So, most of us, you know, nine out of 10 Americans has practiced yoga. But why most of us are doing it are actually for Ayurvedic purposes. So, yoga is actually a spiritual practice. The word yoga means to yoke. It means to become one with Brahma, the universe. But Ayurveda was the predecessor. And it said, “Well, how can you become one with the universe when your back hurts and you're anxious and you have a stomachache and all of these physical and mental problems?” 

So, Ayurveda's essentially that predecessor. And it says, “How can you balance your mind and body, so you can truly tap into the soul?” Now, the way that I do it, you do it, one listening to the next is going to do it as very different. and that's going to depend on their dosha. So, the word dosha means energy. It's essentially an archetype. And we each have a unique set of these three doses, but in varying amounts. So, the three doses are Vata, which is air; Pitta, which is fire; and Kapha, which is earth.” So, someone who has a lot of Vata, a lot of air, mentally, you know, an airy person, like what do you imagine in an airy person? What is their personality like? 

Luke Storey: Spontaneous, fluid, passionate, always moving. 

Sahara Rose: Totally. And so, what do you think they're good at? 

Luke Storey: Art, creativity, relationships.  expression.

Sahara Rose: Totally. Yeah, like big picture things. They're very imaginative. So, like art is a really good example. Like it doesn't make sense. You know, there's no logical reason why we create art, why we create beauty, but it's just that expression essentially coming from source. And that's very Vata. So, if we have a lot of Vata in our minds, we're going to have exactly these types of personalities. But if we have a lot of Vata in our bodies, we're going to have a lot of air. So, that's bloating, gas, constipation, cold, dry skin, dry hair, eczema. 

You know, anything that's I think cold and dry, like low hormones. That's going to be an example of Vata. So, for example, the reason why I got into Ayurveda was I had a super bad Vata imbalance that led to my body shutting down. My body went into perimenopause when I was 21 years old, and essentially stopped creating any hormones, stopped being able to digest food, faint all the time, like my body was just like, “I can't live like this.” Why? Because I went raw vegan. And I was only eating cold, dry, raw foods, which are super Vata, and I was already super Vata and I was just perpetuating this imbalance. 

So, we are born with different doshas, but our diets, our lifestyles can make us further go into them or further get out of them. So, that's Vata. And a lot of people, especially health-conscious women are super Vata because society tells us go on a juice cleanse, just eat salads, just eat smoothies. Like just eat raw cold foods all the time because you'll lose weight. And these are all Vata-increasing foods, are all cold, raw, dry. So, that's why so many women, they're like, “I don't know what my purpose is.” Like, “I don't know. I'm into a lot of things like I can't figure it out.” 

And then, they get anxious, which is like the biggest problem in society. They suffer from insomnia, they're trying a lot of things, not able to stick with it. This is all Vata. So, if we look at that and we bring that back into balance, not only are you going to stop being bloated and, you know, that's the biggest problem people have, but your personality will shift and you'll actually be able to follow through with those creative ideas. So, the Vata, like if you think about it in business or entrepreneurship, it's the stage of idea, brainstorming. 

Luke Storey: I know this also well.

Sahara Rose: You're like, “I know a Vata” and you, you have a Vata in you, too.

Luke Storey: Yeah.

Sahara Rose: Yeah. 

Luke Storey: Well, I’m just thinking about like finishing projects. 

Sahara Rose: Yes. 

Luke Storey: Like the creative process for me, the part that's fun is having the idea and setting the ship of sale, like, okay, I built the ship and putting it out there, but steering it anywhere and following up with it and refueling and fixing the—you know, it's like, once it's done, I'm just like, I'm bored, next, you know. 

Sahara Rose: Right.

Luke Storey: So, finishing has not ever been my strong suit, like start a lot- 

Sahara Rose: And a lot of that—you know, Vata, you were born very Vata, which you are, they were born to be starters. They were born to like create that spark and create that idea and essentially like download it. So, they weren't necessarily—like you're not meant to like come into a business and like become the CEO of it, like that's not for you. You are meant to come up with new ideas and the next thing, however, at the beginning of something, you need to nurture that process within yourself. Otherwise, it's not even going to get to the point that someone else could take it over, right? So, even in any project, any business, we go through these stages. So, the Vata is the coming up with the idea, but the Pitta is the execution. It's taking action on that idea. So, Pitta, what it looks like in our mind, you know, a fiery personality. So, what is a fiery personality like? Like what does that sound like to you? 

Luke Storey: Again, I go back to passion. You know, that's the thing, of just caring deeply about people and things and having a point of view and liking to mix things up and stir things up. I think—you know, of course, I'm thinking about myself. I'd have to identify my other Vata friends and whatnot, 

Sahara Rose: But what about that fiery person? 

Luke Storey: Yeah. The fiery is like. I think for me is breaking the status quo.

Sahara Rose: Yeah.

Luke Storey: And not wanting to live inside a box, not being in the matrix, red-pilling everyone as often as possible into different ways of thinking and experiencing reality.

Sahara Rose: Totally. I mean fire is transformation, right? Only fire can take like a house and like turn it into ashes. It's like that energy of Kali, who's like the goddess of like transformation and death and rebirth. So, that's like that Pitta energy. So, in a personality, it's like ambitious, like get shit done. Like, “This is what I want to do and I'm going to go do it.” And to do that, there's a level of structure, there's a level of organization. So, people who are very Pitta, they're goal-oriented. They need to know, okay, like, “Where is this going?” 

Like for example, if they're taking a walk, they're like, “Where are we walking to?” Like they need to—they don't want to just like aimlessly stroll around. They really need to know where they're going and then, they can direct their energy that way. For example, like Gary V., you know, why do we love him? Because he's so passionate. He's like, “Come on.” Like, “Stop waiting. Create that content. Just go, go, go.” And it's like that fire, that drive that he naturally has, he does step into people's businesses and create orders and systems, like that comes very naturally to him. 

So, that Pitta personality is a bit competitive. They can be a bit aggressive sometimes. They thrive off of that level of like, “I was able to perform the best.” They're very—they're calculating, they're keeping score. They're the kind of people, if you hang out with them, they're like going to send you a Google cow and like have you like confirm 24 hours before and it's like, “Oh, are you going to be late?” Like, “Where's the parking lot?” They need to know everything. They're super structured, like their minds really are on top of time. Like that is everything for them. Whereas like Vata, it’s like, “Time doesn't exist”, you know. 

Luke Storey: Totally.

Sahara Rose: Where like a Pitta would be freaking out. Like if you know you were moving different rooms and stuff, like a Pitta would be like, “Okay, I need to know where I'm going, so I can do that thing”, which is kind of like a hyper masculine, you know, characteristic of like, “Where's the fire? Where's the bow? So, I could shoot it.” So, it's helpful when you're creating a business, when you're launching a project, if you're an athlete. If you think about Madonna, she's very Pitta. She's like in her 50s and just like crushing it harder than ever before. 

But, you know, with all that fire, when things don't go your way, you can get angry. You can snap that fire. You can turn into a volcano. And then, in the body, that looks like hyperacidity, it looks like rashes, inflammation, irritation. If you break out into hives, like I remember I tried to turn myself into a Pitta. I was like, “I really want to be Pitta. It sounds so good.” So, I was like drinking all this coffee and all this spicy food and going boxing, listening to rap music, going to hot yoga, like anything. 

Luke Storey: Doing that even all out.

Sahara Rose: Yeah. 

Luke Storey: Wow.

Sahara Rose: And then, I broke out into hives, which has never happened to me before. My body was like, “We cannot handle all this Pitta.” So, you're not meant to change your dosha. Your dosha is related to your dharma. It's related to your soul's purpose, like it's your gift. However, it's important for you to also like balance the other one, so they're not these like gaping holes in your pocket that you're constantly like coming up with the idea and not doing anything about it. Like have enough Pitta so you're able to do it, but doesn't mean turn into a Pitta, if that makes sense. 

Luke Storey: Totally. Yeah. 

Sahara Rose: Yeah. 

Luke Storey: To access Pitta for me, the execution on detail work. Detail work is the follow through that I find challenging. It's not like, “Oh, I need to go meet with this person. I can meet with people all day long.”

Sahara Rose: Right.

Luke Storey: But it's more like making an Excel spreadsheet or even reading one. It's like, “Oh, God, it's just so tedious.” I just want to move quickly through things, but I find that working with nootropics, like I was talking about in my talk here this weekend, that makes me Pitta where I'm like, “Okay, I'm going to finish the thing. It's going to be perfect. It's going to be organized. And I'm going to keep chipping away at it until it's done.” Then, I'm going to get this sense of satisfaction that my—I find my brain needs a little bit of instigation in order to kind of get it to lean that way so that I can execute something in that way. So, I think unknowingly learning how to, you know, oscillate between those different energies. 

Sahara Rose: Yeah. I mean, even coffee, you know, I call it Pitta juice. Like what does coffee do? It just makes you feel more Pitta. But people-

Luke Storey: Speaking of which, I did not get one this morning. 

Sahara Rose: So, just you’re like, “My Vata’s all over the places.

Luke Storey: No, you know, it's funny. Actually, I didn't even notice until you just mentioned it, which is weird because I often think I'm kind of addicted to that one coffee in the morning, and I got here. And they were like, “Oh, we're close until dinner.” I was like, okay, adapt. But that, you're right. 

Sahara Rose: Right.

Luke Storey: I mean, caffeine is for some people, and I metabolized caffeine quickly based on genetic testing and stuff, but I still notice sometimes, it gets me super wired.

Sahara Rose: Right. Yeah. And a lot of times, we crave the foods, the practices that knock us further out of balance. So, if we think of it like a pendulum in two directions, balance, imbalance. Someone who is balanced further craves the things that bring them into balance. So, for example, if you're very Vata, you want to have warm foods, grounding foods you want to ground, you want to like sit and meditate, which are, you know, practices, you do. You’re balance, so your body knows like, “I need to chill. I need to ground. I need to calm down”, where someone who's out of balance is like, “Celery juice cleanse.” Like, “Let's go crazy, spinning, soul cycle.” Like that's—soul cycles, all Vatas in the building, you know, they'll, “To run away from our problems.” 

So, the more out of balance you are, the more you further crave those things. A Pitta who is balanced, knows they need to cool down. They may be like spend time near water. They may be do things that are cooling, like even an ice bath, something that cools their fire down. Whereas a Pitta who's out of balance, they want to do something like aggressive, like they want to fight or like watch a fight. They want to drink a lot of coffee. They want to eat spicy foods, things that are more stimulating. They want to like work super hard all night. And that's going to further knock them out of balance. So, you can kind of see where you are in your dosha by what you're craving. And then, there's Kapha. So, Kapha is the earth energy. So, if I was like, “Oh, that girl is so earthy”, what do you think she's like?

Luke Storey: Quiet, slow moving, slow speaking, more introverted, reflective, kind.  

Sahara Rose: Exactly. So, we think—exactly. The earth is slow, right? Every process of the earth, it takes its time, you know. But if we think about the earth, what does it do? It provides us with everything. Water, oil, gas. It's like, “I got you.” So, Kapha people are like that. They take their time. They're habitual. They like to have their routines. They're very giving. They're very nurturing. They have that like mama, papa bear type of energy to them. They’re good-natured, they're stable. Like people can be freaking out around them and they're just like, “I'm chill. I'm cool.” 

They're really anchored. They're really grounded in who they are. They're not the people who's like out there trying to impress people, trying new trends. They're like, “This is me.” So, if you think about Oprah, she's a really good example of a Kapha. Like why do we love Oprah so much? It's not because she gave a riveting talk, you know, she's not Tony Robbins, who’s very Pitta. He's like clapping and jumping and like getting everyone this super Pitta state. That's his dharma, Like he was there to do that. Whereas Oprah just is like, “Child, take a seat. What's happening?” And just like pauses. And in that pause, you're able to come up with your own conclusion. Like imagine if I did the entire podcast like this, how would that make you feel? 

Luke Storey: Too slow. 

Sahara Rose: Do you feel like anxious? 

Luke Storey: I would think you would—what's her name? Krista Tippett. What's that? That host on-

Sahara Rose: Chrissy Teigen?

Luke Storey: No. She does the like—I think it's the sounds true interview. 

Sahara Rose: Okay.

Luke Storey: She's great. 

Sahara Rose: Yeah.

Luke Storey: She interviews Eckhart Tolle and those people.

Sahara Rose: Eckhart is very Kapha, too.

Luke Storey:  Christie Tippett, I think.

Sahara Rose: Okay.

Luke Storey: Kristen or Christie Tippett, I'm sure.

Sahara Rose: It’s very radio voice.

Luke Storey: I’m sure many listeners know. But yeah. But I always wonder when I listen to her, because she's like that, but she's really good at eliciting that kind of energy from the guests. And she mostly does spiritual ones. But I always wonder, is that how she talks in real life? Like she get home and tell her kids like, “Kids, so perhaps we could sit down and talk about cleaning up your toilets.” And I’m like, “Is she liked that all the—" I don't know if she is, but you know what I mean? 

Sahara Rose: Like she’s like having sex, she's like, “Harder.” 

Luke Storey: Yeah. “Would it be possible, perhaps, just philosophically speaking to speed up the rate in which you're penetrating?” 

Sahara Rose: Yeah. “And what do you propose about the doggy style?” No, I mean, so some people are really like that. They're just so anchored and some of us love it. We're like, “I need to be around more Kapha people.” Like, “I need to chill out.” Like that feels really good and calming, and others of us, I'm very Vata like you. I'm like, “Oh, hurry up.” Like, “Go faster.” But there is a lot of power in that pause. You know, like sometimes in our society, we feel like, “If I don't talk fast enough, if I don't give you an a value up front, I'm going to lose your attention.” But- 

Luke Storey: Oh, I totally have that. 

Sahara Rose: Right. But actually, if I talk really slow, I pull you in. But we're so afraid of doing that and we're so afraid of taking pauses in our lives. We're so afraid of the Kapha, you know? I mean, a lot of what you teach is like to take that time back, to retreat, to go into nature, to like take that 30-minute meditation even in the middle of your day. And we're so afraid of that as a society because we feel like if I take that pause, I'm going to fall behind. So, that Kapha energy is actually super needed in our society right now. And some of us are born with just that Oprah energy, that Eckhart Tolle energy, who are just like very—Robin Williams is such a good example of this. Like he was so grounded and funny, but we also did not know that he was hurting. 

So, what happens a lot with Kapha is they are like holding space for everyone else. I think the earth is literally holding our space. But because of that, they feel like if I express what's going on with me, then the world is going to collapse. So, mentally speaking, Vata most likely to suffer from anxiety. Pitta most likely from anger, irritation. Kapha from depression. So, knowing that and knowing your dosha helps you see like, “Okay, what are my like habits that when I'm out of balance, I fall into. And then, what dosha is that related to? And then, now, what are the tools that I can use to bring that dosha back into balance? Because, you know, moving too fast and going too slow are two very different things. 

And, you know, practices like meditation can really help, but like a meditation, if you are so lethargic, is going to be one that's more activating, it's more stimulating. Maybe it's a moving meditation, a dancing meditation, shamanic shaking. If you're burnt out, that's not what you need more of. You need to cool down. You need to swim. You need to do something else. If you are super anxious, you need to ground. So, what Ayurveda does for everything, meditation, diet, food, whatever it is, it helps you understand what your body needs at this time so you can cater your lifestyle to you.

Luke Storey: When you start dating someone, how do you, without being a weirdo, find out what their dosha is? 

Sahara Rose: Just slip them my quiz. Be like, “Oh, this is a quiz. I'd just love for you to take it.” 

Luke Storey: Yeah. 

Sahara Rose: Yeah. I have a quiz on my website, iamsahararose.com. If people are like, “I don't understand what I am.”

Luke Storey: Oh, yeah. That's right. 

Sahara Rose: Yeah. 

Luke Storey: Yeah. Actually, I remember—I think I took that before our prior interview.

Sahara Rose: Yeah. So, it breaks it down. 

Luke Storey: That’s a great resource.

Sahara Rose: Yeah. It breaks it down, your dosha in your mind and in your body. So, the one that you are in your mind, you want to be doing the meditation, the lifestyle practices, to bring that dosha back into balance. And in the body, you want to be eating the foods. So, when you take that quiz, it sends you a bunch of videos, free e-course. So, you'll get a lot of information. I've written two books about it, Idiot’s Guide to Ayurveda and Eat Feel Fresh. So, there are a lot of tools and practices out there that you can do from dry brushing, oil pulling, tongue scraping. 

But essentially, like for example, when you're dating someone, you can tell, “Is this person a more fast-moving person, really quick?” Like artistic, right? Or are they someone who's really, you know, type A, ambitious, go getter, entrepreneurial? Or are they someone who's more like, calm, restorative, peaceful. And maybe they're in between, too, you know. Most of us are not just one, like these examples of like, for example, Steve Jobs, Joe Dispenza, Vata, right? Super heady. Tony Robbins, Madonna, Pitta. Oprah, Eckhart Tolle, Kapha. 

Those are very extreme examples, but most of us are like somewhere in between, like you’re a Vata-Pitta. You know, you're creative, but you're also doing things. You're not just like on the outskirts of society coming up with the ideas. You're also channeling them through. But I would say probably the dosha that you're least of, and that's why you're cultivating it in your practice, is Kapha. Because you know you need that more calm and that chill. So, that's why you're bringing it in your lifestyle. So, it doesn't mean you're like screwed. It actually means the doshas that you're related with are related to what kind of work you're meant to be doing in the world. 

Luke Storey: Cool. Wow. That was great. Really great framework. And the thing that I find interesting about Ayurveda and just Indian culture in general is the mostly vegetarian piece. And I've talked about this at nauseum on the show because I have a lot of, you know, extensive experience as a vegetarian and it didn't serve me. And through all of the food gurus that I've interviewed and all the people that I see online, there's all these sort of, you know, endless debates about like what the perfect diet is from raw vegan, to keto, to this, to that. And I don't even pay attention to the noise anymore. I just really try to tune into my body and when it's time to eat, I go, “Hmm, body, what do you want?”

Sahara Rose: Right.

Luke Storey: And most of the time, what my, I guess mostly Vata body wants is just like meat. That's it. Like anything outside of kind of—and some vegetables here and there. Sometimes, I'll crave like a leafy green salad or something. But outside of healthy fats, meat, vegetables, some blueberries here and there, occasionally a little bit of fruit, not much, not a lot of carbohydrates. When I'm in that zone, which isn't even like a particular diet or anything that I try to strictly adhere to, but when I'm in that, I listen to my body, that's when I feel best. I have the most energy and the best digestion. 

And this is kind of when food agrees with me. And when I veer off that, like the other—a couple of days ago here, the only thing I could find was like some doll, you know, like some lentil kind of soup and it smelled nice, but I was like, “Hmm. I don’t know. Those are baby plants. And plants are designed to not want you to—not let you eat their babies”, you know. It's really hard to digest legumes and seeds and things like that for some of us. And I had it and I was like, “Remember, okay, don't impregnate this experience, Luke, with a preloaded negative thought that is going to hurt your stomach.” 

Sahara Rose: Right.

Luke Storey: So, I was like, “Oh, this is the nourishing, beautiful food, I blessed it.” And I was like, “It's totally going to be easily digested”, and all of that. And it wasn't horrible like it has in the past. I think because of that intention, I chewed it very well, and perhaps it was soaked or cooked for a long time, which made it easier, but I definitely felt crappier than I would have just eating a piece of salmon or a steak or, you know, some bison ribs or whatever that I've been eating here most of the time, you know. So, is there any out of the Ayurvedic systems, since there's not a lot of eating of animals, is Vata one that does better on me, even though that's not part of the paradigm?

Sahara Rose: Yeah. So, you know, Ayurveda is a very ancient science. It predates Hinduism. 

Luke Storey: Oh, okay. 

Sahara Rose: So, in the traditional Ayurvedic texts called the Charaka Samhita, they actually list specific meats for different doshas. Though, dosha that would need meat the most is Vata. And it's actually prescribed medicinally if you are very Vata-imbalance, for example. If you have an iron deficiency or you just gave birth or you had an eating disorder or, you know, something that your body really needs the nourishment, that's actually—you know, especially meats that are more grounding, like lamb, something that's very warming in quality. 

So, that, it always had it. And there was no kind of, you know, is this right or wrong? It just was part of the medical system. Then, when Hinduism came to be, which, you know, Lord Shiva was with his bowl and cows are considered holy in India. So, it really took on this vegetarian standpoint, which now today, most Ayurvedic doctors, practitioners out there are vegetarian. But to me, I think that, again, it depends on what your body medicinally needs. Like we need you to be your healthiest self so you can share your gifts. 

And if you feel like shit, like that's not helping anyone. You're helping a lot more people by you eating meat than you not eating meat and feeling like crap and not helping these people. So, to me, from the highest perspective, eat what makes your body thrive. I also think that we can carry stories of what we need. I've had phases in my life that I've—again, been a raw vegan and I'm like, “I need this much raw food for me to feel good.” And then, that ended up not being true. 

And then, I've had phases I've done so many different things and I've really believed it. So, I think our minds have a lot of power, too, to tell us what we need and then, our bodies can follow. So, I bet you, if something were to happen that you weren't able to access as much meat as you are now, your body would still adapt. But if right now, you're getting it from a sustainable source and you know where it's from and this is what you feel the highest in, then go for it. 

Luke Storey: Yeah. I think it's also just the simplicity of it and just the ease of just getting full as quickly as possible, you know what I mean? 

Sahara Rose: Right. Which is super Vata, who's like, “I just want to be full”, you know?

Luke Storey: Yeah. It’s-

Sahara Rose: Whereas Pitta is like, “I live to eat.” 

Luke Storey: Oh, yeah, I don’t.

Sahara Rose: And you're not like that.

Luke Storey: Yeah, I don't care about eating at all. 

Sahara Rose: Right. 

Luke Storey: It's problematic when I date sometimes because that's part of a shared-

Sahara Rose: They’re like, “What restaurants do you like?” You're like, “None.” 

Luke Storey: Yeah, I was part of—for some, it's, you know, something they hold in. 

Sahara Rose: Especially Kapha, it's like very just like, “Hmm. The tastes and the sensation.” And Kapha is really attracted to like comfort foods because it's so sweet and it enhances Kapha, whereas it's actually what they need the least of. 

Luke Storey: Oh, that's interesting. Yeah. I'm kind of like, “Let's just get this done so we can go do something important.

Sahara Rose: Interesting. That’s fascinating.

Luke Storey: Although, some—you know, obviously sometimes, like a well-cooked meal is really special and there's something sacred about it, but when I'm by myself and single, it's more of utilitarian thing, like, “Oh, God, I got to eat, how annoying. What can fill me up the fastest?” I can just wolf down a steak, done. Don't have to eat for another six hours. That kind of thing. Okay. So, I want to ask you about your deck because you mentioned, what is it called? A moon deck. 

Sahara Rose: A Yogic Path. 

Luke Storey: A Yogic Path. Okay. 

Sahara Rose: Yeah. 

Luke Storey: And so, did you say it was a moon reading? What do you call the reading? 

Sahara Rose: Yeah, it's an Oracle card reading.

Luke Storey: An Oracle card. Okay. Okay. That’s it.

Sahara Rose: Yes. 

Luke Storey: Yeah. Because I saw these on your site and I think someone else, maybe Shaman Durek or someone was mentioning it. 

Sahara Rose: Yeah.

Luke Storey: Yeah, it was him.

Sahara Rose: He’s in my deck. He's one of the characters. So-

Luke Storey: Yeah. He was mentioning that to me, and I was like, “Oh, I want to see these things.”

Sahara Rose: Yeah. So, essentially, you know, what Oracle cards are, are they’re cards that reflect your own intuition, right? These don't have the answers. You have the answers. These cards can just help reflect and tap into different, you know, considerations that you haven't before. If you believe that there are spirits, that there are, you know, energies out there, then you can actually help use these as a way to call upon those energies. So, for example, you might be shuffling the deck and say, “What message do you my spirit guides have for me?” Or like, “What should I be focusing on today?” 

Like whatever question you have and then, you could shuffle the deck with intention. And what I like to do is when I pull the card, I don't look at it. I actually just keep it in my hands in, you know, Namaste position. And then, I let my intuition tell me because most of the time, you already know, you know. And if you just let your intuition tell you the answer, then you actually don't even need to look at the card. But then, looking at the card allows you to then see, you know, what's showed up for you and then, how can that reflect on where you're at right now. So, I'd love for you to pull a card. 

Luke Storey: Yeah. Cool. 

Sahara Rose: So, what question do you have first? 

Luke Storey: Like a question in life right now?

Sahara Rose: Yeah. And it could just be like, you know, what should I be focusing on right now or what practice is really benefiting me? What should I call upon? 

Luke Storey: Oh, I have a good question. 

Sahara Rose: Okay.

Luke Storey: Yeah. And do you want me to tell you what it is? 

Sahara Rose: Yeah, if you want to share it. 

Luke Storey: Where should I live?

Sahara Rose: Okay. So, it's not going to be like San Diego. They're not geographical cards.

Luke Storey: Not too specific.

Sahara Rose: But you could say like, you know, what do I need to be focusing on to help me find my perfect home? 

Luke Storey: Yeah.

Sahara Rose: It has to be something that's within you. 

Luke Storey: Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So, actually, okay- 

Sahara Rose: Or like, what energy is related to the place that I'm going to live?

Luke Storey: I have a better one then in the context of this, and it has to do with, you know, we're moving toward the end of—I think this will come out in 2020 but at the time of this recording, we're at the end of 2019. And I have, you know, roads in front of me for 2020 that are different projects or different directions I could go with my brand and offerings and such. And so, it's kind of like eeny, meeny, miny, moe, hmm, I could do this, I could do that and I'm faced with over the next couple of months making a decision about where I really want to focus my energy now that I know how to do what we're doing right here and kind of have that systematize, so to speak. So, my question to my higher self would then be, what direction do I want to go in terms of creating a product or service that I can offer the world? 

Sahara Rose: I love that. Now, feel-

Luke Storey: Is that better than where should I live?

Sahara Rose: Right. So, yeah. So, now, just kind of place your hands over them and kind of scan what card is attracting you right now, like energetically, where are you feeling pulled?

Luke Storey: For those of you listening to this, just remember, you can always watch all of these interviews on my YouTube channel, by the way. Because people, oftentimes, would do things like this and I'm sure it's like, “Oh, what does that look like?”

Sahara Rose: Yeah. 

Luke Storey: So, you can watch the video. 

Sahara Rose: And then, once you pull it, just put it between your hands. Don't look at the card. 

Luke Storey: Okay. Should I have my eyes open or closed when I pull the card?

Sahara Rose: Open.

Luke Storey: Okay. Okay. There she is right here. 

Sahara Rose: And just place it between your hands in Namaste. Do not look at the card. 

Luke Storey: Okay. 

Sahara Rose: Now, what do you think the card has to say? What do you think the answer is?

Luke Storey: Let's forgive the silence, guys. I want a real answer here. Standby. Okay. I got an answer. 

Sahara Rose: What did it tell you? 

Luke Storey: The answer is do the thing that's going to be the most fun for me, not the thing that's going to have the biggest financial impact on my life. 

Sahara Rose: Yes, yes. 

Luke Storey: But do the thing that's going to bring me the most joy because that's the thing that's going to benefit other people.

Sahara Rose: Absolutely. 

Luke Storey: More so than the thing that like makes logical sense as a business move. 

Sahara Rose: Beautiful. So, now, let's reveal the card. 

Luke Storey: Okay. Okay. The card, wow, these are gorgeous. The art is dope. 

Sahara Rose: Yeah. So, they're all the actual ancient statues from 2000-plus years ago that we sourced. So, you're seeing like the original depictions of that goddess deity.

Luke Storey: So, this one is Durga. 

Sahara Rose: Ooh. Okay. So, now, what- 

Luke Storey: I’m going to show the YouTube camera here. I got Durga, guys.

Sahara Rose: So, now, what I recommend doing is look at the card and based off of what you see, what do you think that that card is telling you? And in these cards, we have a lot of almost like subliminal messages. There's a lot of symbology. So, even without knowing who Durga is, just looking at that is going to kind of deliver you some information.

Luke Storey: Yeah, it's interesting. Without intellectualizing it and just going from the gut, this particular card has a deity with what appears to be 12 or more arms. And then, there's also in the card, as you said, in kind of a subliminal fashion, there is a bunch of eyes on top. And so, the first thing that came to mind was. So, one of the ideas that I'm considering to bring into fruition is doing some more—I do workshops and stuff for doing longer form retreats and just full immersion, like just hardcore. 

Take someone for a week, take their phone away and just go to town with some transformation. It's all of those arms kind of represented. Initially, the first thought was integrating a bunch of people at once. A group of people, which might even be that number, a small number like that 12, but a more profound experience to share with people. And then, the other thing next is something that I've—I don’t want to say struggled with, that's a little heavy handed, but something I've pondered is because I'm into so many different things, it's such a broad spectrum of healing, mind, body, spirit, all the different levels. 

And I'm always just working on things personally. And when I find a solution, I share that. But with all of these, these 12 or so arms is this Durga deity has just accepted and integrated all of those things and not try to choose, “Oh, I have to go in this direction or that direction.” And that's something that I've been kind of arriving at because I don't really—you know, when I go to a spiritual conference, kind of like this, I don't totally fit in. I'm not Shaman Durek. You know, I'm not—it's like, that's not my thing. 

Sahara Rose: Right. 

Luke Storey: And I go to a bio hacking conference. I'm not like a geek scientist either.

Sahara Rose: Right.

Luke Storey: So, sometimes, I'm like, “Where's my home?” And I think what I'm arriving at is I'm going to make my own home and make my own scene and just do things my own way, which is an amalgam of all things that I find to be healing and restorative. And they're coming from all sorts of different teachings. And so, having all those different arms could also mean like kind of grabbing from everything that the universe has to offer and embodying that myself as is in the statue here. And and just kind of owning that proudly and integrating that and just making making it up myself rather than trying to fit in a box of some category of thought leader or speaker or whatever the case may be. 

Sahara Rose: Yes. So, look, you've got all of that without even opening up the book yet. It's amazing, right? It's like we have the answers within us.

Luke Storey: Yeah.

Sahara Rose: And we oftentimes be like, “Turn to someone else who has the solution.” And it's like sometimes, it just takes like taking a moment, getting still, asking the question, letting your intuition answer. And then, if you just need further affirmation, you can pull a card and it's going to reflect something deeper in you that you intrinsically already knew. So, Durga, this card that you pulled is the goddess of dharma. She's the goddess of doing your soul's work. 

Luke Storey: Oh, word, really?

Sahara Rose: That's literally what she represents. 

Luke Storey: Whoa, that’s dope.

Sahara Rose: Yeah. So, like again, there's no coincidences here. Like you could have pulled any card and you pulled the one of like doing your soul's work. And the energy that she really has is she's fearless. She has courage. She is going after what she knows is for the highest good of all. She's like a protector. She's a warrior, but a protector. So, like pulling that card is essentially saying like really stepping into like how you're going to heal people, how you're going to uplift people, and also not being afraid of maybe like the efforting and the courage and, you know, the work that it might take. 

Because Durga is saying like you're going to slay through it. Like you're going to be on your tiger, like going after those demons and like boom, boom, boom, like dropping that knowledge and it's not going to be difficult. Like that was a story that maybe all of us have held onto before that for me to get to where I want to go is going to be too difficult for me to get there. But she's saying like, “You carry a fierce energy because you're in alignment with your soul's purpose.” 

And when you're in alignment with your soul's purpose, the universe is propelling you in that direction because the universe wants you to serve. So, I would keep calling upon Durga, calling upon that, like that fierce protecting energy within you. In that way, you can't have 12 different things going on and like there's a need, like you got the hand for it, but you need sweat in it. You're not overthinking it. You're just like boom, onto the next. And it's a very Pitta energy, too. It's fire. 

Luke Storey: I can see that. Well, that's interesting. I mean, that's such a fit on so many levels. That's very cool. 

Sahara Rose: Yeah. 

Luke Storey: Yeah. Because this, the world of like pulling cards and astrology and those kinds of things, it's always been a bit ethereal for me, it's not something I've gravitated toward because I just crave something that's a little more concrete than that. But I found that to be really interesting actually. So, this Durga character, is this a deity from the Hindu tradition? Would this be like a Bhagavad Gita derived kind of-

Sahara Rose: Yeah. So, you know, these different gods and goddesses are coming from the Hindu, the Vedic tradition, but they far stem past, you know, religion. They're actually tantric originally. So, they're not like—it's not like a God that you like worship in the way that we were learned to worship. It's a character archetype within you. So, we all have all of these deities within us. We all are Durga. We're all Lakshmi, goddess of abundance. We're all Saraswati, goddess of creativity. We're all Krishna, like it's not this thing that's outside of you, but rather it's an energy that you have inside of you. So, when you can call upon that and you can see that I'm able to tap into so many different sides of me, I am not just this one version of me. These just act as characters that you can personify that energy that exists within you. 

Luke Storey: Cool, man. How many cards are there? 

Sahara Rose: So, I channeled them all at once when I was in India, taking photos of my book, all of the cards came through in one go. I was like—so, there are 54 cards with 108 meanings. And 108 is a very auspicious number in the Vedic culture. 

Luke Storey: Wow. 

Sahara Rose: Yeah. 

Luke Storey: What a trip. In terms of—thank you for that reading. 

Sahara Rose: Sure.

Luke Storey: Can I see a couple of the other cards? 

Sahara Rose: Yeah. 

Luke Storey: I’m just curious. I want to just check out the art. These are so dope. Who designed these? 

Sahara Rose: Yeah. So, my friend Danielle, who's like an epic designer. And like for example, that's Rosie and like Shaman Durek's in here and like a lot of people that, you know, you and I know. So, there's different people, but then, there's also like actual Vedic statues. There are terminologies from the yoga sutras, from Ayurveda, from Vedic spirituality, from the chakra system. So, it really—saw, yeah.

Luke Storey: That’s great.

Sahara Rose: It helps you—you know, so many of us, we want to know more about yoga. The Veda is ancient wisdom, but it can be really hard. It can be confusing. It can be all these words in Sanskrit. And this allows us not only to be learning these terminologies, but also to be working on ourselves. And like if you pulled Durga and you know that that's an energy involved in your life, you want to learn more about it. But if I'm just like, “Here's the teacher of—today, we’re learning about Durga”, like that's not very interesting.

Luke Storey: Right.

Sahara Rose: So, it educates you while inspires you. And more than anything, it's all about a tool to help you tap into your own intuition. Because so many of us, especially in the spiritual world today, give up our power and we think, “Oh, I need that healer to figure it out for me or that psychic or astrologer, whatever it is. And, you know, you're a creator, you have free will. You're creating things at all times. So, when you're able to see that, you're able to tap into so many different sides of you, you're able to be that magician and be like, “Okay, what energy do I want to call upon to move forward to the next stage?” 

Luke Storey: When you talk about finding your soul's purpose, do you feel that you've found yours? And if so, at what point did you know that? 

Sahara Rose: Yeah. So, I believe that we all have one dharma, one sole purpose. And all of us are here to raise consciousness. There's no one who's not. You know, there are no accidents. There are no extras. I think that a lot of us are like, “Oh, I don't really know why I'm here”, like you're not born to just like pay bills and pay your taxes and lose weight and die like you're here for a reason. You know, if we look at nature, nature doesn't mess up. Like they're not like, “Oh, we're just going to like do summer after winter this year.” Just like, you know, “Spice things up.” Like there's a purpose to everything. 

Luke Storey: Right.

Sahara Rose: So, nature is whole. We can all agree that everything in nature has a cycle, has a purpose. A plant's not like, “I don’t think I can do it.” It's like you become a plant. And we are born as part of nature, you know. So, we, intrinsically, are whole. Now, I think where a lot of us get stuck is now, how does that manifest? Like how does that actually show up and what do I do in my everyday life? So, if all of our purpose is to raise consciousness, each of us has a unique expression in which we're going to do so. 

So, for example, one person's dharma might be to create beauty, right? So, they may spend some time as a photographer and then, they might be a stylist. And then, they may work at a nail salon. And then, they might like start an Etsy store. And they might be like, “Oh, I'm such a failure.” Like, “I keep starting these new things and ending them, such a failure.” But actually, they're doing their dharma, you know, they're creating beauty in this world. And there are many different expressions in which that can manifest, but that red thread is always there. 

So, for example, you know, my dharma is to share wisdom with the modern world and make it fun and relatable, and to also help people find their purpose. So, I might do so in a topic about like Ayurveda, like literally connecting to your body or we might be talking about purpose or we might be talking about relationships and we might be talking about these cards. There are so many different things that we could talk about. I could be on a podcast. I could be talking in person. I can be doing—you know, there are so many different ways it could show up, but it's the same thread. 

So, I think where a lot of us get stuck is we think our dharma or purpose is related to a career. And it's not. It may or may not manifest as a career. Some people don't want to monetize their dharma. Some people don't want the pressure of that, so they rather like just, you know, create their paintings and not have to sell it because they don't want to, you know, drop the joy out of it. But for a lot of us, we also have to support ourselves. So, the amount of time that it takes to really get good at something, it kind of has to be your full-time thing, right? 

Like if you just—if you had a 9:00 to 5:00 and then, you had this podcast, like after a certain point, you'd be like, “I don't have—I can't grow this podcast because I need to give more time to it.” So, that's going to require you to figure out how to monetize it. And that's going to require you to step into, okay, like, “How do I work my Pitta and get sponsors and do all of these things?” But it's worth doing that because that allows you to do what you love to do full time. So, I think your dharma and you might have a different take, but, you know, you're able to converse with people, you're able to have conversations that brings forth their wisdom. You're able to create a space where people can discuss.

And then, you're also able to help people feel like a mega version of themselves, right? Like feel beyond this human form. And, you know, I think all of your life experiences, whether it's related to drugs or related to biohacking, is you wanting to feel like superhuman, metahuman human, you know? So, that might be a thread in your life and it's going to continue. So, it might be a TV show, it might be a product, it might be this, it might be that. But as long as you're still doing like your mission statement, that's still your dharma. 

Luke Storey: What were you doing before you started doing what you do now? And what was the satisfactory about it enough for you to go, “Hmm, maybe this isn't it”?

Sahara Rose: Yeah. So, I mean, I started blogging when I was 19 years old. So, I started quite young on my journey of sharing, but I never thought it was going to be a career. I didn't even know that that was possible. It was like—I was like one of the first people who was even blogging in that way. And I thought I was going to be an international human rights lawyer because I always knew I wanted to help people on a large scale. So, I'm like help people, large scale, like lawyer, that looks like the category because like we're taught like here are the five crews you can choose from. 

Like you like to talk, lawyer, psychologist, pick. Because it's like, podcasts didn't exist, none of this stuff existed. And we're all here to like literally create our own career. So then, I started working in NGOs and I moved to DC and I was like, “I want to be actually connecting with people.” Like, “I don't want to be raising money for the next fundraiser.” And like, “I want to have a lifestyle that I love. I don't want to be like the martyr to try to help people.” I'm like, “How do I do both?” I thought like you either help people and your life sucks or you are selfish and you don't help people like is one or the other. I never saw people doing both. 

Luke Storey: Right. 

Sahara Rose: So then, I was like I didn't know, I worked at this advertising agency that did like a lot of travel and that was like—you know, it's corporate. And I was like, I could not survive here. And then, I was just so confused because I started to go through different health problems. And I was like, “I'm supposed to be a human rights lawyer and now, I'm nothing.” And I have no idea what I'm doing. And then, all the pressure from my family of like, “Why aren't you a pharmacist? Why aren't you a real estate agent?” Like, “Why don't you have a normal job?” And then, all of the fear that they're projecting onto me, it’s like, “Are you going to become homeless and like die because you don't have a regular job?” 

So, that was the lesson that my soul needed because it helped me trust myself. It helps me become strong. It helped me to honor myself and trust myself. Like growing up with immigrant parents, you're selfish if you want to do what you want to do. Like your whole life is actually meant to make everyone around you happy, you know. So then, you know, they tell you, “Follow your dreams.” And then, once you do it, they're like, “You are a selfish bitch”, you know. So, I was like, “Is my whole life a lie?” 

Luke Storey: That’s hilarious.

Sahara Rose: Like was I really just like brought up to just like, you know, hang out around you and like make enough money to keep up appearances, so your friends don't ask you questions? And then, I left. I left to India and I was studying Ayurveda there. And again, not knowing how I would ever come up with a business of this. All I knew is that I was excited about it. And I also knew it was really cheap for me to live in India, so I could keep on doing this. So, I was willing to give up anything for me to keep learning about what was interesting for me. 

And then, I later went to Bali. And then, being in Bali, I literally lived with a family in the rice fields that I was like working for them, so I could stay with them for free, so I could have some space to write this book. And then, finally, I wrote this—I thought you write a book and it just like ends up at Barnes & Nobles. And then, I like come to LA and I like learned about that whole process of like, you know, you have to have a literary agent and a business and all of that stuff. But what I learned is that the lessons that we have to go through for our dharma are our preparation for it. 

Like you have your dharma, you have that gift that you were meant to share with the world, but it doesn't mean that you're ready for it. And sometimes, you have to go through lessons and experiences because that's like your dharma university. And if you don't go through them, you're not going to have the strength to really follow through with it. So, you know, I could have had—you know, and I often did. Like when I was 23, I wrote this whole book on how to find your soul's purpose, but I was not ready to teach that yet because I hadn't like fully stepped into mine. 

So, you know, sometimes, you have ideas for things that are like way far in your future, but you haven't built up yourself enough to do them. So, you're like, okay, that's on the shelf of something I know I'm going to do in this lifetime, but I need to gain some more experience in that. And if we don't go out there and seek the experiences, the experiences are going to seek us. And this is just, you know, in the Vedas, we say, when you're living in alignment with your dharma, you experience Kriya, you experience flow and synchronicities and the universe propelling you in the right direction. 

But when you're not, when you steer off that highway towards this makes money or this makes sense or whatever it is, you start to experience karma. And karma are those blocks. It's the pushback. And essentially, it's here to support you. It's actually here to bring you back into the direction of your dharma. But what it feels like is like at first, a poke. You know, like, “I don't know why I'm just like feeling anxious the past couple of weeks and you don't listen.” And it turns into a punch and it's like, “I don't know why like everything just sucks and nothing's working out and things just have been so off for the past couple of months.” 

The universe is trying to propel you in the right direction, you don't listen. And then, it could turn to an accident. It can turn into something that's so over the top that you have no choice but to not listen. It's like at this choice, you have two options. You either change your whole freaking life, which happened to you, or you live the rest of your life in misery. And a lot of us have to get to that point because a lot of us aren't—we were taught, life's hard, get a helmet. We're taught, life is going to suck, so you better fucking deal with it. So, when in life, karma’s knocking, it's like, “Hello, you're going the wrong way.” We're like, “I guess this is the human experience”, when it's not. It's supposed to be flow. It’s supposed to be synchronicity. 

And oftentimes, we get to those situations like Eckhart Tolle, for example, like getting to the point of being suicidal, that he's like, “Whoa, I want to be present. I want to be a different person.” But you don't have to keep getting to that point. You don't have to have the breakdown to have the breakthrough. You don't have to have the pain to have the purpose. Some of us need to get there, but others of us can fine-tune our understanding of like, okay, things are feeling off, so before I get like totally off track, let me switch direction, so I can get back into Kriya and move towards my dharma.

Luke Storey: At what point in your current career did your parents and family get it and be like, “Oh, okay, this is a real thing”, or have they?

Sahara Rose: You know, like, hasn’t have. No, I'm kidding. You know, like I think a lot of listeners here understand like your parents have gone through their own life experiences, their own traumas, which creates their own limiting beliefs. So, everyone's going to project their own limiting beliefs of what they're capable of in their life onto you and your life. So, when I'm saying, “Oh, I want to become an author”, they're like, “Author. That's like being a starving artist, like you're never going to make it.” And if that's your only feedback, “You're never going to make it. You're never going to make it”, you begin to create that as your own reality. So, I had to literally like space myself from them, have people around me, who are—you know, they weren't rich or anything like that, but they were living their own purpose. So then-

Luke Storey: Expanders. 

Sahara Rose: Expanders. Exactly. And then, you know, I wrote the book and then, I got the book deal for Idiot's Guide to Ayurveda. Then, I walked up to Deepak Chopra at a conference and he wrote the foreword of my book. And then, the book came out and like, they have the book in their hands and they're like, “Okay.” Like, “So, when are you going to become a real estate agent?” You know, it was like still in their heads, like the book is like something you'd do on the side. So, I think it's like, once they saw that I was just, you know, there’s no turning back, like I'm fully on my power, I'm going to do this, I'm able to support myself doing it, they kind of just, it's like, you either want to have your child in your life or not, so you choose. 

And now, they are obviously supportive of the path. And I think that we chose our parents as much as they chose us. And, you know, our parents kind of teach us the first, you know, part of our lives and then, we really teach them. So, I believe that we are all born into the microcosm of the problem that we are meant to solve. So, you may have been born into addiction, you may have been born into close-mindedness, you may have been born into poverty, you may have been born into whatever it is, the familial issue that you were born into. 

And that's because your soul is like, “Okay, let me really understand this problem at the root.” Be born in a family that this is happening because then, I'm able to understand the full conditioning of it and then, remember who I am outside of it. So, me being born in a family of, you know, my grandma's and everyone before being in child marriages, like 10 to 14 years old, being married to people way older than them, who already had husbands, like my entire lineage being that. No one ever having worked, that's a woman in my family ever before me. So, me, literally-

Luke Storey: Really?

Sahara Rose: Never. 

Luke Storey: Wow.

Sahara Rose: So, me being this like empowered woman who was speaking on stages and like dancing and twerking and like doing all these things, it's like, “Wow, what is happening?” 

Luke Storey: That’s hilarious.

Sahara Rose: But I had to have been born into that lineage of female suppression and closemindedness and tradition, patriarchy, to understand it, to even have compassion for it. And then, to be able to break free from it. 

Luke Storey: Got it. That's a really—that's such a liberating way to see things. You know, I’ve really had to work hard for a long time. Now, it comes much more naturally. But to see sort of the different roadblocks that are in our life, whether it be familial or self-imposed or romantic relationships or anything that you feel like, “God, this is—why is there so much pushback here?” And it's like, “Well, I asked for this. This is what I needed.” Oftentimes, it takes a really kind of, you know, hindsight view of it. And early on—for me, it took a really long time to look back and be like, “Oh, okay, I see why this happened.” And then, those gaps kind of get shorter and shorter, where sometimes even during a little bit of turmoil, I'm like, “Oh, I'm kind of already seeing the lesson here”, right? Even before you're completely out of the woods.

Sahara Rose: Yes. Yes. Anything that happens to you, what is this teaching me? What is this teaching me? 

Luke Storey: Yeah.

Sahara Rose: And then, the sooner you learn the lesson, the sooner you come back into Kirya. And then, life is just like, “I'm on your side.” Like, “I'm going to help you. I'm going to help you meet the right people at the right time and the right places.” And then, anytime you feel off, what is this teaching me? Come back into it. 

Luke Storey: I love it. All right. Well, we've got about 10 minutes left, nine minutes specifically. Let me see. What do I want to ask you about lastly here? Well, you know what I've been curious about, sometimes, when I know people that are on the show and we're, you know, casual friends, we see each other at events and hang out here and there, and I'm always looking at like your business prowess, like you're such a great businesswoman and you're just accomplishing so much and books and these products and all of this stuff, where do you learn about online marketing and all of the things that you're putting out there in the world? 

In other words, you have your dharma, you've discovered it. That's one thing that’s going, I see what my unique gifts are, I've identified kind of the audience that wants to benefit from those gifts, but then, you have to either hire someone or you have to have the wherewithal to kind of understand how to turn that into a business that you can buy a house and have a family and do all the things that most of us want to do? 

Sahara Rose: Right. You know, for me, it started as native necessity, like I have to figure out a way to create a living for myself. Otherwise, I can't do this work. So, I started to just learn online on YouTube, sign up for different like digital marketers, email them. So, just start to learn everything there was. And again, this was like 10 years ago when I started, so things were very different. It was like SEO practices and all of that. So, with that, you know, it gave me curiosity because the more I learn about this stuff, the more I can spread my message and the more lives I can affect. So, even though like maybe like tech or marketing is not like my soul's passion, it creates a vehicle for me to get my soul's passion out there. 

And I realize where a lot of people are stuck is in that Vata stage of like, I have the great idea, but I can't do it. So, the way that I teach it and what I've really realized is the Vata stage are like the higher three chakras, right? Your crown chakra downloads the idea, the third eye chakra intuits the idea, like, “Is this for me? What is it going to look like?”, the throat chakra speaks it. Now, for you to do it, it has to come through the heart, like really finding the passion for it, really finding who are the people, that’s lives, that this is going to affect, like how is this going to change things? Really finding that love for it. 

I think, sometimes, we jump so quickly into how's it going to be done without really moving it through the heart. And then, from—like the heart is like igniting that fire of, you know, how is this going to actually fuel me to get through all of the humps and obstacles that are inevitably going to show up? And when that heart is there, that passion is there, you will figure your way around it. And then, from that heart, it moves into the solar plexus, which is like that energy of just like get shit done, do it, ass to the grass, like go. And I schedule days of my week according to the doshas. So, I have Vata days of the week that I am-

Luke Storey: No way.

Sahara Rose: Mm-hmm. 

Luke Storey: Wow.

Sahara Rose: ... that I am just like creating, like I will not do podcast. I will not, you know, do all these things. I'll just check my email maybe in the morning and I'm just like creating. And then, I'll have Pitta days of the week that I'm like—it's, I'm on a schedule and I get shit done. And then, I have at least one Kapha day of the week, where I'm just like chilling, restorative, like I'm like organizing my home, just like, you know, not caring so much about the business. And this allows me to focus on what I'm focusing on without feeling guilty about not doing the rest. Because what I realized is like I would just kind of try to do everything in one day. So, I would be—so, let's say I was like getting a lot of stuff done, then in the back of my mind, I'm like, “You didn't write your book today. You didn't do anything like that.” 

So, I'm like giving myself a hard time. So, if I know, okay, this is my Vata day, I'm just creating. This is my Pitta day, I'm just executing. This is my Kapha day, I'm just restoring. Then, I'm able to set that expectation for myself. I also like to make a priority triangle. So, at the top of that triangle is like, what's the main priority of today. And then, below that are the two things. Okay. Once that's done, what are the next things? And the next thing. So, sometimes, I'll literally draw it and I'll have it next to myself. So, when I see, okay, I'm going back on Amazon or I'm like doing something else, I'm like, “That's down here on the triangle, like you need to do this thing.” So, I'll go back up on the priority triangle. 

Luke Storey: That is a dope idea. 

Sahara Rose: Yeah. And even your hours.

Luke Storey: Because like on a good day, I'll make my list of things.

Sahara Rose: Right.

Luke Storey: And then, I'm like, “Yeah, but there's no hierarchy.” So, sometimes, I'll number them, but I didn't write them down in order. So, there's like six things, right? And the first thing I wrote down might end up being number six. 

Sahara Rose: Right.

Luke Storey: Then, when I look at the list, I'm like, “Wait, what am I doing?” I'm like, “Go on Amazon, buy some vitamins”, you know what I mean?

Sahara Rose: Yeah.

Luke Storey: Like the four—or just like my phone's right there and Instagram's going, “Click me.”

Sahara Rose: I know.

Luke Storey: “Click me. How many likes did that post get? Hahaha”, you know.

Sahara Rose: So, I'll often delete Instagram. You know, you could just delete the app and like re-download it when you want. So, if I'm like really trying to write and I can see I keep getting distracted. I like how you said put your phone in your car. I have not done that yet. That's a good idea. But sometimes, I'll just like delete it. So then, if I start going through my phone, like a crack feed, like Instagram, I can catch myself and I won't do it. And also dropping the story of what I need to get creative. 

I think I used to have the story of like, I need to be on a beach in Bali and like everything be like totally chill for me to be creative. And like, you know, life grows, your career grows, you're needed in different places. There are things that you want to do, so you don't—I don't always have the luxury of like all day to just create. So, I'm able to drop the story of what I need and be like, “Okay, right now, I have like two hours in between meetings. So, like what can I get done in this time?” 

So, like I wrote some of these cards when I was doing the actual writing in the DMV, like in places that are not holy and sacred, but it's like the knowledge, the wisdom is in you. And if you can trust that anytime I can tap into creativity, like does a child ever have like a creative block? No. It's just all in the mind. So, I think it like comes down to making excuses. It comes down to not editing yourself while you're creating. You know, I wrote most of my book, Discover Your Dharma within one month. I wrote Idiot's Guide to Ayurveda, two months. 

Like when I write, I go in there. The reason how is I'm not filtering myself. I'm like stream of consciousness. Just like—like just writing and writing and writing as if I'm talking to someone. Not is the sentence correct, the grammar, I'm just writing. And then, later on—that's just my Vata. Later on, when I'm done with that, I'll come through with the Pitta brain, which is more like, okay, analytical, organized, what needs to be here? What doesn’t? I can't do both at once. I think a lot of us are overthinking things. We're editing things. We're thinking about why it won't work while we're coming up with the idea. 

So, we're like blocking the flow of energy. So, let that come through, come through the crown, like let it—you speak it to existence, like you feel the energy of through it. And then, after you've created it, birth it through the Kapha. So, the Kapha is the reevaluation. It's the sacred pause. And it's also that thing becoming bigger than yourself. You know, it's like that child like grows legs and walks and lives its own life. And sometimes, that's what our projects are meant to do. They're not meant for us to always hold onto. You're meant to start it. 

And then, for that to become a movement that's so much larger than yourself. And then, maybe your vessel is being called to birth something else through life. So, it's also not having that detachment. Once it's come through, it might change because it might be needed in a different way. And that idea never belonged to me. It just came through me. So, if I can let go of that egotistical desire to hold onto it, it could actually turn into what it needed to turn into. 

Luke Storey: Boom. Wow. Powerful stuff. Who have been three teachers or teachings that have influenced your life that you can send our audience to go check out in two minutes?

Sahara Rose: Yeah. So, I mean, Deepak Chopra has obviously been a huge and influential person in my life because I started reading his books at a young age and he's been someone who really has brought Vedic wisdom to the world. So, love Deepak Chopra. Many people are familiar with him. You know, from a Vedic perspective, there is a guy named Dr. Suhas Kshirsagar, which is a hard name to remember, but-

Luke Storey: I feel sorry for the show notes guys. Sorry.

Sahara Rose: But if anyone likes more Ayurvedic stuff, he's a really great one.

Luke Storey: Say the name slowly one more time for my guy.

Sahara Rose: Dr. Suhas Kshirsagar, really good with Ayurveda. 

Luke Storey: Thank you.

Sahara Rose:And recently, I read a book I really liked by Matt Kahn, called Everything Is Here to Help You. And I really liked that because he took topics, anxiety, anger, stress, and like, “Oh, this is actually how it helps you. This is actually how it's alchemy.” And I think a lot of us were like, “Only be positive, only be happy, only be this.” And it's like, why would we have such a breadth of emotions if we're not meant to feel them all? So, it's like seeing how like even anger is like teaching you your boundaries, that even anxiety is teaching you how much you're capable of. Like if you can turn those and see that they're actually supporting you, then they're no longer experienced as negative emotions. And I've really been on a tantric path and a tantric journey recently, like diving into what that science looks like. And that's what it's all about, it's like letting go of duality and right and wrong and just experiencing everything as it is.

Luke Storey: Dope. Where can people find your websites, books, social, all that stuff?

Sahara Rose: Yeah. So, my website where you can take my dosha quiz is iamsahararose.com. And my website is also iamsahararose. And I have a podcast called Highest Self Podcast. 

Luke Storey: Which is crushing it. 

Sahara Rose: Oh, I can't wait to have you back on.

Luke Storey: Yeah, like number one spiritual category.

Sahara Rose: Yes. Yes.

Luke Storey: Like insane. 

Sahara Rose: Yes. 

Luke Storey: So, dope. Well, thank you so much for coming on. I’m glad we found time to do this. 

Sahara Rose: Thanks so much for having me. 

Luke Storey: All right.

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