Meet Todd Norian | Master Yogi, Founder, Author, Musician

We had the good fortune of connecting with Todd Norian and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Todd, we’d love to start by asking you about lessons learned. Is there a lesson you can share with us?
The most important lesson my career has taught me is to follow my heart. To do that I had to listen to my heart. And to listen to my heart, I had to quiet my mind through meditation. The voice of the heart is always a soft whisper. You have to get still within in order to hear it and discern it from the incessant chatter going on in the mind all of the time. There’s always some loud voice inside that’s really needy or afraid trying to tell me that I’m not enough, I don’t have what it takes, I’m a fraud, or I’m a failure. Sometimes there’s a whole crowd of voices inside. I call the crowd of doubting voices, “the itty bitty shitty committee.” It’s so important to make space for all of the voices but to focus on the wisdom voice of the heart.

When I focused on my heart, the voice told me that I matter. That I have a special gift to give that no one else can give this world. It told me to believe in myself above all else, even if others don’t believe in me. When I believe that I have something super valuable to give others, my self-esteem goes up. I start increasing my business. I attract more and more people to my classes. Everyone is attracted to those who believe in themselves. Because we all want to believe in ourselves.

The next voice of my heart said, “Don’t give up. Stay the course. Keep trying.” When one thing doesn’t work, try something else. Be open to receive support and advice from other professionals. But believe in yourself and go with your gut. So many times I’ve hired marketing directors who are excellent in their field, but they have no experience marketing yoga, which is my business. I’ve learned the hard way that I know my business and the yoga market better than anyone else. I need to take the reins of my business, go with my ideas, implement them, and see what sticks.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My journey to becoming a Master Yogi was interwoven with magic, mystery, and music. My father played trumpet in the Michigan Marching Band at University of Michigan and after he had us kids, he took up selling insurance. But he still played in a band and used to practice every day at home. I grew up hearing him play scales and practice with his jazz orchestra. At age 8, I starting taking piano lessons and I excelled. I had my own band when I was 11, called The PeeWees. The drummer was 10 and the guitar player was 9! I played throughout high school and decided to major in piano performance at University of Michigan.

I was in for a big surprise as the competition at the college level was fierce. My heart was always more into jazz and I just couldn’t rise to the level of success in classical piano. So I transferred to University of Miami, which had an excellent jazz school, especially for pianists. I thrived in Miami. There was a yoga studio across the street from the university and I remember a friend telling me that he did yoga and that I ought to try it.

In my first yoga class I was so stiff. I felt like I had rigamortis. But my teachers were loving and encouraging. At the end of the class we were guided into Savasana (Corpse Pose). This was the first time I ever fully relaxed. Tears spontaneously streamed from my eyes and I realized that this was the first time in my life that I accepted myself as I am. I released the stress of achieving something, becoming someone, and all of the anxiety that comes with success and failure. I just let myself be me. In that moment I realized that this is what I wanted. I want to be myself and just enjoy life.

The experience of deep peace changed my life. I went up north to PA to visit my friend who was living at a yoga retreat center. He invited me to come for 3 days. I had just finished my undergraduate degree and was given a fellowship to do my masters at University of Miami which started in 13 days. I fell in love with the yoga community and found out later that it was an ashram – a yoga village of deep practices run by a guru or teacher. My friend convinced me to stay for the 10 day course that was just about to start, called Quest For the Limitless You. I could still take this course and drive back to Miami in time to begin my masters. So I said yes.

Well, I went for 10 days and stayed for 13 years! I had the biggest transformation of my life. My heart opened and my life purpose came into full focus. I told the teacher that I wanted to move in but that I had a commitment to get my masters degree in music. He looked at me and said, “You need to become a musician of life.” That spoke directly to my heart. I realized that music was just a cover for wanting to master the experience of life itself. I cancelled my fellowship over the phone. My professors were so angry, as were my parents.

When I look back I don’t regret my decision to follow my heart and pursue a yogic lifestyle based on living a healthy lifestyle and supporting others to be happy. One of the lessons I learned was how to be okay disappointing others. You can’t be what others want or expect you to be. You have to be yourself. When you follow your heart, you will disappoint others. In fact, if you’re not regularly disappointing others, who might you be regularly disappointing? Yourself! I realized that there was a part of me trying to fulfill my father’s dream of being a full time musician. Yes, I loved music and thought I was going into music for myself. But deep down, I knew I wanted something more.

Following my heart and my own path has stayed with me. It’s a cornerstone of my brand where I help others listen to their heart and then follow it without looking back. Ironically, I’ve been able to make good use of my music training. I’ve recorded 7 music CDs for yoga and relaxation and I continue to record chants and mantras that I use in my classes.

I think the biggest lesson I’ve learned in following my heart is that life is short. Go for the gusto. Live fully. This lyric from a jazz standard, “Here’s To Life” repeats often in my mind, “All you give is all you get. So give it all you’ve got.”

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Sorry but I’m not the best person to answer this since I don’t actually live in SD. My sister lives in Carlsbad so I’ve only visited. I highly recommend checking out the Self-Realization Fellowship Hermitage and Meditation Gardens in Encinitas. The air is so peaceful there. The gardens are beautiful. It’s the perfect spot to meditate and quiet your mind to hear the voice of your heart!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I couldn’t be where I am today without a team of very talented and dedicated professionals. I want to recognize my Administrative Assistant Stephanie Leeds, my Co-teacher and Social Media Director Cheryl Chaffee, Graphic Design and Technician Aria Greenberg, Advertising and Marketing Luke Ammerman, and Consultant and Brand Specialist Lisa Haggis of Realize Your Brand.

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Other: Ashaya Membership https://www.ashayayoga.com/ashayamembership Ashaya Yoga 200-Hour Teacher Training https://www.ashayayoga.com/theashayapath