“They taught each of us to be the heroes and sheroes of our lives, and that all the power lies in our thinking, in our minds!”

Before the Certification Training Program: 

I used to grind my teeth during sleep. Sleeping with a plastic mold in my mouth was no fun. However, according to my orthodontist, I had to use it every night, since my gums were getting worse and worse, day by day.

After  working with Esra & Ike :

Esra once gave us a specific breathing exercise as part of the Certification Training. On my very first round I felt a sweet sense of dizziness and I loved it. I slept like a baby that night. That was not a usual thing for me, so I decided to give it a go and started practicing this breathing exercise daily. I had had a deviated septum for years and had been told many times over by doctors that my left nostril was closed, no air was coming in.

First my left nostril opened up, and I started breathing through my left nostril for the first time in my life. In the following months, I stopped using the mouth apparatus I’d been using every night for years. I am so grateful to Esra and Ike for having created such a beautiful program where I’ve learned all these amazing practices.

In 2011, I got a biker’s cyst on my left knee joint. It was getting bigger and bigger. At the final stage, it was bigger than an orange. I consulted three orthopedists. They all pointed out that it was possible to remove the cyst surgically, but it was too risky — the cyst was too big to remove without damaging the joint and the cartilage, which could result in my being unable to walk. I was a single mom who had just gotten divorced, and I was starting over in life. Not being able to work, therefore not making money, wasn’t an option for me. So I chose not to go with the surgery.

I had terrible pain in my knees, particularly at night. Another challenging situation for me was how my knee looked. It was not nice. I couldn’t wear leggings, skinny jeans, or a skirt. This cyst lived with me in my body until 2018.

Never ever in my life had I considered the cyst was my body trying to send a message to me:

-“There isn’t any time or place for me in my life. I never have time for myself and myself only.”

This was a discovery I made in the Certification Program as I began to understand we can talk to our bodies and that each pain, disease, discomfort has a message for us, if we are willing to listen.

I joined Ike and Esra’s Certification Training Program in 2018. Kundalini Yoga was also a part of the program. One of the meditations Esra taught us was about healing our own bodies. I remember Esra saying:

“You may choose a subject in your life or a body part that you’d like to heal, and practice this meditation for forty days straight. Remember, during the meditation, just focus on your intention and forget about the how.”

I did it, just as Esra instructed us. Every day. Consistently.

Since my knee did not let me do the exercise in the classical yoga pose, I kept practicing it sitting in a chair. On day 15, two of my friends from the program came over to my house. We wanted to do our meditation practices together. All three of us laid out our yoga mats. My friends sat cross-legged in the lotus position. I did too. On autopilot, without even giving it a thought. Right then and there, one of them noticed:

-“Arzu? You’ve just sat down on the mat. What about your cyst, where did it go?”

An aha moment! Really, where did it go? I checked my knee. Nothing! It was gone!

I am beyond grateful to Esra and Ike for teaching me the power of intention, Kundalini Yoga, the importance of my focus, the value of being responsible for my thoughts, and for all the other beautiful teachings.

They taught each of us to be the heroes and sheroes of our lives, and that all the power lies in our thinking, in our minds!

Thank you, thank you so very much!

— Arzu Erensoy