I am an avid follower of Sadhguru. It all began one evening about two years ago when I stumbled upon a Sadhguru video on YouTube. In that video, he spoke about finding inner peace, the nature of existence, and the importance of self-awareness. His words resonated with me on a deeper level. It was as though he was addressing all the questions that had been lingering in my mind for years.
That one video led to another, and soon, I found myself binge-watching Sadhguru’s talks, discussions, and interviews. His wisdom, grounded in spirituality and rooted in practicality, struck a chord with me. I always felt a growing desire to learn more, to delve deeper into the wisdom he offered.
Thus, when I received an opportunity to join and review one of Mindvalley’s most popular quests, “A Yogi’s Guide to Joy,” I enrolled myself without delay to embark on this 15-day journey to discover my true self.
What is “A Yogi’s Guide to Joy” quest all about? And what is my honest experience after completing this quest? Read on to know more!
Table of Contents
What is “A Yogi’s Guide to Joy” quest?
“A Yogi’s Guide to Joy” is described as a program for those seeking freedom from inner turmoil. The “quest” (as Mindvalley calls its courses) aims to teach ways to manage your thoughts and emotions to transcend the sufferings of life rather than managing it on a day-to-day basis by using various temporary prescribed aids, such as therapy or exercise.
Divided into three sections and 15 daily lessons, the quest involves 3.3 hours of lessons (not counting the time it will take you to implement the lessons!) and is available on your computer, tablet, or smartphone.
To get a quick introduction to the course, I recommend that you watch this video.
If you would like a more in-depth introduction, Mindvalley has very generously prepared a free Masterclass with Sadhguru that will give you a good idea of what is covered in the quest and give you a few high-level takeaways.
What do you learn in “A Yogi’s Guide to Joy”?
The quest is divided into three parts, taking you through three stages of Sadhguru’s teachings. Each part comprises five daily lessons with a 5-15 minute long video and daily tasks and actions.
- Part 1 (day 1-5): Transcending Suffering
- Part 2 (day 6-10): Conquering Your Thoughts and Emotions
- Part 3 (day 11-15: Living In Joy
Part 1: Transcending suffering (Day 1-5)
In the tapestry of human experience, suffering is an intricate thread that weaves through every life. In the first part of this quest, Sadhguru takes you on an exploration of what really causes suffering in life and how you can transcend it. He explains how your intellect traps you in suffering and how you can break this trap to get rid of suffering. He also provides techniques for managing your inner turmoil so that you can enjoy a life free of fear.
Part 2: Conquering your thoughts and emotions (Day 6-10)
In the fast-paced, chaotic world, our minds can become a whirlwind of thoughts, and our hearts can be a storm of emotions. The second part of “A Yogi’s Guide to Joy” provides you with tools to not only understand but also harness and transmute the power of your inner world. Part 2 of the quest focuses on conquering your thoughts and emotions. In this part, Sadhguru talks about why traditional stress management techniques fail you and, instead, what you can do to manage your stress and complex emotions. This part of the quest strongly focuses on creating a path to achieve perfect emotional balance and stability in every moment.
Part 3 Living in Joy (Day 11-15)
The third part of the quest is focused on practices, wisdom, and insights that can empower you to embrace joy as a fundamental aspect of your spiritual path. This part also teaches you steps to live a life with your authentic freedom and helps you reawaken your childlike playfulness and passion. The end of the quest makes you realize that being grateful for being alive is the most important thing in life. You will gain a fresh, unique, and deeper perspective on life and feel satisfied with completing this journey of discovering your true self and your place in the cosmos.
A week-by-week deep dive into “A Yogi’s Guide to Joy” quest
To give you a better idea of what Sadhguru’s quest on Mindvalley is like, I’ll go through the course in detail below.
Week 1
At the beginning of week 1, Sadhguru starts this journey by discussing one of the most important aspects of life, “Sufferings.” He says, “Half-alive people suffer from everything in life and make complaints irrespective of every existing situation in life.” He explains the importance of being fully alive profoundly in the first lesson and tells us that when we are fully alive, we do not need any external factors or pleasures to live a blissful life.
In week 1, he talks about how our fear of resisting change becomes a leading cause of suffering. He states, “When we resist change, we resist the natural process of life and create unnecessary suffering for ourselves.” As the journey moves ahead, he shares the first tool for transformation: “Above the Intellect.” He asks us to acknowledge that every aspect of life is a manifestation of a far greater intelligence than our minuscule intellect.
When we resist change, we resist the natural process of life and create unnecessary suffering for ourselves
During the later part of the first week, Sadhguru encourages us to gain mastery of our life energies and busts the popular myth that “Suffering is inevitable.” He rephrases this as “Suffering is not inevitable; it is self-created.”
The first week ends with an impactful message by Sadhguru: “Your outside life situations will never happen 100% the way you want. However, all your experience comes from within, so it’s 100% your choice to choose joy or suffering.”
Week 2
Week 2 starts with busting another popular myth: that “stress management” is an integral part of modern life. He explains that you do not need to manage stress. It happens because you did not learn the proper way to manage your own system (your thoughts and emotions).
During week 2, he requests us to step out from our psychological drama and insists we stop identifying ourselves too much with our psychological process. He shares another transformation tool, “Chemistry of Peace,” and suggests getting deeply involved with everything we do.
In the later part of week 2, he talks about relationships and emotions and asks us to let go of any expectations of ourselves and others. While discussing this common problem of the modern-day era, he shares another tool of transformation, the “Namaskar Process,” and encourages us to make this process a regular part of our lives.
Moving forward, he discusses the decision-making process and tells us people have a common misconception that your heart and mind work in different ways. He offers a unique perspective on thoughts and emotions and concludes that thoughts are agile and emotions are a little sappy, but they both follow similar paths to external situations. He explains that we should withdraw from external factors and influences before making any big decisions and should focus on taking only those decisions in life that we actually want to take.
Week 2 ends with a brief introduction to yoga, where he explains that bringing balance to the system is the fundamental nature of yoga. While talking about yoga, he introduces another powerful (and popular) transformation tool, “Isha Kriya,” and explains how practicing this daily can improve our emotional and overall well-being.
Week 3
At the beginning of week 3, Sadhguru puts a strong emphasis on creating unshakeable stability in our personalities. He says, “Exuberance of life happens only when we have stability in ourselves.” He also talks about freedom as a powerful territory, but sadly, most human beings are suffering from freedom because they do not know how to use it wisely. In the later part of week 3, Sadhguru gives us another transformation tool, “Nadi Shuddhi,” for balancing our energy system.
Exuberance of life happens only when we have stability in ourselves.
He ends the quest by reminding us that life is ticking away and “you are alive right now” and asking us to express gratitude for being alive. He shares the last transformation tool, “Tips for Love,” to develop a unique perspective on the feeling of love.
Highlights of “A Yogi’s Guide to Joy” quest
Sadhguru’s wisdom and clarity
One of the standout features of this quest is Sadhguru’s remarkable ability to convey complex spiritual concepts with remarkable clarity. His insights into the nature of existence, human consciousness, and the path to inner fulfillment are both enlightening and accessible. Sadhguru’s wisdom resonated deeply with me, offering a fresh perspective on life’s challenges and a path toward true joy.
Incredible transformation tools
While embarking on this quest, you will uncover a treasure trove of practical “transformation tools” that can help you on your journey. While these tools encompass the essence of ancient yogic science, they are presented with a practical and adaptable approach. By incorporating just a few of these transformation tools into your daily routine, you can cultivate a broader perspective on life and gain deeper insights into various common challenges.
Introduction to yogic kriyas
Mastering yogic kriyas necessitates a solid foundation of spiritual guidance, and in this pursuit, Sadhguru has streamlined this learning process like never before. With this quest, you will get a chance to learn many amazing yogic kriyas. These kriyas have been formulated to improve your emotional wellness and overall well-being and harmony in life. By practicing these kriyas, you can create a peaceful existence in your life.
Here is a list of yogic kriyas that you will learn with “A Yogi’s Guide to Joy” quest.
- Isha kriya
- Nadi Shuddhi
- Nada Yoga
A blend of ancient wisdom and yogic philosophies for contemporary audiences
The content of “A Yogi’s Guide to Joy” is a harmonious blend of ancient wisdom and modern understanding. Sadhguru’s teachings are rooted in the yogic tradition, but he presents them in a way that resonates with contemporary audiences
Moreover, his guidance helps a lot in raising emotional awareness and cultivating a sense of self-awareness for improving our well-being.
Pros and cons of Sadhguru's quest
Pros
- Comprehensive content: “A Yogi’s Guide to Joy” covers a wide spectrum of topics related to relationships, decision-making, spirituality, and self-realization, making it suitable for both beginners and experienced practitioners.
- Sadghuru’s wisdom: Sadhguru’s teachings are delivered with clarity, depth, and authenticity. His ability to simplify profound concepts makes the material accessible to all.
- Practicality: The program offers practical exercises, meditations, and transformation tools that can be easily integrated into daily life, ensuring that the quest’s teachings are not just theoretical but applicable.
- Time commitment: The quest spans 15 days (3 weeks), and each session requires only 5-10 minutes of time investment daily. This thing makes it suitable for individuals with busy schedules as well.
Cons
- Some daily video lessons are too short in duration. For newbies, it might feel overwhelming to understand yogic life philosophies with short-duration sessions.
- Following the suggested yogic life principles and seeing visible results requires dedication and consistency – but that is the case for most good things in life!
How can you access the quest?
You can access this quest through a Mindvalley membership, which costs $99 per month or $499 for a year. Apart from this quest, membership also gives you access to almost all other quests on Mindvalley – many of which are great complements to this one.
Importantly, if you are unsure whether the program is worth it for you, Mindvalley membership comes with a no-questions-asked trial period of 15 days so you can try out the program with no financial risk.
Free masterclass
Not sure whether the Sadhguru quest is for you? Mindvalley has very generously made available a free masterclass with Sadhguru, which introduces some of the key teachings from his quest. You can sign up for the masterclass here.
Tips for newbies
If you have not heard of Sadhguru before or you have no experience with ancient Vedic and yogic science, then this quest might create an overwhelming experience for you. To help you out with the first part of the quest Mindvalley team has shared a glossary that you can download beforehand to learn and develop a better understanding of words native to Indian culture. You need to have access to the course to download this, but you can use the 15-day no-questions-asked trial period for this if you are unsure whether you would like to pay for the course.
Conclusion
As I mentioned earlier, being an avid follower of Sadhguru, I was already well aware of his ideology and life philosophies. However, joining this quest has allowed me to develop a deeper perspective on various life-changing principles and philosophies.
With each passing module, I learned a new way to look at routine problems and develop a different perspective to solve them with a more meaningful approach. Sadhguru’s unique way of explaining each aspect of life helped me to cultivate a deeper sense of self-awareness within myself, and I felt committed to following the suggested principles in my routine life. Furthermore, the course has helped me embrace uncertainty and find peace in the present moment.
Despite being a regular listener of Sadhguru, I have never had a chance to learn popular yogic kriyas (Isha kriya, Nadi Shodan, etc.), and this quest has allowed me to make this dream come true. I had an incredible experience while learning these yogic kriyas, and I am planning to practice them regularly to gain their long-term benefits.
This journey has taken me to places in both inner and outer worlds, from the depths of my soul to the far corners of the Earth, and I realized that a spiritual journey is not about reaching a destination but about the beauty of the journey itself.
All and all, joining this quest has been one of the most wonderful experiences of my life, and I am so grateful to the Sadhguru and Mindvalley team for chalking out this quest to help people get freedom from inner turmoil and develop a sense of compassion and gratefulness towards life. Join “A Yogi’s Guide to Joy” quest today and be ready to embrace life with unconditional bliss and joy.
