I felt that yoga was key to my happiness!

This story has been submitted by Brian Granader and is his story of his journey into yoga. Brian is a yoga teacher and owner of www.redlotusyoga.com:

My name is Brian Granader. In 2002 I had just completed my 10th year as a Residential Realtor in the Oakland County Michigan area. I was highly successful in regard to the number of homes sold, dollars in commissions and reputation in the area. Yet, highly failed in my degree of happiness. I had been practicing yoga for about a year at this time and truly enjoyed it. I found more healing through yoga than conventional therapy and felt it was a key to my happiness.

I took a teacher training course to deepen my practice and afterward found I had a natural skill at teaching. I taught part time for a while and still helped people buy and sell homes. At some point I asked myself, “If I was going to die in six months, what would I rather be doing?” Yoga was my answer. I picked a date to finish real estate, gave my business to my assistant and began teaching full time. Within a year I purchased a yoga studio. I was newly married at that time and making the decision to be a yoga teacher did not help that marriage. I had to make a choice at one point. Go back to real estate or continue being a yoga teacher. My greatest fear was selling myself short. In the end, I chose yoga and my marriage failed.

Had I stayed in Real estate I would have either had a heart attack, cancer or had some other major calamity. The decision to not wait for something like this to force me to make a life change was difficult and yet the best thing I had ever done. I would have to say yoga saved my life.

Since then I have a thriving yoga studio and teacher training program called Red Lotus Yoga in Rochester Hills, MI. A lovely wife and 10 month old daughter!

Life is never perfect, yet yoga and meditation helps me keep things more balanced and happier than I have ever been!