Meet Gopika
Yogini Gopika is a Tantrik Priestess, Goddess Embodiment Coach and the founder of ‘Yogini Shakti Tantra’, a temple space designed to empower women through feminine spirituality. She offers initiation into the Priestess path by inspiring her sisters to claim their erotic freedom, soverign power and divine connection. Weaving together the modalities of Tantra, Yoga and Ayurveda with the mystical realm of Shakti, Gopika offers something truly unique: a path that extracts the essence from the ancient teachings in a way that is both pleasurable and liberating, without being dogmatic.
Gopika’s purpose is to transmit the essence of women’s wisdom by restoring the culture of the Priestess Path, an intuitive way of life that honors nature, the Self and all beings as sacred. She invites her students into a space of self-love by supporting them to get in touch with their own needs and desires, while giving them the tools to find peace and harmony at the soul level.
In remembrance of a time when sisterhood and brotherhood prevailed; her teachings inspire that Universal Love to be resurrected once again. Gopika has been on the spiritual path for 20 years, most of them spent in the motherland of India. She has been fortunate enough to receive initiations and teachings from her Gurus and the purifying power of India herself. What she shares is a natural outpouring of the wisdom she has cultivated through these experiences, supported by her devoted yogic lifestyle.
Currently, Gopika offers Tantra Yoga Teacher Training and her signature mentorship: Empower Your Shakti, to guide her students and clients towards ultimate liberation as they fulfill their destinies. She has written an E-Book, A Goddess’s Guide to Self-Care and has recently released Opening to Transformation - A Course in Tantric Love. She is a lover, a writer, a seeker and above all else a human woman having an incredible experience as she dances between the realms of existence.
My Story
Since I was a young girl, I was in love with the profound beauty and peace found in Nature. For me, life was always full of magic and mystery. Yet, I always felt there was something deeper that no on was able to explain to me. I never quite fit into what was being offered as a life path, knowing that human beings were meant for so much more. Upon getting my first “real job” after college, I can remember an intense longing thinking, “there must be more to life than this”.
Once I discovered yoga, everything quickly transformed and I made a swift exit from mainstream society in search of life’s true meaning. Becoming a yoga teacher was just the beginning, a stepping stone to the unfolding of my life's purpose.
After leaving New York, I journeyed to India and made my home in Vrindavan, the land of Radha Krishna; where every step is a dance and every word is a song. My life fell into a rhythm with the Universe and the Divine. Everything became spiritualized, while living in this holy place known for awakening prema (divine ecstatic love). My heart became purified as I awakened to another reality filled with unbounded joy.
Opening to Transformation
Immersed in the culture of bhakti and deep sadhana I rapidly began to transform to meet the new level of consciousness I was developing. It was as if a portal had been opened and I was being shaped into a more refined expression of myself. During this time Ayurveda and Yoga helped me to integrate and balance all that was being revealed; within and without. In my quest for enlightenment; self-love and self-care became paramount as I faced many challenges that would later become strengths. My outer journey turned inward.
Gradually I began to question the external expectations and conservatism that I found all around me in traditional India. There was a deep desire for a more authentic and spontaneous approach to spirituality.
I realized I had been torn between what my body needed and what my mind thought was the right path. I had sacrificed too much for my beloved and gave away my personal power, as us women often do. Deep down, there was a subtle fear of the changes I would need to make when I started to follow my own intuitive voice. Facing the dark depths of my soul; yet supported by the inner strength I had cultivated, I dismantled the life I had created to start again.
Just like the metamorphosis a caterpillar makes into a butterfly, it was time for self-sovereignty. In order to evolve we are often required to leave all that we know and love. That is what was being asked of me, yet again... and so I left my Vrindavan home and went back to my birthplace to heal and to teach what I had learned, which was healing in itself.
Tantric Expression
While living back in the US for less than a year, I really began to crave a spiritual community, as I felt quite alone during this time separated from the joyous celebration that was part of my daily life in India. So, one evening a friend convinced me to come to a Tantra workshop. When the man walked in I could feel the otherworldly quality about him. I was quite impressed and enthusiastically asked him to teach me. He became my guru and friend, later on giving me the chance to journey to Nepal to not only learn Tantra, but teach it by his side. Finally I was being empowered and yet supported when I stumbled. I found myself blossoming in Shanti Yoga Ashram protected by the powerful Himalayas and the energy of Shiva-Shakti. I was able to dive deeper into myself and transform beyond weaknesses, fully embraced by unconditional love. Being in such an environment allowed my gifts to shine and be shared.
The 3 years or so that I lived in my Guru's tantra yoga ashram gave me the chance to live a yogic lifestyle in its fullest expression. I had no other agenda except to learn, teach, and serve. This created the foundation upon which I am able to stand now and offer my wisdom to support and guide others. That is what it is all about... we receive and we give. It is a divine cycle and I am blessed to be part of it.
Since then I have continued to cultivate the Tantric path, developing new levels of realization by facing life experiences with open awareness. Joining with my soul sister, Kamadevi, we are teaching Tantra Yoga teacher trainings and offering retreats in the divine realm of Shakti Awakening.
Throughout my life, I was naturally practicing Tantra, by listening to the calling of my heart to guide me back to my divine essence of being. I have always wanted to break free from my own imposed limitations and become the best version of myself. Once I began to know and honor myself more I was able to do that.
Today I love to weave together spiritual practice with my own feminine intuition, challenging myself and my students towards expansion and fearless freedom. My mission is to inspire others to find their unique heart song while embracing self-love as a motivating force to manifest their own greatest potential. It's a joy for me to share the light and love that yoga’s wisdom has to offer blended together with what I have come to understand as "feminine spirituality".
My passion lies in offering transformation programs in the realms of Goddess Invocation & Embodiment, Sacred Sensuality, Tantra, Feminine Spirituality and Women's Wisdom.
I am dedicated to being a vessel for the Goddess to work through me and am honored to be a part of the Divine Feminine Awakening that is happening on the planet right now. I truly feel that our dear Mother Earth needs all of us to come together, awake and ready to serve in love.
Certifications
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Tantra Yoga Teacher Training 500 Hours + 3 yrs, Shanti Yoga Ashram, Nepal (Yogi Prakash)
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Vinyasa Yoga Teacher Training 200 Hours, Atmananda Yoga Center, NYC
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Hatha Yoga Teacher Training 200 Hours, Integral Yoga Institute, NYC - Yoga Alliance
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Ayurvedic Lifestyle Counselor, American Institute of Vedic Studies (Dr. David Frawley)
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Maharishi Ayurveda Practitioner Training / Apprenticeship, Harit Spa, Spain (Pilar Franco)
In Appreciation
There has been much support and guidance along the way; I would like to thank my teachers and dearest soulmates who have inspired me on this journey. Blessings have come in the form of love shared between resonant open hearts on my journey of life.
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Hari Om Tat Sat