Meet True Nature Leader Dawn MotherHeart!

Meet Dawn “MotherHeart” Smelser, one of True Nature’s incredible retreat leaders!

This spring, Dawn MotherHeart is leading the retreat “The Heart of it All” in Costa Rica. In our exclusive interview with Dawn MotherHeart, we discussed yogic influences, passions, and what’s really at the heart of it all.

Dawn MotherHeart has been teaching yoga for almost 20 years. She received her formal training in yoga at The Yoga Institute in Mumbai, India, where she lived under the guidance of her Guru Dr. Jayadeva Yogendraji from 1999-2000. Dawn was ordained Spiritual Healer by Divine Ministry in 2005 after three years of studying the esoteric yoga tradition and opened MotherHeart Studio in 2012, where she trains yoga teachers. She publishes Rooted Magazine, dedicated to unearthing the traditional roots of yoga and lifting up modern day mystics and pilgrims. In Dawn’s upcoming retreat, she will lead an inspired practice that shares the wisdom of some of today’s best poets and the heart of the classical yoga tradition to bring you back to the sweetest things in life.

Read our exclusive interview below and sign up for her Costa Rica retreat here.

1. How does the idea of “The Heart Of It All” play into your retreat? What themes do you see coming up throughout the journey?

I named the retreat “The Heart Of It All” because it seemed to encapsulate the essence of what I am trying to bring, without rambling on and on. For one, I was trained in a very heartfelt approach to Classical Yoga. My teacher used stories to bypass the ego and go straight to the heart of Yoga Philosophy. I also am a huge fan of Karla McLaren and ‘The Language of Emotions: What Your Feelings Are Trying to Tell You,’ which has helped me to practice and teach from my heart….and gut. I have come to resonate with a more embodied and passionate approach to yoga, rather than a whitewashed and sterile philosophy, that I noticed, was easy to use as another way to judge ourselves negatively against. I love good poetry and its ability to point us to the deeper truths of being human so I want to bring poetry in too. And lastly, I named my studio MotherHeart, and the retreat feels like a natural extension of the work I am doing with the community there.

2. Who has been your greatest influence and why?

My teacher at The Yoga Institute in Mumbai has been a profound influence to me. He is very compassionate and a high scholar of yoga but doesn’t do the whole people pleasing thing. Also: his enlightenment hasn’t stopped him from having a passion for table tennis. His humor is subtle and the way he speaks truth is direct and dispelling of misapprehension.

3. If there was a yoga pose or meditation practice that described you, what would it be and why?

Hmmm, let me see. 1. Laughing meditation…I don’t actually practice it much, but the times I have, I felt the point where insanity met hilarity and I am familiar with that. 2. Lotus pose because I too have grown out of mud. 3. Candle gazing because it is deeply mysterious to me. I love to teach candle gazing and every time I practice, there is a new experience.

4. Other than yoga and meditation, what are some of your passions? Will these be explored in your retreat?

West African dance has been a love of mine for the last 15 years or so. I think it will creep into the retreat somehow, though we may have to find some drums. I love to sing and tell stories too so I will be inviting folks to join me on the beach at night for impromptu singing and storytelling. I warrior dance

like to call or coax out other people’s gifts, and it is amazing how a group can be enhanced this way.

5. What is on your “Costa Rica bucket list” and what are you most excited about?

Swimming, hiking, napping, and just being there. I want to try ziplining too, which I am slightly embarrassed to admit.

6. Is there a saying or quote that really resonates with you and your upcoming retreat?

“Don’t jump up and shout, ‘Yes, this is what I want! Let’s do it!’ Just stand up quietly and dance with me.”-Oriah Mountain Dreamer

Meet True Nature Leader Dawn MotherHeart!