It all started with a simple Zoom call in June 2023 that changed everything.
When I first heard about Ukrainian yogis—predominantly women—using yoga to heal from the trauma of war, I was stunned.
"Wait! What? Yoga on the frontlines? That's a film!"
Three days later, I found myself on a plane to Ukraine—a country I barely knew anything about. And to discover what it is like to travel to a war zone.
A Journey Into the Unknown
I wasn’t naïve about the dangers of traveling into a live war zone. A quick visit to the U.S. State Department’s website confirmed my concerns:
🚨 Code RED Travel Advisory – Level 4: Do Not Travel
"Do not travel to Ukraine due to Russia’s war against Ukraine. U.S. citizens are being detained, interrogated, and harassed in Russian-occupied areas. The risks of missile strikes, active combat, and foreigner detentions remain high."
This was the highest-level warning issued to American citizens—a bold, ominous red banner that might have caused a saner person not to go.
But I wasn’t turning back.
Four Days, No Sleep, and a Crash Course in War Zone Reality
It took me four days to get to Kyiv from the U.S. After a 20-hour drive from Warsaw, I checked into a hotel near the main train station—a fact that would soon make me realize just how vulnerable I was.
The check-in process was unlike anything I had ever experienced.
📜 Along with the standard hotel paperwork, I was given a liability waiver.
💬 “In the event you are killed or injured as a result of the war while staying at this hotel, you agree not to hold the hotel liable for your death or injury.”
Wait… what?!
This wasn’t a metaphorical "signing away my life." It was a literal acknowledgment of war zone reality.
For the first time, fear gripped me.
"What had I done? Why had I come here? Could I leave?"
The Air Raid Sirens That Changed Everything
After 24+ hours awake, I collapsed onto my hotel bed.
But then—
📢 AIR RAID SIRENS BLARED ACROSS KYIV.
Missiles. Drones. Incoming Russian attacks.
"What do I do? What would YOU do?"
💭 I wasn’t prepared for my reaction. I could run in fear or face reality head-on.
And that’s when it hit me:
🚀 I had a choice. I could spend my entire time in Ukraine paralyzed by fear—or I could let go and accept whatever came next.
In that moment, I made peace with the possibility of death.
Taking Responsibility for My Choices
It would have been easy to blame Russia for my situation. To curse fate for putting me in a war zone.
But I chose to come here.
We live in a world where people constantly blame external forces for their circumstances. But true power comes from owning our decisions—no matter how risky.
I realized something fundamental:
✅ I wasn’t here to be a victim.
✅ I wasn’t here to run away.
✅ I was here to witness something the world needed to see.
So I rolled over in bed and ignored the air raid sirens.
If this was my time to go, so be it.
Navigating the Reality of War: What It’s Like to Travel to a War Zone
Over time, I learned the psychological toll of air raid sirens.
🛑 They don’t always mean an attack is coming directly at you.
🛑 They mean missiles have been launched and are heading in your general direction.
🛑 Most of them are intercepted—but you never know which ones won’t be.
This is a deliberate military strategy—to keep Ukrainians on edge, exhausted, and in a constant state of uncertainty.
And yet… I saw resilience everywhere.
I learned to watch the locals and follow their lead. In Kyiv, people were calm despite the alarms. But when I traveled further east, Ukrainians warned me:
💬 “Take the sirens seriously. Do not ignore them.”
In some places, ignoring them meant death.
What I Learned From My First Night in Ukraine
That night, as I lay awake in a foreign country under missile threat, I came to three profound realizations:
🔹 Fear is a choice. I could live in constant panic or accept reality and move forward.
🔹 Personal responsibility is everything. No matter what happened, I owned my decision to be here.
🔹 Resilience is contagious. Watching Ukrainians face war with unwavering strength changed me forever.
The Journey Ahead
That first night in Kyiv was just the beginning.
I was about to meet extraordinary Ukrainian women who were using Kundalini Yoga to heal trauma, support soldiers, and bring light into the darkness of war.
And that story?
That story was worth risking everything for.