Dear Friends,

Knocking on the door of 40, my life looked from the outside like everything I had ever wanted. An amazing husband. Two hilarious and adorable little kids. A senior role leading spiritual life at NYU.

And yet, I also had a creeping, bone-deep misery I could not explain or shake. The excitement and the joy had quietly drained out of my life, replaced by obligations, exhaustion, and the hum of ever-present anxiety.

So I went looking for my long-lost joy.

I discovered, with the help of teachers, friends, my therapist, ancient wisdom and modern psychology was that the magic of life was recoverable by learning how to plug into my desires without falling into its traps.

Out of this profound exploration, I created a three-step method that continues to transform my life and the lives of my students and clients: 1. Unbury Your Desires 2. Get Naked with Your Desire 3. Let Desire Set You Free

As you might know, I am writing a book about this, and I’m SO excited to announce that the book has found a home with the amazing Diversion Books. It will launch in the summer of 2027.

There are so many people to whom I owe unending gratitude for this exciting turn of events. Top of the list are the BEST agents on earth at Wave Literary, Rachel Neumann and Bethany Saltman, supreme writing coaches and collaborators, Ruthie Ackerman and Daviel Shy, early editor Leila Bilick, writing buddies, Liz Emens and Trysa Shulman, my teachers, students, friends and family (special shout-out to Ben, my husband, without whom nothing would be possible), and so so many of YOU, who have deeply informed my thinking on this topic and have been my beloved community all along the way.

If you are tired of feeling anxious and burned out and longing to bring the color and the sparkle back to your life, you are in the right place. You will be the first to see pieces of the book, access practice opportunities, and dive deeply into this subject. We are going to have a blast this year as we dare to get our hopes up, together.

With so much love,

Yael

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P.S.: Know someone who needs a practical, actionable antidote to their anxiety and a boost to their joy? Please forward this newsletter to them and encourage them to join the party: https://sefirawellness.kit.com/​

P.P.S: I'm so excited to be leading a FREE workshop on unbury-ing your desire and desire rooted in delight vs. scarcity, with the amazing, funny, wise Tara Schuster on March 18 at 5:30pm PT/8:30pm ET. You can sign up here: https://luma.com/wxppm8tx?utm_medium=email&utm_source=substack​

Yael Shy is the CEO and Founder of Sefira Wellness with over two decades of supporting others in uncovering their inherent worth and capacity for deep joy through mindfulness. She is the author of the award-winning book What Now? Meditation for Your Twenties and Beyond (Parallax, 2017) and teaches at NYU’s Wagner School of Public Service. You can find her on Instagram at @yaelshy1. 2299 Summer St. #1249, Stamford, CT 06905 ​Unsubscribe · Preferences​