This was a guest blog post for myWorth Finance. Read the guest post via their website: www.myworthfinance.com

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Chelsea Nielsen, otherwise known in the socialsphere as @TheYogiYachtie, travels the world on superyachts as a yoga teacher and abundance coach. Her journeys have taken her far and wide, from the magnificent fjords of Norway, the man-made locks of the Panama canals, to floating in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. But for Chelsea, it wasn’t just the allure of a seemingly glamorous and adventurous lifestyle that lead her here.

In the first part of a three-part series, Chelsea shares her journey and the challenging questions she had to answer before embarking on this exciting and fulfilling chapter of her life.

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Prior to joining a crew aboard a superyacht, I was married and taught yoga full-

time in Charleston, South Carolina. I had finally made the tough decision let go of my bartending job, which I had held onto for 11 years, in determination to make a living by sharing my heart and soul. Leaving behind a steady income in pursuit of a more fulfilling opportunity meant letting go of my financial security and parting ways with most of the material things in my world.

It was around the same time that I was faced with another one of life’s unexpected moments. It became clear that the marriage that I had been in for five years was no longer serving either myself or my partner and we decided to go our separate ways. Throughout this dark time, I remained unwavering in my pursuit of the light.  As one might imagine, experiencing divorce became a journey of self-reflection, spiritual healing and emotional rebuilding. I did a lot of inner-child and shadow work at this time.

Faced with an even tighter financial situation but armed with the Abundance Mindset, I made the choice to live a life guided by the things I have, rather than what I was lacking.  Ironically, a big piece of what fulfilled me at that moment would have literally drained me. I realized I was either going to have to exhaust myself teaching as many yoga classes as I could, or I had to make some big changes. At that moment, I realized that the next chapter of my life was going to be an entirely new beginning.  With a combination of good timing and the willingness to ride the wave of adrenaline and discomfort, I found exactly what I was looking for.

I was finally able to re-prioritize my life, identify my north star and pursue a career that allows me to travel the world while providing much-needed depth to my life. For the past three years, I have worked as both a stewardess and yoga teacher aboard some of the world’s most breathtaking super-yachts. My role as a stewardess requires me to help out in all aspects of boat maintenance and guest service while my role as a yoga instructor allows me to offer the option to teach yoga to anyone on the ship. Even though a typical day with guests onboard can mean a 14-hour shift, playing multiple roles works out perfectly for me.

Not only do I consider it an honor to share my practice of yoga with my fellow crew-members and most of the guests I have aboard, it’s the ability to share my passion whilst also being of complete service that heightens the overall experience and the satisfaction of it all. This skill adds an element of depth to the job that I can only be grateful for.

While yachting can be very rewarding and make for a beautiful career, there are many sacrifices that need to be made in order to make this career work, such as holidays, special family celebrations, companionship, pets, routine and overall stability.  However, yoga, coupled with a strong base-line of an Abundance Mindset, has helped me stay grounded within myself, allowing me to remember what matters most to me in this life.

When it comes to my travels, there’s nothing that compares to the experience of being out in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.  I absolutely loved going through the locks of the Panama Canal. I never even knew that Malta is its own country until we visited. And being at anchor in the middle of River Thames almost under Tower Bridge in London is otherworldly.

I must add there is nothing that takes the cake like the Fjords of Norway. We were there in June which meant that as we cruised silently down the glassy rivers we saw one waterfall after the next as the ice on top of the peaks melted.  I got to taste a glacier and drink its water straight from the stream. The power and energy of Mother Nature is beyond humbling.

I truly feel fortunate to be able live my life with authenticity, while traveling the world and pursuing my life’s mission, but it took a series of life-altering yet defining moments to get there. By confronting my own fears and comforts, I was able to shift my mindset and re-prioritize my true goals.

Stayed tuned for part 2 of the Yogi Yachtie series.