When the Universe Chooses Twice: A Mantra for April

Since January, I’ve been using a mantra card deck as a monthly guide in my yoga classes. Each card offers a sacred mantra—some ancient, some simple—all meant to direct our focus, our breath, and our hearts toward deeper alignment. The mantras have become trusted companions on our journey inward, shaping our classes and revealing subtle insights that seem to arrive right when we need them.

For April, I felt called to open the process up to the community. I asked my students if they’d like to participate in selecting the mantra for the month, and they said yes very eagerly. Janice volunteered to draw the card. So we gathered in a circle around the deck, our intention clear: to choose a mantra for the highest good of all of us this month.

The energy in the room shifted as we passed the deck from hand to hand. Some students shuffled, others simply held it for a moment, letting their energy settle into the cards. When it was Marsha’s turn, she gave the deck a good shuffle and playfully pulled one card out. She looked at it briefly and said, “I just wanted to see what these cards look like.” Before I could say, “Lets use that one,” she had already slipped it back into the deck.

The process continued. We focused in more deeply, each of us holding a quiet sense of trust in whatever would emerge.

I spread the deck out like a fan across the floor—bright, beautiful cards forming a half-moon in front of us. Janice stood in front of them with hands folded and head bowed, her posture both prayerful and steady. After a moment of silent hovering, her hand stopped. She picked up a card.

We all leaned in as she turned it over.

Yes, It was the exact same card Marsha had drawn moments before.

Gasps. Laughter. Goosebumps.

We sat in awe, smiling at the kind of magic that doesn’t need to be explained. The universe had chosen this mantra—twice. Once through curiosity, and again through intention. It felt like a whisper from the Divine: When you’re in the flow, nothing can stop the energy that’s meant to move through you.

This experience reminded me that growth doesn’t always come through effort. Sometimes it arrives through surrender. When we listen, when we trust, when we gather with open hearts, the messages come through loud and clear.

I won’t spoil the surprise by telling you what the mantra was—we’ll let it unfold throughout April, one breath at a time.

But I will say this: the universe speaks when we pause to listen. And sometimes, it even repeats itself, just to make sure we heard.