In the era of social distancing, there are so few ways to consciously gather as a community and experience collective healing. In recognizing this widespread need for holistic restoration, Modern OM has emerged as a shining guide for mindfulness seekers everywhere.
With a conscious curation of spiritual teachers across the world, Modern OM has launched a forward-thinking online initiative to connect people to the countless mindfulness modalities that exist in an effort to find the one that’s best for them. Though the idea may seem simple, the execution requires a thorough, committed process that could only be done by someone like Myk Likhov.
Modern OM is the brainchild of Likhov, who poured his Wharton MBA expertise into his personal passion for self actualization nearly 13 years ago and has since watched it take off into a global business.
“It’s really brought me deeper into my personal path, into more of an alignment with my purpose and my mission,” Likhov says. “I left the yoga business a decade ago, and returned to the world of finance and startups, but then serendipitously ended back up in Miami and everything took off.”
From Wharton to Wellness
Still, Likhov’s business-savvy has proven to be a major asset to his success in the wellness field. After graduating from world-renowned Wharton Business School, he made an unorthodox decision to move to Miami to start what became the city’s most successful chain of yoga studios, Green Monkey.
It was that company that ultimately led him to the idea for Modern OM.
“Modern OM inadvertently started as a family business,” Likhov explains. “We started off mostly selling products, such as malas and other intentional accessories.”
These products are still very much of a fixture of Modern OM, yet it was the way they decided to publicize them that ultimately became the lifestyle brand’s flagship offering.
“In order to build awareness around our product offering, I started offering meditation sessions in my loft,” Likhov says. “Those meditations eventually ended up taking on a life of their own and soon we became Miami’s most active mindfulness community.”
Pre-COVID, Modern OM had an extensive offering of in-person mindful sessions and initiatives, partnering with Soho Houses and various other local venues to host conscious gatherings. In fact, Modern OM’s digital footprint was pretty small.
However, with the onset of the pandemic and stay-at-home orders, they found themselves relating to one of the most profound proverbs there is: Necessity is the mother of invention.
So, observing the necessity for continued wellness practices amid the general public — perhaps even exacerbated by the looming pandemic — they invented a personally-curated meditation platform that could cater to distance learning.
(Cushion) Crawl Out of Your Shell
Modern OM has coined their online mindfulness initiative Cushion Crawl — and it’s more than just an inviting and endearing name. They offer a different mindfulness session, hosted by a different facilitator, each day. At the time of our interview, Cushion Crawl was on their 307th consecutive day of this offering, closing in on the one-year mark.
“Consistency really is key with this offering,” Likhov shares. “Our external world is so uncertain right now, so Cushion Crawl is giving people something they can rely on everyday in these otherwise unreliable times.”
Cushion Crawl’s rolodex of teachers spans eight countries, consisting of 150 total mindfulness practitioners vetted by Likhov himself.
“When I search for potential facilitators, the main thing I look for is integrity,” Likhov says. “We want to introduce teachers who are engaging and supportive of the community, who value building relationships with others over exclusivity.”
What separates Modern OM and its sister initiative, Cushion Crawl, isn’t just the consistency of the daily offerings. The variety of methodologies they offer is what especially attracts beginners to the mindfulness journey, who are still trying to find which modality speaks to them.
Cushion Crawl sessions vary from traditional Chinese medicine and astrology practices to more esoteric modalities like channeling and embodiment. This diversity, along with its continued product offering, is what makes it a self-proclaimed “one-stop Soul shop.”
“It’s almost like Cushion Crawl and Modern OM are a discovery platform for all these facilitators as well,” Likhov says. “Even if you’re advanced, you’re not going to know of all these modalities and facets of mindfulness. Most people don’t have time to find these interesting facilitators on their own. That’s my job. People can use our platform to assess and find something they like.”
A Little Bit of Everything
In addition to hosting 150 facilitators (so far) from eight different countries, the Cushion Crawl initiative has also reached nearly 4,000 participants from 15 different countries since the start of COVID. Since Cushion Crawl is a membership program, these are recurring participants, who use the platform as a way to find their mindfulness niche — or simply engage with a community.
Modern OM’s overall efforts, however, have reached more than 10,000 participants worldwide.
Cushion Crawl’s format is broken down into theme days, with each day of the week representing a different mindfulness modality. These include: Meditation Mondays, Practical Tools Tuesdays, Spiritual Wednesdays, Breathwork Thursdays, Expression Fridays, Movement Saturdays, and Wisdom Sundays.
“Most other groups and companies pick a style, they have a very narrow range of practices that they share, and we’re not that,” Likhov explains. “There are so many ways in and we want to share as many of them as we can find.”
My own Dance of Liberation™ practice falls under Movement Saturdays, which in general are about the physical manifestation of mindfulness through some form of embodiment. Likhov has joined a few sessions himself, and is even a carrier of our notable SunDancer pendant from the sacred jewelry line, The Winged Ones.
Likhov wearing his SunDancer from The Winged Ones collection.
“I love facilitators like Parashakti who have this smooth practice, rooted in ancient wisdom,” Likhov shares. “I love how the energy flows and what it is that she does. We’re really aligned in how we see community, how we want to support each other, how we want to grow. Getting into the body is one of the surest routes to get out of the mind.”
In addition to the daily theme sessions, Modern OM offers an online book club, journaling club, and even a laughter group.
When asked to discuss the nature of the laughing group, Likhov couldn’t help breaking into a chuckle himself. As a progressive business owner and mindful practitioner himself, he’s always ahead of the curve, and foreseeing the many health benefits of laughter is one of those trends he’s well ahead of.
“Laughing has so many scientifically proven benefits, it releases so many hormones and chemicals that support mental and physical health,” he says. “In retrospect, it’s interesting that we rely on external things to make us laugh. What if nothing funny happens? Once a week, our community gets on to enjoy a practice based around laughter that comes from within.”
The Future of Cushion Crawl
This is just the beginning for Modern OM and Cushion Crawl. The digital push brought on by the pandemic has reshaped the landscape for mindfulness practice everywhere, and this new level of accessibility only adds to Likhov’s visions for its future.
Modern OM was already one of the most active and consistent mindfulness communities in Miami. Now, with their digital presence, this could easily expand to the entire online world.
“Digital is a big deal in that we’re no longer limited,” Likhov says. “The curation process is worldwide now. We can choose from the best quality facilitators in Miami to the best quality in the world.”
Furthermore, the offering has expanded to offer full-blown Masterclasses, typically hosted by facilitators with particularly niche and intriguing specialities. They sign on to host 5-8 sessions live online, and some popular topics include past-life regression (from a second generation past-life regressionist), psychedelics and sacred medicine, and yoga philosophy (from a Rishikesh-based PhD Yogi).
Likhov ensures the success by being hands-on with every aspect of the process, including the participation. At the time of this interview, he’s joined in on 300 of the 307 sessions hosted thus far — and this is in addition to his own personal mindfulness practice.
With his guidance, Modern OM and Cushion Crawl are sure to spread awareness of Higher Vision.
“I would like what we do with Modern OM to inspire and empower as many people as possible to find their own path home, their own path inward, because there are so many different ways in. And the right one is the one that is right for you.”
Join the Modern OM online community for daily mindfulness practices hosted by experts from across the world.
They will be hosting a 7-Day Reset Challenge from April 5-11, with a Dance Reset virtual workshop hosted by Parashakti on April 10. Enroll now!
Or sign up here for their ongoing online membership and use the code CRAWLTRIAL at checkout to get your 7-day FREE trial.
Membership is risk-free with no contract.
Parashakti’s shamanic healing work is born of more than two decades of experience facilitating workshops, trainings, and retreats around the world, in Los Angeles, New York, Mexico, Bali, Guatemala, Indonesia, Israel, and Greece. As a lifelong dancer, her path as a healer followed a severe injury – a period of what is often called shamanic dismantling, after which her mission shifted towards healing. Over the last 20 years, Parashakti has developed the Seven Foundations and the Dance of Liberation™, as maps for her spiritual practice, living and breathing these foundations in daily ritual. Dance of Liberation™ has been practiced by over 10,000 dancers around the globe. It’s was born of a mission to help people experience ecstasy – without taking it.
Above all, Parashakti is dedicated to serving community and creating a sacred container where people feel safe enough to experience their deepest essences, honor their voices, and shine their brightest light. Join her on the Dance floor: www.parashakti.org