Elemental, chemical and energetic shifts

I was introduced to yoga at my dance classes as my teacher used to incorporate yoga in our warm up routines. I wanted to increase my flexibility and strength to be a better dancer, so I decided to enroll in a yoga class.

I remember my arms quivering while holding downward dog in my first yoga class and yet now it has become a resting pose in my vinyasa practice!

In 2014, I completed my 200 hours of training at Aayana Yoga Academy, Bangalore. It was during this course that I realized there was so much more to yoga than the physical practice I was exposed to.

Luckily, I got the opportunity to teach a few classes at Aayana immediately after completing the course. During the first two years of teaching, I only paid attention to the students' physical abilities. I worked on their strength, flexibility, and stamina. My practice remained at the physical level.

In 2018, I went through a challenging phase in my life. I thought that solving the problems in my life would make a difference. When I solved one, I would find a new problem pop up in my life. I reached a state where it had become my day-to-day reality. I thought it was normal to always be bothered by problems.

The same things that gave me joy seemed meaningless.

I went through a stage where I felt I was being unfair to my students because I felt that my classes were not good enough. By the end of that year I had reached my limit, so I decided that it was time to make a shift. I enrolled for my 300 hrs training program at Aayana Yoga Academy.

It was one of the most beautiful period in my life. It was three months of regular practice and theory classes. The course transformed my thoughts by giving me good content to think about, making my conversations about new concepts I had learned and creating a new drive within me.

I experienced an elemental, chemical and energetic shift within myself.

My practice and teaching changed significantly after the course. I moved from being scared of not being a good teacher to being confident that I have something valuable to offer.

In class, we keep observing our breath, and our thoughts with a detached attitude.

It was only last year that I actually started to bring it to practice in everyday life. Yoga taught me that my physical body, emotions, thoughts, or mind don’t define me. And that my intelligence can be above them all. There are days when I am able to practice this detachment and there are days when I am unable to do so. This journey with yoga will continue and I look forward to delving deeper into this way of life.