My first brush with “yoga” was during college. I had signed up for an evening class that I would attend regularly, with much gusto. I recall asking my teacher where she learned yoga. Not one to remember names with great ease, it was strange that the name and location of this particular school stayed with me over the years, perhaps like a seed waiting to be planted.

Neha

Over the years, I was drawn to alternative modalities of healing and meditation. I got attuned to Reiki and learned Vipassana among other things. I became conscious of the kind of food I consumed; food really is medicine. In times of illness, I’d turn to these therapies as a first resort, rather than popping pills.

After a volunteering stint in Kenya, I wanted to do something for my body. That dormant seed was beginning to take root. I joined a health camp at The Yoga Institute in Bombay. I loved it and signed up for a teacher's training course there. Here we learned postures (asana) in the Classical Ashtanga style, control and regulation of breath (pranayama), meditative techniques, anatomy and Yoga philosophy which included the Yoga Sutras, the Bhagwad Gita and Samkhya.

Soon after the course, I began teaching private yoga classes, group classes in studios and corporate offices. Along the way I also learned the primary series of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga from Ashtanga Yoga Mysore.

In 2017, I was asked to intern at The Yoga Institute and soon began teaching a subject called the "In-depth Study of Yoga" at the institute, something I still do. Teaching is one of the best ways to learn your subject. This experience has deepened my understanding of anatomy, pathology and how yogic techniques impact the human body and can be used to enhance wellbeing – both mental as well as physical. Today, thanks to this experience and the guidance of my teachers, I am able to use the right techniques with clients suffering from health issues and bring relief and enhance wellbeing.

In Yoga, I found something much deeper than what I was originally looking for. It is a vast science with immense potential, beyond the physical. I've become more interested in correct posture and breathing, the quality of my thoughts, rather than my ability to stand on top of my head and external displays. Yoga, I have learned is a way of life; and if we can maintain a balanced state of mind, even when the going gets tough, we may have come a step closer to yoga.