By Shelly Piplani

Practicing yoga is a tool that sharpens the mind so that you can see the reality clearly. It is not just a stretching routine that helps you get limber. In essence the yoga practice seeks to answer the question of what defines the present moment and help root your consciousness directly in it.

Here is my journey to Yoga. I was always a person who was involved in different forms of workout. I loved to do any kind of workout. BE it dance , aerobics or CrossFit, there was always a feel good factor post workout.

Yoga was part of my workout. I used to love holding the asanas for longer. Till that time I was not aware how incredible an art and science Yoga is.

Then started the urge to learn more in Yoga. Initially it was about mastering the Asanas and as I learnt the philosophy behind the practice there was no looking back. Then it was a mix of intense personal Sadhana and study of Yoga Philosophy. Then started the journey of teaching. Teaching Yoga is what started bringing happiness to me. Understanding the goals of the student's in one to one sessions and helping them reach there is what I started loving.

I strongly believe "We as humans have unlimited potential. All we need is to look inward and move forward". Yoga is the journey which really helps you to understand your inner self. Yoga is the holistic approach of movement, breath, mindfulness and introspection.

Yoga can be addictive. That’s both good and bad. It’s good when yoga takes over your life and replaces old destructive habits with new helpful ones instead. When you crave a deep long yoga session instead of a drink after a stressful day, then yoga has successfully rewired your brain, at least to some level. But, when yoga becomes an obsession with asana for asana sake, the addictive mind is still present and, unfortunately, can still be quite damaging.

When asana is your addiction instead of yoga, the danger is that you aren’t actually participating in a change of paradigm. We practice asana not to get better at asana. We practice asana as a tool to delve into the deepest reaches of the body and mind. The unique combination of breath and movement allows one to enter the operating system of the mind and make some updates. We get a chance to practice a radical new way of being—that is being at peace with yourself.

For me a practice session is something that can flow with ease, from posture to posture with breath. The structure of each session is based on every student’s requirements and goals.

“Lets set the intention to live yoga as a lifestyle. Lets be open to receive the inner guidance and let it steer the course of our life towards peace and happiness.”