
Photo Credit: Manish Doshi “Be present as you make your way”
Question: What do you do?
My answer: I am a yoga teacher.
Just that I don’t identify with that answer ever.
So what do I do?
My true answer:
I create space for people to rest their thoughts, feelings and emotions, and help them access their own clear voice that leads them to their truth and joyful living.
That is the answer that feels true to my heart. When I begin teaching a class my name, different tags of relations and society, our acquaintance if any, all that disappears. I lead you through an experience that is called yoga practice. I help you tune in with your breath, energy, body and sense of being. We take a dip in the pool of Infinite Living.
The practice helps you get clear in your mind, truly knowing and sensing what is going on within. Your time with me is a safe space to allow all that comes up in your body, mind, and emotion- no judgments. It is designed to help you be attentive and listen in.
I help you build skills to navigate through all that and listen to what your truth is and where your joy is. It is not an hour mind vacation after which you walk back into the same stress you live in. You know something about yourself or your life better than before as a result of your own attention. This happens in a group class too.
Do I continue in this relationship, or walk out? How do I find joy in my continuing relationship? Am I content with my current health status and how my doctor is addressing it? Do I quit my job, or continue? Do my food habits truly nourish me? Does parenting really have to be this difficult? How supported do I feel through these life changes and choices? What do I really want? I am worried, I have depression, anxiety, insomnia …
I facilitate these above experiences for you, as you find your own answers. We vibrate together with the joys and tears of transformation as you find your own relationship with yourself. My utmost contentment is when you need to see me less often, for our private sessions because you are now skilled at finding your clear voice and true choice. Your chronic pain has disappeared, digestion improved, or any other body issue addressed through therapeutic focus of yoga.
We are like lone kayakers in this Infinite ocean of the universe. If we are very present with the life currents, then we are skilled at the navigation. We have but this short and sweet vacation on this beautiful planet. We meet with each other, sometimes in happiness and sometimes in misery. Each one of us has our own path to carve through.
I have been blessed with teachers, with whom I continue to hone my skills. I have been blessed with students with whom I can share this powerful work, so I can pass it on just like I received it.
Teacher, student tags are just our convenience. What I do as work is create safe space for your pain, feelings, emotions – no judgment – so you feel positively empowered, inspired and supported through life and choices.
P.S. Dear wordpress friends, I apologize for my absence on your work, that are my joy to read. I will visit you soon.
I love your answer. To be able to help people get attuned to their inner selves, now that is such a noble thing to do. Love this post for all the serene messages it conveys
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Thank you so much for your thoughtful response Nandita! I truly appreciate your kind words.
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You have beautifully expressed the essence of yoga. Well written!!
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I am always glad to have your acknowledgment Shaloo! Thank you very much.
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Thank you for this. I should rest some of my emotions here and get solace from the teacher 😊👍🌹
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Humbled to have your kind comment. Thank you!
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You are welcome, great blogger.Very Happy to follow you
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Beautifully written piece to find the inner peace !!
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I am happy you think so, thank you Deepika!
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There is more to yoga than being still, isn’t there?
So very, very, cool. ❤
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Yes absolutely 🙂 I am glad you think so, thank you for reading.
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Now that you’ve spelled out what you do, I must say you do a very good job of it. I’m always impressed by your comments and articles. You do make one go deeper, even think clearer about things they already know. You have a special knack for this.
Several years back I worked as a consultant for a Yoga Studio. My job was to seek ways in which the business could expand and excel. In the process, I took yoga up to understand what was truly going on so that I could serve that yoga community better.
I learned a lot. But the one thing that really stuck with me was that only the instructors that could reach the heart did anything for me. The poses and stretches, if not an avenue, were little more than a breathing and body building exercise. Mind, soul, spirit, and body – that’s where it all came together for me
We’re all on a special path for a special purpose. To be in a position to bring this out in others is a very enlightened position. I wish you all the best with this!
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I feel deep respect and gratitude for you and your work. Your kind words empower me and give a deeper confidence in my being. I am so happy to know that you have an experience in the practice of Yoga. It is my intention to bring in to the forefront awareness of the world that yoga is not a form of exercise. It is a practice that helps us make the link between our spirit and the outer world, and how everything out there is an expression of this inner work. The poses and stretches themselves are originally expressions of the body as animated by the breath. They can be applied therapeutically with great skill. It is only our culture that needs so much of the therapeutic applications. The original yogis used it as a practice of awakening, enlightenment and as preparation for deep meditation.
This feels a special path indeed and I am absolutely grateful to have you along sometimes witnessing, sometimes leading.
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I have deep respect and gratitude to you as well Pragalbha.
Though the lotus position is not kind to me – it throws my hip out, the concept of what is going on in yoga I respect and enjoy. My wife begins every morning with various yoga poses and it helps her greatly. I would do more, just not the lotus anymore. 😉
I like this thought especially: “The poses and stretches themselves are originally expressions of the body as animated by the breath. They can be applied therapeutically with great skill. It is only our culture that needs so much of the therapeutic applications. The original yogis used it as a practice of awakening, enlightenment and as preparation for deep meditation.”
I see yoga as an extension of other practices that get us in touch with our soul and higher self. I can easily make the connections between the breathing, poses, and metaphors used to take one into higher consciousness, and for this I’m thankful that I’ve become acquainted with the practice.
It’s good to have friends on this path. Few travel it. But there is no other path so rewarding and beneficial. Thanks for being here.
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Haha lotus is certainly not for you then 🙂 There are so many poses that people can actually do but are not for them, on the other hand. I am so glad to know your wife has her practice 🙂
I am so steeped in the studies of yoga philosophy, the origin and practice that some other practices feel like an extension of yoga to me. Actually everything that is chosen, practiced or lived with the right intention and evolution is Yoga to me. The direct result of yoga is Clarity. So anything clarifying our perceptions is Yoga, and also everything that helps us do that, including postures.
Indeed, to have friends on this path is a treasure and reward in itself.
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Clarity is a good and defining word for this path. Life certainly becomes more clear as we connect and start living from the inside out rather than the outside in.
As for me, I have an inner foundation, but I reach out in all directions. It was Inner Guidance that got me started on this and it keeps expanding. I just have to keep asking what to keep and what to toss out. Truth gets so muddied as it gets passed down. Few get a proper understanding. They’re just doing with no connection to why they are doing it. I’m pulling jewels out of mud. But I’m not the only one. I see you’re doing it too.
I agree with your yoga stance. 🙂
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Your inner guidance and discernment is a rare jewel – the access is blocked for so many. I think friends like you make it fun and easy for me to play in the mud while I learn to identify the jewels 🙂
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Might as well enjoy this. :)) I don’t think the process was ever meant to be bothersome or gruelling, but rather joyous. But for it to be that way, we must develop faith and connection to the Infinite. I find all other things fall away as I reach for the ultimate goal hidden somewhere amongst all the mud that has gathered over the ages. 😉
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Agreed!!!
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You have such a rewarding job! I don’t do yoga all the time, but now and again I get back into it, and it’s such a great experience – I wouldn’t even call it a workout, even though it is a form of exercise. I loved reading this and I love how you defined your work.
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It feels rewarding and so full of contentment indeed. I wish you the best of yoga explorations come your way! Thank you Laura 🙂
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We all need this kind of space Infinite.
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Yes we do. Space is what I had to learn to give myself, so now that has become my offering.
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Your pool of infinite living sounds both warm and welcoming. Loved reading this P! You are a treasure ❤️
I start my day with basic yoga and healthy breathing. I give thanks to the universe. Stretch out. Smile.
Life is a gift I feel cherished to receive. We can never be reminded enough!
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Reading how you start your day itself is beautiful yoga moments, I believe you truly are a practitioner on the path with such precious gratitude and deep universal love that you gently offer as your unique expression. Much gratitude and Love dear Diana.
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Teacher, student tags are just our convenience. What I do as work is create safe space for your pain, feelings, emotions – no judgment – so you feel positively empowered, inspired and supported through life and choices.
Loved these lines… Truly relate to it! Yoga is so healing… And you me dear PD… You are more than just a teacher… Bringing in complete transformation of a person’s inner being… Leading to zeal and inner peace…
Applaud you darling!! ❤❤❤
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Dearest Tulika, you are part of my inner circle where my own transformation was preciously witnessed, supported and nourished. I was left with no choice but to carry it forward and offer all that was spilling out of me. Thank you so much sweet friend!
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This is so beautiful. I love your approach to yoga. It is so easy to turn yoga into a chore we must do, and this is a really important reminder that yoga and any exercise is about creating this beautiful space you write about. Thank you for this, Infinite Living.
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I feel so happy with your reflection and agreeing with this perspective of yoga. Thank you very much Shelly.
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How I felt such tenderness, such Peace, such softness as I read this. Yoga is the Breath of Life. Yoga is a Way of Life. I think it is a High Calling to be able to assist others as you do so that they themselves understand themselves better. Brava for you, Pragalbha! I am just so proud of you and so honored to know you!! Many Blessings!! Namaste. 🙏🏼
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I am humbled, honored and happy to have this beautiful support from you dear Amy, truly means a lot to me.
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” We take a dip in the pool of Infinite Living”…..Dear P, not only in your class, but through your posts too, you help us do that. I truly felt the peace and happiness seep in through my being as I read your beautiful write up. Wish I was there in person to soak in this ecstatic feeling ❤ !
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Thank you for this happiness and your beautiful words Radhika!
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The essence of yoga so well put.
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Thank yo Moushmi.
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Beautiful beautiful wise and graceful answer. Really beautiful. Awesome work you do.
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Truly such happiness to have this comment from you, Thank you 🙂
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Wonderful answer and perspective on life and teaching. May more of us offer the loving space for others to find their truth. blessings, Brad
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Thank you Brad. I am humbled and honored to have your appreciation.
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Namaste.
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Namaste _()_
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You are blessed and the people who come to you and entrust an hour of their day into your practices for the body and mind are twice blessed. I could feel the serenity, the calm as I read about it. I had once been to a class where I felt everything that you have explained. I felt fresh and more positive and ready to face the challenges of the day with a zeal and enthusiasm that I cannot explain.
God bless you for all your efforts!
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I have utmost Gratitude for these interactions. I am so glad to know you have had a taste of this. Thank you so much for always adding to my happiness and your thoughtful response!
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Very nicely written.The core and concept of you are to be in “Present”. I am also practitioners of “Meditation” (Not regular) ,I do sheeshan since my tenth standard.Right now in scenario of “Covid 19” with lots of stress ( mental and physical) , I regularly do “Anlom vilom Pranayam ” for atleast minutes in day or before sleep.Thank you and Have a nice day.🌷🌷🌷
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Very kind of you to visit this post. Thank you for sharing your practice. It is a gift indeed and makes a good difference in our day to day living.
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