I love this stotra about the importance of teachers.
Admittedly when I started yoga I had a healthy mistrust of the entire ‘guru’ culture. I associated it with blind faith, pointless rituals and baseless beliefs. This perception influenced me for a very long time.
It took me years to find my teacher. Even when I found him I actively made it a point to reiterate, “He’s my teacher, not my guru.” Today I don’t even know what that mea
ns!
Yoga teachers are frequently asked about their journey. What drew us to yoga? When and how did we know. Much like their personalities, every teacher’s journey to teaching is also unique.
The Urdhvadhanurasana has come a long way…
The more time I spent practicing yoga, the more I felt there wasn’t enough time! I registered for a yoga teachers’ training course and started thinking realistically about the profession. I knew that I was teaching to become a better student, and not the other way around.
Over the years, as demand for my teaching grew, I realized that I was constrained by 
time and geography. There are many who express an interest in my classes, but are unable to travel from, say, Bannerghatta Road. Just making YouTube videos, or creating a generic module wouldn’t work. Live interaction is essential when it comes to movement-based practices.
The idea for the ‘The Yoga Practice‘, came to me while discussing ‘what more’ with a student during a break in class. Why not create a hybrid module of customized videos and face to face interaction. All students will get videos customized for them, and they will be able to practice yoga at their convenience AND in the comfort of their own homes. Plus, once a week we schedule a catch up call where I observe students’ asanas, answer questions, clarify doubts and plan the next week. Below is an example of a video we shot for a student. It’s one of the prettiest videos we’ve done and I watch it all the time.
So, if you or someone you know wants to incorporate yoga into their lives but d
on’t have access to a good teacher, or has time constraints, then you might want to take a look at this module. It’s helped many people steadily improve their health and increase their wellness quotient. Leave us a query on the blog with any questions you have.
Keep an eye out for the video about this module. If you haven’t subscribed to the YouTube channel yet, do so asap!!!
“The secret of change is to focus all your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new,” -Socrates.
The last couple of months have been crazy busy for me. I’ve been meaning to do this post for many many weeks now, but was only able to get to it today. I’ve been teaching my regular classes, have a couple of retreats and workshops under my belt, have designed new classes and modules (including The Yoga Practice, which I’m so incredibly excited about) and have found time to travel as well!
The year is far from over, and I have my annual trip (study retreat?) to Pune coming up in August and September. We’re also working on refining The Yoga Practice and getting the word out there as much as we can about it. My practice is going well, and I see improvement in my students almost daily! The first half of this year has been very rewarding.
I’ve also been working on consolidating everything I do under one platform. As my practice gets more focused, so does my vision for ‘Yoga With Pragya’. At the beginning of this year I had an idea of where I was headed and over the past couple of months the vision has became clearer. Our new website is a step towards a more organised initiative. As my practice deepens, my teaching becomes more refined and I’m getting very creative with how I can help people across the board.
We’re building something useful, helpful and, most of all, accessible to all those who are interested in yoga, holistic health and a wholesome lifestyle. Most of you have been following this blog for many years. I hope you will stay with me as I grow, expand and evolve further. Subscribe to our new blog here: http://yogawithpragya.in/blog/. While you’re there, please browse the site and leave us constructive feedback. We’re really excited about the great things we have in store for you. Please share with all your friends and subscribe to our other platforms as well (Facebook, YouTube & Instagram).
This morning I woke up and instinctively curled into a tight ball under my blanket. It was so so cold. I checked the temperature and sure enough it was 15 deg with dense fog in Bangalore today. I lingered under the covers for a while and finally had to get up for class. And there was bleak attendance for today’s 8-9 am session. The fact is, even though you may be 100% committed to your fitness goals, getting up in the AM and throwing the covers back to get up is not child’s play. But small changes can lead to big results. So here are a three things you can do to make it a bit easier to get out of bed in this chill.
1. Plan what you’re going to wear the night before and have it out ready. The path from your bed to your workout clothes must not have the obstacles of decisions and doors. Preferably keep your clothes ready in the room where you change in.
2. Make yourself a cup of really really strong coffee or t
ea. I prefer tea and these days I add loads and loads of ginger, black pepper, cardamom…and pretty much any other heating spice to it. This not only warms you up from the inside but also wakes you up. Remember, go easy on the sugar. Also, you want to have enough so that you wake up, but not so much that you’re unable to move in yoga class!
3. Being self-motivated is 
great. But it’s easier to workout regularly in a group class. So, join a group class, make friends with the others and motivate each other to brave the winters!
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