Trekker, Sport Buff, Accidental Yoga Teacher

Most call me Suchi. Born 54 years back in quaint little Kochi, brought up and studied in fast and furious Bombay and now a hardcore Bangalorean. Apart from yoga, very passionate about trekking and playing competitive scrabble.

Always had a sporting gene in me. Played every possible game that I got a chance at. Still love to play cricket, badminton and table tennis and absolutely loved the high of completing a full marathon in my mid 40’s.

Love to travel, was lucky with a career, a work profile and employers who made that possible. Worked hard, but was never a striver, never a go getter. Was kind of your next-door IT neighbor😊

Have been a believer, but never an idol worshipper, always been areligious, a recent convert to vegetarianism, all by choice.

My yoga journey started in my 50th year. 50 incidentally is just a number. Read on….

My Yoga Journey – My personal learning

A Student: A year’s practise in 2019, under a fabulous ashtanga, power yoga teacher, built my interest in yoga asanas. Started feeling the need to learn and experiment more.

The Pandemic and the early teacher: A chance idea from a friend, turned me from a practitioner to an accidental teacher. The teaching impulse in me kind of woke up and an idea was born! After 2 years of teaching yoga and working from home, decided that it was a time for a sabbatical and learn yoga formally as a teacher. Gave up my corporate life and invested in myself.

YogaGurukul Nashik: Diploma in Yoga Teacher training: Went through a 1-month training in an ashram with some of the best teachers I could have, focused on the science behind the practise of Yoga. A 14-hour day, 6 day a week course, was a surreal experience

Yogabody, Barcelona: Certified Stretching Coach: A course based on Lucas Rockwood's powerful “Science of Stretching”, based on the concepts of Yin Yoga, remains one of my favourite ways to teach and practise asanas.

YSS, Ranchi: More for self-practise, learnt the simple, but yet very powerful Hong-Sau technique of meditation.

What Yoga means to me

Yoga for me is a proven science in how to lead a lifestyle focused on enhancing mental and physical wellbeing of self and the society around you. All four below are equal and important enablers of a yoga lifestyle

Food: Yoga starts with food. What, how much, when, and how you eat are critical aspects to defining your mental and physical wellbeing, as well as healthy longevity of life. Everything else comes later

Asanas: Has always been important to follow a certain process, focusing on all critical aspects like balance, symmetry, flexibility, and strength. Nearly all in equal measure.

Pranayama: The respiratory system is the only system which works involuntarily as well as voluntarily. The science of pranayama defines how voluntary breathing can increase the efficiency of involuntary breathing.

Meditation: Is as the scriptures and as all my teachers talk about, the ultimate practise of yoga. The most difficult and the ultimate form of Yoga

Why Yoga for me
I started practising yoga because I wanted to be fitter. Had no other expectations.

The reasons today, are many more. Most of them are in hindsight, but they are pretty much the reasons why I continue practising and teaching

Think better, Feel Better, Do better: My ability to think through a situation, analyse and take rational and balanced decisions, has improved significantly. I also seem to be executing my reactions better. Active coping to a stressful situation seems to be easier.
Reduction in extreme happiness and extreme sadness: I rarely feel super happy, rarely feel super excited, very rarely feel angry, and nearly never feel very sad.
Manage attachment: Unlike popular yoga principles, attachment for me has always been positive if I know how to manage it. Yoga has helped me manage my expectations and reactions positively in those rare cases of attachment to a situation, person, or an object.
Stay in the present: Only now I understand what this really means. Find myself surprised when I do not think too far into the future.

The two most important reasons I continue to practise and share my understanding of yoga

Slowing down life: I have slowed down in life, in a good way. Left one race, and started another, with myself. The body and the mind seem to like it!
Opportunity to share my learnings with others, make friends and make a positive difference in their lives, however small the difference: Probably the most important reason I continue to practise.