My Journey With Yoga

How I got into yoga

I came to yoga because of the back pain I began to experience in my early 20s. At that time, I started my career as a financial analyst on Wall Street in New York City. By that time, I already had a severely compromised immune system and was taking constant antibiotics to deal with several chronic issues. In addition, I was also going through challenging times in my personal life. A former co-worker suggested trying yoga to help alleviate my back pain.

My first yoga class

I took my first yoga class back in 2007 in Brooklyn. Little did I know that that first class would be life-changing. At the end of that class, I had a profound meditation experience. For the first time, I felt faithful Inner Joy. This feeling of inner happiness was not dependent on any of the upcoming plans or events I was looking forward to. The sense of just being, being happy for no reason, was just there within my heart. This feeling of “inner paradise” felt so natural, just like I had forgotten about it for all these years and now got it back. Since that profound experience, I fully immersed myself in the study of all aspects of yoga.

Thanks to yoga practice, I not only healed my lower back pain but also stepped on a journey of “healing” my life as a whole.

Meeting the teacher

That meditation experience happened when I practiced with my first yoga teacher, a senior disciple of the yoga master Sri Dharma Mittra. I practiced with Dharma’s senior teacher for three years until I finally met the guru, Sri Dharma Mittra himself, in early 2010. I instantly knew I was in the presence of an extraordinary being. I practiced and studied with Dharma Mittra for several years when I lived in NYC. In 2010, I completed his yoga teacher training. Soon after graduation, I was honored to become a staff teacher at his yoga center in Manhattan. I also taught in many other studios around New York, leading and organizing local and international yoga retreats and teaching private classes all over NYC.

Teaching Yoga everywhere I live

In 2015, I moved to the Bay Area, where I mainly offered private yoga classes. In August 2024, I finally moved to Oahu, Hawaii, my dream place, which is home to my soul.

How yoga changed my life and why I keep sharing the practice

Yoga practice continues to help me feel centered and connected to myself amidst all of life events. Yoga helps me to stay strong and fit. Yoga allows me to reduce stress and calm my emotions. The most profound effect yoga had on my life was helping me realize the eternal presence of God/Divine/Jesus within myself. Yoga is not a religion. Yoga is a set of practices that help to purify the body and the mind. Consistent yoga practice leads to a more profound purification of energetic channels, eventually leading to Self-Realization. Yoga also helps to have better control of mind fluctuations, calms emotions and brings a sense of peace and well-being.

After years of practice and learning many aspects of yoga, I view yoga as a toolbox. I can use any of its techniques in different situations to navigate life. Some days, I need to do more breathing techniques, some days more vigorous practice, and others more relaxing deep stretching and relaxation techniques. This is why I want many to know how to use the tools of yoga. Yoga is simply a system of healing and supporting our everyday life.

Ahimsa or why I went vegan

The main principle of a traditional yoga path is Ahimsa, which means non-violence and non-harming anyone in deeds or thoughts. Ahimsa also means kindness to all living beings, including all animals. My teacher, Dharma Mittra, also teaches that “our compassion has to go beyond our pets, as all animals including pigs, cows, chickens, as all living beings and animals love life, and they feel pain and suffering when they are being slaughtered. All animals are our inferior brothers and sisters”. I switched to a fully plant-based diet in 2010. I started doing juice detoxes as per Dharma’s teachings as well. Within a year, I was able to get off all the medications and heal all my chronic conditions. For over a decade now, I have been medicine-free and continue thriving on plants.

In 2014, I became a certified Holistic Health Coach to learn how to support my new holistic lifestyle with proper nutrition. Eventually, I began guiding others on their health and wellness journeys as a holistic health coach and also became a personal wellness chef.