Authentic,
heart-led yoga
for all bodies

In India, we conduct our yoga practices in our daily clothes, even saris and other Indian attire.

In the West, there seems to be an idea that certain clothes are appropriate for yoga and others aren’t!

Once again, I stand tall against any stereotyping.

Comfortable, loose fitting clothing and a sense of ease being paramount means you can wear anything you like to the class and not feel self conscious at all.

I often wear very simple clothes and prioritise comfort and an Indian aesthetic has a way of cropping up, connecting me to my roots.

Yourself and a mat! A bottle of water and a cushion to sit on are also useful in class. However, I always have extra mats and cushions so you can have one less thing to worry about if you’re in a rush!

A typical class with me is between 75 and 80 minutes long. I include a gentle mindful breathing practice and check in, postural movement guided by clear instructions and demonstration, meditation and Yoga Nidra, deep relaxation, pranayama, sometimes some chanting and gong sounds.

I try to keep to an ethical inquiry and then design classes around various themes and respond to the seasonal changes that Ayurveda invites us to respond to.

My classes are collaborative in nature and we often have a good giggle as we go along!

We are non competitive and gentle but strong in the work that we share as a class.

Everyone is kind to each other and underneath it all is a shared journey and a shared energetic exchange, imbued with my love and care for my subject and my students at every step.

Traditional Yoga may mean different things to different people, and I am keen to say that I am as much a student as I am a teacher of Yoga.

In the past I have used (and sometimes still use) the label ‘hatha’ yoga as this seems to match local expectations for a class style.

In my view, traditional yoga is an inquiry into how such an ancient system came to become integrated over time and history with movement practices and expressions outside the Indian context. It is also an attempt to reference the Indian root system without surrendering to any dogma.

Traditional Yoga for me allows me to fully express my own Indian roots but also recognise that we are a living tradition.

As we practice and learn more about our human condition, we carry on and transmit this tradition.

I take pains to reference accurately the mixing and blending of practices that are now seen as Yoga in the West. I try to demystify and sift through  some of the noise and appropriation around this topic, by reminding myself and others that we are only here to inquire and learn, to listen and understand.

In my view, I am trying to integrate the whole being- mind, body and soul, honouring the practice and honouring myself, my teachers, my roots and my students.

When I don’t know something, I am humble enough to accept my limitations. And curious enough to ask for help and to seek more knowledge, with a view to passing it on.

These living traditions join us to each other and to our shared human story.

Yoga and Ayurveda are two such living traditions that I was so fortunate to have met so early in my life. A divine accident or a divine intervention, each one holds true for me.

Ayurveda is Yoga’s sister science, a way of life and a medical practice that supplements Yoga practices and is aided by them in turn. We left Ayurveda behind when we brought Yoga to the West, and like all sisters, she doesn’t arrive empty handed when we invite her over.

Ayurveda, the science of Life, informs a lot of the practices that I share and my aim is to delve deeper into this area of inquiry as Yogami grows, not prescriptively, but rather in essence.

My classes are suitable for all abilities, though I do advise pregnant women to seek pregnancy yoga, and can guide them to specialist yoga teachers. I can work therapeutically and have a depth of knowledge about the anatomy and physiology of the human body. I can work with injury and post surgery recovery as well as cater to specific situations either in a group setting or a private one on one setting.

I do! Please ping me an email at ami@yogami.uk to discuss.