MY JOURNEY IN YOGA.
YOGA AS A SPORT
In 2017, I started my journey into competitive yoga. Becoming a member of the USA Yoga Federation, I competed at the qualifier level, won 1st place in the State of Nebraska, placed 2nd place at Regionals, and finished 3rd place at USA Yoga Nationals, which qualified me to compete in the International Yoga Sports Competition. The 2018 World Championships for Yoga Sports took place in Beijing, China, where I competed in the Youth-Women Division. I finished Top Ten at the International Championships, taking home a 7th place finish! I became the First Indian-American to represent Team USA at the World Championships of Yoga Sports. It was an amazing experience to meet people from all around the world who were also passionate about yoga!
Click here to view my 2018 USA Yoga National Competition - 3rd place
Click here to view my 2019 USA Yoga National Competition at the State Games of America - 3rd place
Click here to view my 2018 World Championships of Yoga Sports in Beijing, China - 7th place
MY YOGA BACKGROUND
FROM THE BEGINNING
I started practicing yoga when I was in the 1st grade through the Universal Peace Foundation of North America (UPFNA) in Omaha, Nebraska. At first, yoga and meditation classes were very playful for me, but it wasn't until my high school years that I truly realized the benefits of it. As academic stress and the toils of high school started to impact my life, I turned to yoga and meditation to find relief. Meditation especially helped me relax and calm down during stressful times. It helped me find clarity in my work and helped me be more productive in my school day.
YOGA TEACHER'S TRAINING
YOGA TEACHER TRAINING CERTIFICATION
At the age of 15, I followed my yoga teacher's footsteps all the way back to India to become an official yoga teacher myself. I traveled to the headquarters of UPFNA in Tamil Nadu, India and spent 3 weeks on the campus of Universal Peace Foundation (UPF) in Thirumoorthy Hills. I completed my 200-hour Teacher Training Certification and returned to America to spread awareness of the benefits of yoga practice.
UNTIL NOW
After realizing the benefits myself, I wanted other high school students across the world to also realize the benefits of meditation and mindfulness practices in their own lives. I founded my non-profit organization called GoYogi to educate students on how to meditate. This program integrates mindfulness meditation practices directly into school curriculums so that students have access to mental health education and mindfulness practices within their school day. To read more about my non-profit click here.
Part of my Teacher's Training included Karma Yoga, which is doing charity or good work for society. The campus I was staying always cooked extra food for the homeless people. Everyday before lunch, I would go out into the village and deliver these packages of food to the elderly homeless population. This taught me that yoga was not only a physical practice, but a way of life.
TEACHING YOGA
AT UPFNA
I have been attending Kids Yoga Classes at the Universal Peace Foundation of North America (UPFNA) since I was six years old. After completing my teacher's training, I began teaching classes at the UPFNA Yoga Center for kindergarteners and 1st graders. Teaching this class is the highlight of my week. I love spending time with the kids and teaching them about our mind-body connection as well as personality development and societal values.
This is my third year teaching at UPFNA and I teach classes on Monday evenings every week!
Check out this video my students and I created about the benefits of Thoppukaranam or Super Brain Yoga!
AT SCHOOL
I teach yoga classes at Marian High School as a part of the Yoga Club every other Wednesday morning. Students love to practice yoga to start their day relaxed and calm. I have been President of the Marian Yoga Club for 4 years and I love teaching my peers all about yoga.
Last year, I brought in a guest speaker from UPFNA to talk about the mind-body connection and the benefits of yoga both physically and spiritually.
YOGA GALLERY
