International Yoga Day just passed, and it made me reflect on a relationship that has accompanied me through most of my adult life.
Not a perfect relationship.Not a disciplined one.Not one where I woke up every morning at 5 a.m. and rolled out my mat without fail. I wish that was the case though.
But it is a relationship that has endured for more than three decades. Perhaps that is what yoga really is.
I first consciously stepped onto a yoga mat when I was a student at the University of Toronto.
It was my first time living outside India. Everything felt unfamiliar. The gyms were intimidating. Students seemed so confident walking into weight rooms, joining sports teams, or diving into the Olympic-sized swimming pool on campus.
I wasn’t ready for any of that.
On my way home from university, there was a small yoga studio run by a Canadian woman and her Indian husband. Somehow, it felt approachable & familiar.
So I started going. Not regularly. Just whenever I could.
I still laugh when I remember that I often slipped out before savasana because I thought lying down at the end was a waste of time, I had better things to do!
Today, savasana might be one of the most valuable parts of the practice.
What I didn’t realize then was that my relationship with yoga had actually begun much earlier.
When I was in school in Tirupati, somewhere in the late 70’s, yoga was introduced as part of our classes. Recently, one of my classmates shared something remarkable with me. He told me that those sessions had been part of the early efforts to spread yoga education and that the teachings came through the work of none other than B. K. S. Iyengar and his team.
I was stunned. What a privilege!
As children, we had no idea we were participating in something that would later become a global movement.
Over the years, yoga kept reappearing in my life.
In Toronto.
In Florida.
In Washington DC.
In Italy.
Wherever I lived, I somehow found my way to a yoga studio whenever I could.
I never worried too much about the style.
Iyengar.Hatha.Vinyasa.Sivananda.
The names mattered less than the experience of showing up.
Breathing.Moving.Returning.
There were periods when I practiced often.
There were periods when months passed without practice.Sometimes even years.
Yet somehow, I always came back.
And yoga always welcomed me back.
For much of my life, I believed that transformation happened primarily through the mind.
If you could strengthen your willpower, discipline your thoughts, and stay motivated enough, everything else would follow.
Today, at 58, I am discovering something different. The body influences the mind far more than I once understood.
Some mornings, it isn’t my mind that tells me to practice. It is my body. My body longs for the mat. My hips ask for movement. My spine asks for attention. My breath asks for space.
It is a gentle nudge rather than a command. And I am finally learning to listen.
I am also discovering how deeply food and movement are connected.
For years, I focused far more on nutrition than movement. Food was my passion and my profession. Now I see how beautifully they support one another.
One of the most unexpected discoveries has been how differently my body responds to yoga today compared to when I was younger.
I’ve been vegan for about eight years now, and whenever I return to the mat after a break, I notice a remarkable difference. In my twenties, if I attended a challenging yoga class after not practicing for some time, I would often feel sore and achy for days afterward. I simply assumed that was part of the experience.
Today, even after periods of inconsistency, I often feel stronger, more flexible, and far less stiff than I would expect. The soreness that once seemed inevitable is either minimal or absent altogether.
Of course, experience and age may play a role, but I cannot ignore the impact of an anti-inflammatory, whole-food plant-based diet. It has given me a firsthand appreciation for how profoundly food influences movement, recovery, and the way we feel in our bodies. Yoga has shown me the wisdom of movement, and food has shown me how to support that movement with greater ease.
If I attend a morning class, a good night’s sleep matters. If I practice in the evening, I feel my best when my last meal is several hours earlier.
A light body creates a different experience on the mat. The breath flows differently. Movement feels easier. Attention sharpens. The body feels present and good.
Yoga is teaching me once again that everything is connected. Sleep. Food. Movement. Breath. Awareness. One influences the other.
Perhaps the biggest lesson yoga is teaching me today is that alignment is about much more than posture. When the body feels aligned, life often feels more manageable. We respond differently. We think differently. We carry ourselves differently.
The challenges don’t disappear. But we meet them differently. That may be why I keep returning to yoga after all these years.
Not only to master a pose. Not only to become more flexible. Not just to become stronger. But because every time I return, I feel more at home in myself. And these days, something has shifted.
For the first time, I don’t feel that I am forcing myself onto the mat. My body is inviting me there. I am learning to prioritize myself. To honour that invitation. To show up. Not perfectly but consistently.
And every time I do, the rewards are immediate and lasting. More ease. More clarity. More strength and so much gratitude.
If there is one thing I would tell anyone who feels yoga is intimidating, it is this:
You do not need to become a yogi overnight. You do not need the perfect body. You do not need the perfect schedule. You only need to show up. Again and again. The mat will do the rest.
Yoga has been waiting for me for over thirty-five years. And I have a feeling it will continue to walk beside me for the rest of my life.
Perhaps it is no surprise that yoga eventually became part of Vibrant Living. For years, we have been hosting yoga classes every morning at our Jubilee Hills space in Hyderabad. I often feel that the calm, grounded energy people experience here comes from a combination of the practice on the mat and the food we serve with so much care.
If you’re in town, come join us for a class, a meal, or simply a quiet morning. We look forward to hosting you.
