Jyothi Panicker

I am a certified yoga teacher through Living Yoga Program, Austin, TX and the Mysore Krishnamacharr Yoga Foundation, Mysore, India and I teach Hatha, Hatha Vinyasa, Ashatanga Vinyasa ( primary series 1), Gentle Yoga and Restorative Yoga.

A little about myself, how and why I started practicing yoga 18 years ago in India & how I teach it. I started my practice to combat the effects of a high stress job in my first career in business luxury hotels. Yoga brought to me a sense of peace, balance & the ability to stand firm yet flexible no matter what the day brought to me. It was far more effective than any medication any doctor could give me. In fact it was my doctor who told me to start a yoga practice.

My yoga was simple, calming & non competitive, it was one on one with my teacher and we did what he thought was necessary for me in each session. My teaching today reflects this traditional Indian style; what do my students want to do and I give each student my personal attention, to the best of my ability. I like to challenge my students to work hard for themselves and to go deeper than just the physical practice. To me yoga is a way of life, it is my lifestyle. What I do and teach on the mat reflects my life off the mat because I firmly believe they are synonymous. Asana is but one limb of yoga & it is not the most important. My personal practice & my teaching incorporates studying and teaching the sutras, the mythology behind the asanas, the philosophy of yoga and the chakra system, alignment and biomechanics of the body in the asana practice. My intention is to help my students incorporate these both on the mat and in everyday life. Prayers, meditation and pranayama are part of every class.

While yoga is rooted in the Indian culture & Hindu mythology, it is not a religious practice. It is also not a practice open and available to a select few. My classes are open to everyone; yoga is a very personal practice and I believe where you are at any given point is perfect and exactly where you need to be. I encourage my students to flow in their asana practice respecting and honoring their bodies, their limitations their capabilities and their need in that moment. Yoga is not ‘one practice fits all’ and as your guide I will do my best to accommodate each of you; to teach, refine, and modify the asanas as we practice.
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‘Yoga is a journey of the self, through the self, to the self’ – The Bhagvad Gita.

– Jyothi Panicker