My name is Sonam Gonpo. I majored in Political Science and minored in International relations from Ashoka University. I was staying on the college campus when Covid-19 was declared as a pandemic. The situation got worse all around the world and it brought a lot of negative stress in peoples’ minds. I was no exception to this.
But then self-awareness shook me when the lockdown mandated us to stay inside. That was the first time I picked up yoga to cope with the situation. Yoga helped me more than enhancing bodily flexibility and strength. Its benefits were more than relieving stress. After several months of practice, I started giving more time and energy to explore yoga. From that time, yoga became more than just a hobby.
In due course of time, I gained seriousness and sincerity over yoga. When I retrospect, the dream of building a career in sports during childhood which never materialized factored in developing this strong fondness for yoga. Things starting to fall in place except for the professional gap between where I am and where I want to become. Things became different when the thought of pursuing yoga as a career became a constant light in my head. I have been practising yoga for the last one and a half years (mostly through youtube). In due course, I was convinced by my practice that the benefits of yoga go beyond toning muscles and stretching your legs with utmost flexibility. I started noticing some changes in my energy level and mental state. Hence, I felt that everyone must imbibe yoga if they strive for a healthy body and mind. Especially in this age of digital addiction and fast-paced life, we need to learn to calm our mind and body through relaxation.
From a career perspective, a good Yoga Teacher is in high demand as the world dwells more into the unconscious way of living. Yoga has solutions to these petty householders problems. This opportunity incentivize me to pursue a Yoga Teachers Training course. Should I not have faced financial woes, I would have pursued intensive professional training much earlier. But as they say, good things happen to those who wait. I am happy that I am getting to do this training now. I am grateful to Empowering the Vision (ENVISION) for giving wings to further my training in yoga. I cannot thank ENVISION enough for their support and guidance.
With financial assistance and guidance from ENVISION, I have started a four months Yoga Teacher Training course from The Yoga Institute, Mumbai on July 19th. The training starts at 7 am in the morning till 8.30 am, followed by another session in the day from 4.30 pm-8.30 pm, Monday-Saturday.
The first sessions were quite easy to understand as I had some knowledge that I had acquired through personal interest and research. Gradually, the yoga classes got more nuanced and deep. I learned about Ashtanga yoga which aims to achieve a balanced state of mind through asanas, pranayama, focus, meditation, and moksha. In addition to these, the essence and values of ancient Indian knowledge about yogic diet, dhyana, and Yoga Sutra, Hatha yoga, Samkhya philosophy were taught through an excellent pedagogy. So far, the training has brought both mental and physical transformations for me, and this further sparked my urge to become a great Yoga Teacher. Yoga awakened me physically and mentally. Last not least, yoga assisted me in finding direction in my life. I am so looking forward to the remaining months of training.