“True yoga is not about the shape of your body, but the shape of your life. Yoga is not to be performed; yoga is to be lived.”
– Aadil Palkhival
My name is Kunsang Topden, and I am a Fitness Trainer and a Yoga practitioner from Chauntra, Himachal Pradesh. I have always been passionate about fitness, which inspired me to become a Certified Personal Trainer. However, after completing my training course, I realised that being physically fit was not enough to define one fit. It takes both mental and physical fitness to stay fit, and this motivated me to learn yoga.
Initially, I started learning yoga by taking free online courses, and later, I joined an institution through the fellowship granted by the ENVISION for which I am thankful. Through this fellowship, I got the opportunity to take a Professional Yoga Teacher training course to pursue my career goal.
The training I undertook was a four-week course offered by the Sivananda Yoga Ashram nestled at Netala, Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand. It was an intensive residential course based on the ancient Gurukula system of India. The training covered both the theoretical and practical parts of yoga, along with teaching practices for students so that they can learn to teach yoga to others. The curriculum for the course was based on the five basic principles of yoga synthesized from the traditional four paths of yoga by Swami Vishnudevanada.
The five basic principles that I learned were: Asana, Pranayama, Savasana, Vedanta and Dhyana, and Yoga Nutrition. These are the five healthy living techniques such as doing proper exercise (Asana), proper breathing (Pranayama), proper relaxation (Savasana), positive thinking and meditation (Vedanta and Dhyana), and proper diet (Yoga Nutrition). These lessons not only taught me the fundamentals of yoga but transformed me into a stronger and healthier person, both mentally and physically.
The Yoga teacher training course transformed my lifestyle, and I want to share my knowledge with others. After completing the course, I had an opportunity to be Team Coach for the Tashi Jong, Chauntra and Bir football club during the 27th Gyalyum Chenmo Memorial Gold Cup Soccer Tournament this year. I included a Yoga session during the training and shared the significance of five basic principles to manage physical and mental stress during a match. I am also planning to initiate free yoga classes in my community in the near future.