“Irrespective of whether you are old or young, athletic, flexible, spiritual, religious, or atheist, your yoga practice can meet and serve you wherever you are at the moment.”
YOGA’S RICH HISTORY AND MEANING
Sudhakaran provides further background on the history of yoga, which dates back to a time before known language existed. “The Pashupati seal, a clay seal of a figure seated in asana, dates back to the Indus Valley 5000 years ago. The oldest sacred text in existence, the Rig Veda, mentions yoga as a technique to still the mind. Physical poses, asanas, evolved much later, and even then, there were only about eight of them as preparation for meditation.” She explains how yoga is a diverse body of knowledge that continually morphed and merged over time, borrowing from diverse Vedic, Tantric, and ascetic traditions. The third-century sage Patanjali codified the practice into eight steps or limbs (Ashtanga yoga), which is the precursor to modern yoga. During the British colonization of India, the more esoteric elements were banned or went underground, leaving the focus on physical movement. This was the form of yoga that was exported to the Western world. When asked how Westerners and non-South Asians can practice yoga respectfully without cultural appropriation, she again highlights that yoga can be for everyone who approaches it with curiosity. “Staying open and curious about our experiences at every moment helps us recognize when we’re appropriating practices to mold to our worldview. Recognizing that we’re a conduit of learning and approaching these practices as they are, and not through the lens of our personal experience, allows us to access the deeper meaning of yoga.”
SUDHAKARAN’S PERSONAL PRACTICE
Sudhakaran started her personal yoga practice as a six-year- old when her dad sat her and her sisters down in lotus pose for 20 minutes a day, reciting chants, nursery rhymes, and multiplication tables. “It was torture then, but after a while, I was drawn to the peace and calm, and it became part of my morning routine.” Each of her family members still practices yoga in a different way that works for each of them. She follows Vinyasa yoga, which she was introduced to in Davis in 2008. “During the pandemic, I moved away from more intense asana practice toward subtler practices like pranayama and meditation. My personal practice involves an early morning sit for about two hours and an asana sequence to wind down in late evening.” Her teaching practice is inspired by her personal yoga practice and by what she feels is often lacking in many Western yoga classes. “As I moved away from a studio practice to a home practice, I started craving the deeper teachings of yoga, the talks and discussions and spiritual experiences. That brought me to the recognition that there’s a need for a platform that provides people with yoga beyond the asana positions. That’s why I designed the offerings you’ll find on my website.” She teaches online and one-on-one classes as she finds that format best facilitates her work helping people develop their practices.
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