Shailaja has been a student of yoga for much of her life - she started in her early teens in India. After a short break during her college years, she came back to a regular practice in her mid 20s here in the US. Her classes help the students connect with their body, mind and breath as she guides the asana practice in an informative, informal, friendly way with a focus on stretching, balancing and strengthening throughout. This leaves the student energized yet calm. Shailaja’s strength as a teacher is the ability to guide each student individually, to find comfort in each pose practiced, irrespective of their level or years of practice. Pranayama (breath work) and sound ( chanting ) are an integral part of her classes. Her passion is to teach meditation – the silence of the meditative state, she believes, leads to an inner listening which forms a bond between the heart and the mind – a way to find the beauty within each soul.

 

One of her early teachers saw her potential and encouraged her to start teaching in the year 2000. In the 18 years that she has been teaching, she has trained with various teachers in the US ( Gary Kraftsow, Leslie Kaminoff, Lillah Schwartz and Marlysa Sullivan are among the few ) and in India ( T. K. V. Desikachar and Dr. N. Chandrasekharan) She holds an E-RYT 500 Yoga Alliance registration. She has more than 1200 hours of training from two different Yoga Therapy training programs and is C- IAYT (Certified Yoga Therapist by the International Association of Yoga