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From high profile TV presenter to Sattva yoga specialist,
OM chats to Australia’s Caleb Packham who is making it a mission
to bring yoga to people who wouldn’t otherwise walk into a studioTell us about your early TV career
I began my career as an actor in Australia then pretty much fell into
the coolest job on the planet – a VJ on MTV. From there I progressed
to terrestrial TV, presenting a variety of entertainment programmes...
a candid camera show, a travel show. Yes, it was fun. Very exciting,
glamorous. It was all those things. But ultimately I was very much
enamoured with the external world and always reaching for more,
more, more, yet never really satisfied.
I came to London initially with the ambition to break into UK
television, but literally as I arrived, my course of destiny was set
on another path. I found myself surrounded by some new, amazing
friends, very conscious, spiritually evolved people who inspired me
to look deeper within myself for all the things I had been looking for
externally. I guess you could say over the course of a year I had a
big awakening. Then, one day, I sat down to update my showreel for
my new agent. As I scanned through the tapes of footage, I felt a
huge sense of achievement looking back over my career, yet in that
moment I knew that chapter was over. I just didn’t feel the ambition
anymore. I was so content with just being me. I no longer needed
the validation that I was once searching for from the media and the
public. And that was it. Over.
How did you first get into yoga
A bad case of plantar fasciitis first led me to the yoga mat four
years ago. It’s a chronic condition often triggered by tightness in
the hamstrings and calves which causes inflammation on the sole
of the foot. It’s awfully painful to walk and I was trying everything
and anything to heal it. With yoga next on the list, I hobbled in to
triyoga in Soho, London to take my first class. I didn’t know the class
schedule, I just took the first class available. I think it was all meant
to be because the teacher turned out to be Leila Sadeghee, who is
incredible, both in terms of technique and also from the soul aspect.
At the top of the class she shared some yogic wisdom which was
so profoundly relevant to me, in terms of a difficult situation I was
facing in my personal life at the time. In that moment, I knew that
yoga was to become a whole lot more than rehab for my foot.
How has your acting influenced your yoga
I can definitely see how my experience on TV and stage has
influenced my teaching style. I’ve been told I have a very
commanding presence when I teach. I guess that’s the TV presenter
in me! And there’s definitely a theatrical element to my classes,
particularly in the way I incorporate the music. I’m very creative
and meticulous when it comes to choosing exactly the right piece
of music to bring in at exactly the right moment to arouse specific
emotions. Just like we do in theatre. Recently, I held a special
Sattva Journey set to live music, with sacred instruments including
harmonic gongs, singing bowls and the didgeridoo. It was magic.
Tell us more about Sattva yoga
Sattva was developed by my master Anand Mehrotra in the
Himalayas about 10 years ago. In Sanskrit, Sattva (pronounced
Satt’wa) means ‘whole’, ‘complete’, ‘balance’. It’s a union of many
yogic paths. Asana, kriya, pranayama, meditation, mantra, free
movement and wisdom, all brought together in one class, or ‘journey’
as we call it, to create energetic shifts in the mind, body and spirit.
Typically a Sattva journey will run for between 90 minutes to two
hours. I always begin with a vision, or theme, then invite the journey
to emerge.
Many people who come to my class have practiced yoga for many
years, yet they say they’ve not experienced anything quite like Sattva.
The kriyas are particularly powerful. Using the body, the breath, mantra
and specific mudras, we are able to connect to energies of nature, of
Shakti, of existence around us, to develop our potentiality. Specific
kriyas activate specific neurological responses from your brain; they
change brain chemistry. There are kriyas that help transcend certain
psychological tendencies. Some are designed to develop fire within you.
Some are designed to develop compassion in you.
Some people go to yoga for the stretch, for the workout, but
Sattva is so much more than that. If you’re looking for a deeply
spiritual practice, something that can truly help you achieve your
fullest potential, Sattva could be for you.