yoga

Yoga therapy, for me, is a life-long learning journey as each new case

teaches me something new. I integrate evidence-based yoga researches,

yoga philosophy and my own experiences, and this integration helps

to produce better results in a shorter period of time. I am also deeply

involved in providing yoga education to yoga therapy students.

How have Singapore yoga enthusiasts taken

to yoga and yoga therapy?

In Singapore, people are taking yoga therapy as an alternative method to

ease their health conditions.

I think most people in Singapore still see yoga as a form of fitness-based

exercise. Most people do not even know what yoga therapy is. People

also think that only flexible people are suitable to do yoga as yoga

is about stretching. Due to this misconception, many people are not

exposed to the benefits of yoga.

Yoga is holistic, and much more than just poses and stretching. Yoga is a

way of living. It includes discipline at physical, mental, social and spiritual

levels. It is the duty and responsibility of every yoga teacher/practitioner

to spread awareness and communicate the vast meaning of yoga.

What is your method of teaching?

I would sum it up as E.E.I. – Experiential, Encouraging, Integration.

Experiential learning – I believe in doing more than just knowing a ton

of theory. I let students experience the benefits of yoga, this gives them

a firm grounding in their own practice.

Encouraging – Yoga is not about forcing oneself into the practice, yoga is

about giving your best, leave the rest, and feel happy with whatever you

are able to do. I want my students to feel encouraged and motivated to

be regular in their practice. I use yoga quotations, motivational phrases

(even the ones in Sanksrit) and encouraging words to motivate them. I

want them to enjoy yoga and feel good about themselves. And I make

sure there is always laughter in my classes.

Integration – As mentioned in some of my answers for earlier questions,

I strongly believe in integrating philosophy and science. The great yogi

Swami Vivekananda also said, ‘To combine the best of the West with the

best of the East’. Having both Vedantic and research background, I really

see the positive results in combining philosophy and science, so I adopt

this method in my teaching.

How different is yoga in India compared to

overseas?

In India, yoga continues to be more comprehensive than overseas.

Though the percentage of Hatha Yoga practitioners is increasing in India

too, people believe and adopt diverse streams of yoga, such as Bhakti

Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Karma Yoga and Raja Yoga. There are several reasons

for this, such as exposure to different streams of yoga since childhood,

the yoga environment in India and the practice being part of India’s

culture.

While outside of India, large number of people practice yoga as part of

their physical workout. Some people practice only the physical aspect,

the yoga asanas, and misconstrue the spiritual aspect to be religious.

They are able to see tangible results from the physical poses, but

spirituality is subtle and the results are not visible immediately.

Dr. Kuldeep K Kushwah is a Ph.D. in Yoga from SVYASA University in

Bangalore, India. He is currently a lead yoga trainer and yoga

therapy consultant at Vyasa Yoga Singapore, and also conducts yoga

teacher training and yoga therapy programs. You can reach him

at [email protected] or [email protected]

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Some of his favorite things...
DETAILS

Favorite mantra

Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu

“May all beings everywhere be

happy and free, and may the

thoughts, words, and actions of my

own life contribute in some way to

that happiness and to that freedom

for all.”

If you weren’t a yoga

teacher, you would be?

A social worker, as I was

planning on doing a

Masters in Social Work

What do you do when

you’re not teaching yoga?

I usually read research

works on yoga and yoga

philosophy, plan or design

new yoga-related courses.

Sometimes, I go to serene

places for meditation.

Fav yoga pose

Natarajasana (Lord of

Dancer Pose)

TEACHER SPOTLIGHT

nn t

Favorite book

I like books published

by the Bihar School of

Yoga, like ‘Four

Chapters on Freedom’

and ‘Hatha Yoga

Pradipika’.

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december 2018 / january 2019

yogajournal.com.sg