Womenlines takes pleasure to welcome Vani Shukla as an Influencer for Yoga at Womenlines. Vani has been into Yoga and Fitness for more than 18years. She is a post-graduate in Yoga therapy from India. She was among the first few female fitness experts in Delhi to qualify American Council on Exercise exam in 2011.
Presently she lives in Adelaide Australia for the past five years and runs International Yoga Retreats and workshops. She has been interviewed by many local Australian radio stations including Channel 9 News. Read and listen to Vani’s interview above about her interesting journey in the field of Yoga in her own words-
I am Vani Shukla, born and raised in the heritage Indian city – Lucknow. My introduction to the Vedic mythology, traditions and its philosophy started at a very early age being part of an esteemed Brahmin family. Brahmin is a caste in Hinduism specializing as teachers (acharya) and protectors of sacred learning across generations, and therefore throughout my childhood, my family and teachers kept enriching me with the knowledge of primaeval epics, Ayurveda (ancient Indian medical science), Kathak (classical dance form), liberating mantras, philosophy of yoga, and spiritual sacraments of the Hindu culture that strengthened my belief and passion for the power of using scientific and cultural knowledge for the benefit of the society. This led me to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in the science of Nutrition and Dietetics.
In 2003, when I was 18 and just started my Bachelor’s degree, sadly I lost both my parents a few months apart. The pain of loss coupled with the agonizing mental battle and bewilderment. From an energetic happy teenager, suddenly I isolated myself from society. Seeing my situation my friend introduced me to her Yoga teacher and here my foray into the world of Yoga came. Having a strong belief in ancient sciences and consistent practice of Yoga renewed my strength to face my new life and deal with the vacuum of losing both my parents. This experience changed me as a person and I was enthralled by the power of Yoga. I decided to inspire the people to lead a happy and healthy life by sharing this incredible knowledge of mind, body and soul.
With this burning desire to be able to change the lives of people towards positive living, I enrolled into Master’s of Science in Yoga Therapy at Kasturba Medical College, a renowned medical college in south India. During this course, I was lucky to learn more about Yoga and its philosophy, from a few of the most experienced teachers from the Southern part of India.
Even while pursuing my Master’s degree, I felt a deep urgency to find a Guru, who would guide me to enlighten my Yogic path. In this exploration of the spiritual master, I travelled across the length and breadth of India and visited many ashrams. My search ended in Rishikesh when I finally met Swami Veda Bharti in December 2006. Swami Veda was the disciple of Swami Rama of the Himalayas (founder of Himalayan Yoga Tradition). He has guided many scholars in their numerous fields and I was privileged enough to be accepted as his student. The journey since then has been one of continuous spiritual growth and abundant blessing.
When your dreams don’t let you sleep, you simply wake up and work hard! After completing my education in 2007, I started sharing Yoga in its deepest form in order to enable people to make long-lasting modifications in their habits and lifestyle to achieve good health and complete well-being. During the next eight years, I was able to touch many lives by cultivating Yoga teachings in different multinational corporations; health clubs, residential societies, old age care centres, orphanages and hospitals.
I was delighted to know that I have been able to change lives, from curing simple health ailments like migraine, insomnia, headaches, obesity, stress to even helping some people quit smoking and give up alcohol. I also got the privilege to inculcate Yoga practice and re-emphasize the importance of flexibility and mindfulness in a Sports Center run by Indian Cricketer M.S Dhoni in New Delhi.
Whilst I was busy in accomplishing my passion of teaching Yoga, In 2015 I got an opportunity to live in Australia, as a Yogi trait I love travelling and exploring a new world, I decided to move to Australia.
Currently, I am living in Adelaide with my husband and continuing my Yoga journey with beautiful people in this city. I conduct classes at various renounced Yoga centres, besides organizing successful workshops and retreats (local & international) and guiding students in safe traditional Yoga through a variety of postures (asanas), breathing exercises (pranayama) and meditation. I personally love teaching Meditation and Yoga philosophy and make sure that it has been incorporated into my teaching.
For the past couple of years, I have been doing volunteering at multiple organizations to teach Yoga and increase awareness of Indian/Yoga philosophy, including the University of South Australia, Hindu Council of Australia-SA chapter and United Indians of South Australia
I am a Karma Yogi and intensely believe in the philosophy of Karmas- What goes around, comes around! Continuing my beliefs and passion, I hope I will keep serving people throughout my life.
Sarve Bhavantu Sukinaha,Sarve Santu Niramayah !
(May all be happy, may all be disease less.)
Namaste!
Vani
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