I consider myself lucky in that I earn a good living following my spiritual calling. Being a yoga instructor has helped me create a balance between body and soul. I have attained a sense of peace over the past few years practising yoga.
People are surprised that one can make a good living by teaching this ancient discipline. While still in college I started freelancing. I used to work with a company that organised fashion shows. After I graduated in 1993, I joined Abercrombie & Kent, a travel company. In 1995, I moved to Cox and Kings, where I worked in the inbound division organising for foreign visitors.
From 1999, I decided to become a freelance tour operator. In my years spent in the travel industry I got the chance to visit a number of countries. Travelling to exotic locales, staying at fancy resorts, meeting people from all parts of the world, and getting paid for all this! On an average I used to earn Rs 20 lakh a year. What more could a young man want. Yet there was something missing in my life.
The constant travelling and long hours was taking its toll. I had made enough money but my relationship with family and friends was strained. For a year or so I practised karate as a hobby. It was around 2003 that a friend suggested I try yoga. The combination of physical exercise and meditation may help me relax as well as answer metaphysical doubts that had started cropping up, I was told. I joined Bharat Thakur’s yoga classes with a lot of scepticism.
But after a few sessions I realised that yoga was what I wanted to do. I had saved enough money and I took a year’s sabbatical to learn and practise yoga thoroughly. After the first year, I knew I had found my calling and didn’t go back to my job. Instead I became a yoga instructor at Thakur’s institute. Obviously my close friends and family were shocked by my decision. They couldn’t believe that teaching yoga could be a fulltime career.
Today, I make around Rs 25,000 a month. Most of my expenses such as accommodation, food and travelling are taken care of by the organisation. For private lessons I charge around Rs 15,000 per month. On an average I have three or four private clients besides holding regular classes at the institute. My profession gives me both emotional and financial succour.
