Bliss-Girls

Dear reader, this post is about a legend in her own right and It’s my pleasure to have known her and to be writing about her. She is down to earth and selflessly shares knowledge and experience with others. There is so much to say about her – her journey, her learnings and so much more that all of it simply cannot be covered in one post. I hope to convey her story and her messages across without any distortion or misinterpretation. In this first part, we will have a brief birds eye look into her yoga journey.

Part 1 – Her Life and Legacy

Rain or shine, she starts her day at 4:45 a.m. every morning. She is super active, mother of two, she runs yoga classes starting at 5:30 a.m, works in a hospital teaching yoga and mudras to cancer patients, manages house hold chores and is also pursuing PhD. She is Nandini Shreesha, a dynamic and cheerful personality whose energy is contagious. She has great respect for her parents, her gurus, peers and students. She takes pride in Indian traditions, values the contribution of ancient rishis and yogis. Her knowledge is so deep that she explains complex verses from patanjali sutra’s, bhagavad gita and other Indian epics in simple terms . Read on to find out more about her yoga journey.

Strong Roots

Nandini was born in to a family of highly accomplished and very inspiring individuals. Her paternal grandfather, Nagaraj Rao, was a freedom fighter who worked alongside Mahatma Gandhi. He was influenced and inspired by Gandhi ji and walked along with him on Dandi march. He also had the privilege of meeting Ramana Maharishi. Her paternal grandmother, Lakshmi bai was an excellent story teller, who would tell stories from great Indian epics. Nandini too has inherited this skill and used it very effectively to create a positive impact on many lives. She also imbibes the ideologies of her father, Baba Prasad.

Two other ladies from her family who inspire her the most are her mother and her maternal grandmother. Her maternal grandmother, Gopi bai was a very daring and independent lady who, in the 1950s era, travelled to Badrinath alone. Nandini’s mother, Vimala, is also a very independent and strong lady who is a great source of inspiration for her.

Early days

Nandini’s first stint with yoga was during her school days when she was associated with RSS. Her mother enrolled her to Yoga classes where her guru, Rukmini, recognized her talent and persuaded her to take up Yoga as a career. But Nandini remembers having a low self esteem those days. Looking back, she says she chose to pursue diploma in administration naturally. Post her diploma, she did take up an administrative job, she was good at it but she did not find a true calling in her job. Meanwhile, her parents arranged her marriage with Shreesha.

Yoga Chronicles

Post her first pregnancy, she quit her job and felt incomplete. She craved to do something and she remembered her guru persuading her to take up Yoga as a profession. With support from her husband, she enrolled for a diploma course in Yoga at Annamalai university. Her journey as a yoga teacher started after a personal incident in her life. During the tough phase she was going through, she took a vow and started to do yoga in front of Shirdi Sai Baba idol. Her family starting with her paternal grandparents have been adherent devotes of Shirdi Sai Baba. On the 6th evening of her vow, her friends mentioned casually to her that they wanted to start yoga for fitness. They decided to start the next day. On the 7th day of her vow, in the morning when all her friends had gathered, she realised she was the only one who had a formal training in yoga and hence began her teaching journey.

Her next job was as a yoga teacher at a school. She enjoyed teaching the kids and the love kids showered upon her. She worked as a teacher at Silicon city academy of secondary education SCASE and then at National public school. At both these places she made a positive impact.

Another personal incident in her life, she had to quit her job in school. But her burning passion towards yoga was so intense that she decided to get a degree in Yoga. She completed her Diploma in yoga (2011), BSc in yoga therapy (2015) and MSc in yoga therapy (2017) from S-Vyasa university in Bangalore. After her diploma, she started further training under her guru Yogacharaya Dr SN Omkar, who is a direct disciple of Yogacharaya BKS Iyengar. It was a major turning point in her life. Simultaneously she began running her own classes in her apartment clubhouse. Today she has about 70 students across the globe and she runs 6 batches (both online and in-person classes) every day.

Since 2017, she has also been working at Sri Shankara Cancer Foundation. At this foundation they believe in holistic approach to patient care. Along with medical care, they offer music therapy, yoga therapy and also perform spiritual rituals and chanting in the hospital. As part of her job she teaches mudras and yoga to patients by their bedside.

Dear Reader, with this I end part 1. I promise to bring to you more of Nandini’s knowledge and experiences in coming weeks. Till then take care.