SUMIT BANERJEE

I cannot start my bio any other way but to thank my greatest yoga teacher Bikram Choudhury. He not only gave me the greatest gift of yoga, but my teaching is inspired by his passion of teaching. No matter where I stand in life, I am forever grateful to Bikram and Rajashree Choudhury for their love towards me. My teaching is also inspired by friends Greg Gumucio and Bryan Kest.

My philosophy about yoga practice is simple, it’s all good, no matter what style you practice, it all leads to the same practice of self-healing, awareness, control, discipline and ultimately self-realization.

If does not matter if you cannot do a single pushup from downward dog or if you cannot balance on one leg. As long as you are connected to your breath and can concentrate onkeeping your mind calm and present – you are doing the real yoga. The true yoga is the practice from your heart. So, make sure you listen to everything I say in class, but ultimately listen to yourself, learning to back off or take breaks by laying in Savasana or Child’s Pose.

Always challenge yourself to a new level but never force yourself. Always remember the more you resist the harder it gets, but the sooner you accept and let go…the easier your practice.

I firmly believe the only way you can stay committed and advance in your practice is to make it a spiritual discipline rather than a stretching or a workout. Spiritually does not mean that you have to seek something external from somewhere, on the contrary, just connecting with ones breath can be an amazing spiritual experience.

Finally, I would like to invite all my students to challenge, struggle, work hard, smile, have fun and most importantly, never give up in class.