Shamanic explorers left society and indoctrinated religions in ancient India to pursue freedom through direct experience. Tried and tested Yoga tools have been passed along lineages from the time of the Buddha and Patanjali. Yoga teachers who have experienced this un-gated freedom are helpful guides. Ultimately, Yoga is an individual path that can only be realized from within. Even when we are on a grounded transformational journey, things can falter. Wherever people gather, there is politics.

A pivot in my search for meaning came in 1999 when I found BKS Iyengar’s book Light on Yoga in a tiny bookshop in Polzeath. The philosophy section of the book awakened such inspiration to change my life that I started a daily self-practice routine on the concrete floor of an ablution block in the caravan park where I was staying. No sticky mat, just proper passion. A decade later, I touched Guruji’s feet at the Institute in Pune. A huge milestone. The tears in my eyes were softened by his smile.