I Enjoyed Yoga for the First Time Ever
Yoga with Pooja Virani gave Andrea V. the tools she needed to unwind her body, relax, breathe, and sit still, she said.
“It was a real challenge to actually take the time to sit and be still because I’m compulsively on the move,” she added.
Andrea tried yoga a few times before in a group setting but didn’t enjoy it because she found it to be cliquish. People didn’t talk to her before or after the class and even the yoga teachers seemed to be disinterested in her despite being a newcomer.
“I felt like I was left out on my own,” she said.
The teachers didn’t offer critique or interact with Andrea and as someone new to yoga, she wanted more instruction. She admits it could have been just those two classes with those two teachers, but even still, it turned Andrea off from yoga and she didn’t try it again until March 2020 at the suggestion of her doctor. She felt back pain after falling on some black ice so she paid a visit to her primary care physician. They ordered an x-ray and then an MRI, which revealed not only a hairline fracture on her spine, but also that the lower section of both her lungs had collapsed, possibly from breathing too shallowly.
The doctor suggested Andrea try yoga to kickstart her lungs, but because of her previous negative experiences, she put it off. She didn’t act on the advice until her doctor said patients would be given the opportunity to take four private yoga classes with Pooja on the doctor’s dime. And because of concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic, classes would be virtual.
“I thought that was a wonderful opportunity and got in touch,” Andrea said.
“For me to have the individual, online video tutoring from Pooja made all the difference.
She gave me individual instruction and was very warm, understanding, and patient. I felt very comfortable and enjoyed yoga for the first time ever.”
Even though the instruction was online, Pooja was able to verbally critique Andrea and model adjustments for her according to what felt best to Andrea and her body.
“I found Pooja doesn’t take a mechanical approach to yoga and instead is very holistic,” she said. “She pays attention to the whole person and was responsive to where I was in every session.”
However, yoga with Pooja is more than just taking a class.
She is on a mission to empower others to shine as their strongest, most inspired selves, and wants to help them discover their own paths to inner and outer freedom. That means she provides her students with videos and homework assignments to reinforce the lessons they practiced together the previous week. Pooja wants people to feel better in their bodies so that means lifestyle changes. For Andrea, instead of standing all day in front of an easel like she used to, now she stops, takes breaks, breathes, and stretches. She has a newfound awareness of what’s occurring in her body and is able to do something about those body cues as a result of working with Pooja.
“Yoga with Pooja is probably the most useful thing I’ve done for myself in a very long time,” she said.
In part, that’s due to what Pooja teaches, but it’s also due to Pooja herself according to Andrea – her empathy, compassion, and taking into account the whole person she is working with.
“If anyone has an opportunity to take classes with Pooja, they should grab it,” she said.