Nadia Narain has been teaching yoga since 1996 and is one of Triyoga’s original teachers, having taught there since it first opened in 2000. Her clients include professional athletes to pregnant ladies and she somehow squeezes in the time to run her own little boutique shop. We caught up with the her to talk how the industry has changed and how she runs a successful business in one of the most fast-paced cities in the world.
Can you tell us a little bit about your yoga journey and how/why you came to teach…
I met my yoga teacher when I was 18 or 19. A friend introduced me to a class and that was it. I went back every day, sometimes twice a day, and studied with her, practising yoga and being in her presence and feeling this incredible feeling of peace which I don’t ever remember ever feeling. From there I went to India to further my studies and kept traveling around the world learning from different teachers I respected. All of them had an asana practice but also a deep spiritual practice whether it was meditation or prayer. I had no plan to be a yoga teacher at all! Maybe when I was in my 60s like my teachers!
I just wanted to do it and feel this amazing feeling I felt every time I did it. But the universe had other plans because I started teaching at 23!
How would you define your teaching style?
It has evolved over the years. My first teacher was a Kundalini teacher and then I went onto study with a teacher who was Iyengar trained and a Tibetan Buddhist, followed by Erich Schiffmann who allowed me to find my own voice and trust what I was doing . That was so liberating. I felt like for so many years I was studying with these great teachers and wanting to emulate them and their style, but realised I had to be me . So I stopped taking workshops and only studied with my teachers at the time and tried to find my own voice . I think it’s still steeped in the teachings of my main teachers. A spiritual practice with alignment and freedom and discipline. Always evolving, always growing and always listening. I’m pretty strict and can come across hard but I’m learning to soften more and have more fun!
You teach a broad range of people from athletes to pregnant women. How does your approach differ to meet the needs of your students?
On a Saturday morning, I go from teaching a Level 2 class at 9.30-10.45 to a pregnancy class at 11. I don’t think my personality changes from being tougher in the first class to being soft in the second, but the class changes for obvious reasons and I try to be fluid with that. Each student is different and you have to be able to adapt to them in order for them to engage. I was laughing with a private student just today. He went to Hawaii and took his first yoga class without me. He said “the teacher did something that you don’t do and I really liked it.” I asked what it was. He replied “she chanted OM at the end of the class” I laughed because if I had chanted OM when I met him 4 years ago, he would never have returned. Now we chant OM at the end of his class! Trying to teach in a language and a way that people connect with and feel inspired by is the way to meet the student.
From a young age, you were exposed to holistic therapies. How do you integrate this into your own self-care regime?
My sister and I grew up in Asia and were exposed to holistic therapies from childhood. A lot of both of our interests in holistic therapy also came from feeling pretty broken in many ways, emotionally and mentally. We were on our paths and discovered so many different therapies that addressed the WHOLE of us. We now work together integrating our knowledge in our fields. I often ask her advice and she mine. On my retreats, I love it when she’s there to help me hold the space. Holistic therapy is a main approach in my life and I try and integrate it as much as I can. I rarely go to the doctor and am very clear that the mental and emotional body needs to be looked after as much as the physical and vice versa.
You’re based in London where there’s a fast-paced culture. Do you think this impacts how people treat their bodies and approach their yoga practice?
I’ve lived here for 20 years and I came from Hong Kong, so I don’t know any other way of being. As much as I love being in nature, I am a city girl! It’s pretty fast and I get so much done here, and when I’m on holiday, if I do 2 things, I’m exhausted! I don’t like to complain about London life because it’s brilliant and exciting and has given me opportunities I couldn’t have dreamed of anywhere else, so there is much to be grateful for. But I do need to check in with myself and make sure I rest and eat well and don’t burn out! I live near the park and that is a saving grace for me! I also live 5 minutes from Triyoga so another sanctuary in the middle of the hustle and bustle.
We love your shop! Can you tell us a little bit about the inspiration behind your products?
My range started as a fun project with my friends Weare23. They are brand designers and I had all these ideas about doing stuff that inspired another part of my brain and they helped me manifest it. I love being creative and I wanted to create products that were chemical free and still beautiful to look at. I funded it by myself and I run it with a little help so it’s difficult to juggle with the teaching. But I enjoy it and want to see it grow. Some days when I’ve taught 3 classes and then have to go and pack 6 orders I think to myself “what the hell am I thinking?!!!!!” I have a range of 5 natural candles made from plant wax and aromatherapy oils. So no chemicals so super clean to inhale. This year I created a natural perfume, so no baddies in there. We have an organic tote bag and some vests for yoga!
Tell us about a day in the life of Nadia…
Up at 6-6.30. It’s a busy day and sometimes I don’t know how I remember to do everything I need to do with my teaching and running my business. Last night, I woke up at 3am and wrote something down so I didn’t forget to get it done in the morning and went back to bed! If I don’t meditate every day, I really notice that the day is a bit more challenging.
Today I taught 3 privates. My friend came over with her son and we went to see another friend, then she came back to mine and fed her baby and I planned the weekend for teacher training. Then I started this interview before I ran to my physio (for my gruelling appointment), walked home, cooked dinner and now its 10.30 and I’m finishing this! I’m so excited if I get to bed by 10! It’s rare.
Who have been the biggest influences in your life and career and why?
Hmmm… I guess my teachers have been. I never really think of my life as a career or a job, I just get to do this amazing thing every day that helps people and makes them feel good and transforms them. I had no clue that it would be a career. No part of my life has ever been planned out! I wouldn’t know what to do with a 5 year plan if you gave me one. My first teacher Gumukh just told me to teach and GOD would take care of the rest! Well, so far so good! My sister is a major influence in my life. We talk 5 times a day. My girlfriends are a huge inspiration to me. All of them are incredible and honourable and just super cool ladies that I’m in awe of. I read this great saying “someone gave me a box of darkness and it turned out to be my greatest gift” or something like that. And it’s so true, all the heart break and disappointments, even though they didn’t feel like it at the time, have been huge influences on my healing and the good stuff I get to do with my teaching .
The number of yoga teachers and the number of yoga studios that are opening is on the rise. What are your thoughts about this?
It’s mixed. Sometimes I think it’s great because more people are doing yoga. Sometimes when I’m feeling insecure, it scares me, that no one will come to my class. But mostly I think there’s enough to go around and if you conduct yourself with integrity, you teach and the students will come.
What’s the biggest challenge that you’ve faced in your teaching career?
Worrying. In the beginning, I never worried because I was so thrilled to be doing this thing that I never imagined I would be good enough to do. I held yoga teaching with such high regard and my teachers literally changed my life, I never thought it was possible to be like them. I’m a worrier. Am I good enough? Am I giving enough?? Do I know enough? The questions are endless! A constant conversation with myself. Now with social media, it’s a constant comparison to other teachers. When I started over 20 years ago, you compared yourself to your teacher so there was NO COMPARISON! I try and stay off social media as much as I can and do my own thing, because it’s never a good thing to compare. I’m never going to be the yoga teacher in florescent leggings and a bra top doing a one armed handstand into a something, so I just have to accept myself as I am and be OK with it as much as I can. And know that there is a teacher for everyone!
Making a full time living out of being a yoga teacher can be difficult. What advice would you give to teachers who want to do this?
If I were to do it all over again, I don’t know what I would do. I did have a job and taught yoga on my free nights and whenever I could. I was 23 and I had so much energy. I was working 10 hours in a health food store, teaching at 7.30/8- 10 pm and then going out! I don’t know how I did it!
I think I would advise to not let all your income come from teaching so you can enjoy it a bit more. But on the other hand, as it is my main income, it has meant that I had to work really hard at being really good at it! I don’t know. My advice, follow your heart and do it because you love it and you are passionate. It will pay off.
How do you create a schedule that doesn’t lead to burn out?
Learning to take care of myself has taken a long time. I always say yes because I love what I do! Sometimes I feel burnt out, but doesn’t everyone when they do what they love and live for it? I don’t know the answer! It doesn’t feel like burn out. Sometimes my schedule is really demanding like at the moment! I have a Pregnancy Teacher Training which I run so it’s whole weekends with mostly me. I have a full private schedule and it’s Christmas coming so orders are coming in. It’s just that time of year, so I make sure I have good food in the fridge, I exercise and meditate and I don’t have too many late nights. I keep my head down and try and make sure I do something nice for me, like a facial or a massage or go roller discoing! Once a year I go on meditation retreat and that is always a treat. It’s hard to know. You have to do what feels right for you and your energy level. Starting a business can be demanding. Teaching teacher training can be demanding, but then oh so rewarding!
What’s the best advice anyone’s ever given you?
2 things are:
When you are going through stressful times, make sure each day you do something nice for yourself, even if it’s a bath or good food or a little treat.
and…
When you feel low or down, do something for someone else. Service always gives you a sense of meaning and purpose. Offer yourself to those in need and your heart feels lighter.
What advice can you give to living an authentic and meaningful life?
Stay as true to yourself as you can and take some time each day or week or month to check in because that is always changing! When I started getting into yoga, no one I knew was into it apart from one friend and my boyfriend at the time. So I had 2 people in my class! I felt very alone on my path and still do often. When everyone loves going to some super glamorous wedding, I’d rather be quiet and on retreat. But in my 40’s, I’ve started to really know who I am and what feels good to me. I still need to challenge myself and make myself do things that scare me but I don’t need to do things because other people do. I just finished reading Amy Schumer’s biography ‘The Girl with the lower back tattoo’, and it was so inspiring because even though she gets up in front of thousands of people and makes people cry and pee with laughter, she is an introvert and likes to only spend time with her family and closest friends and knows she needs alone time and meditates twice a day. And it made me nod knowingly. I love people but I love quiet and alone time. So the more you know yourself, the less you need to fight who you are.
To find out more about Nadia or to purchase one of her 4 DVD’s (Yoga for Pregnancy, Yoga for Everyday Stress Release, Flow Yoga & Beginners Mediation and Mindful Stretching) click here.
