26/09/2026
Can Asana lead to Bhakti?
In my own experience, twenty years ago, the answer I was given was no.
It’s hard to believe now, but in some bhakti communities I had to hide that I was a yoga teacher. It was heavily frowned upon in those days.
Thankfully the wheel has turned, and my heart is so happy to see yoga studios sitting alongside temples.
Because for me, yoga was never a path away from the heart. It led me towards it 💕
That’s where the beauty and fragrance of the flowers truly are.
Ten years ago, a dear friend and I wanted to bring it all together. We turned an old school hall in Bristol into a temple for our Kirtan Yoga Day.
A hundred and twenty people chanted sacred mantra as they practised asana to live kirtan. We offered arati, cooked prasadam for everyone, and it was all for charity.
Back then, gatherings like this were rare.
When a hundred and twenty voices sing the sacred names together, everything else melts away.
It’s a joy to witness — that quiet transformation when a practitioner’s heart truly begins to flower. What starts as asana so often becomes a longing to chant sacred mantra.
The Bhagavad Gita says the same: still the mind, still the self — and there in the heart is the Lord of Love.
I’d love to hear your experience.
🪷
