Meet Herna Mohari, a single mother and school teacher, who talks about how yoga sorted her low self-esteem, lifted her spirits and changed her life.
How did yoga enter your life?
It was a Yoga Journal magazine on the coffee table of a yoga studio in Clarke Quay Mall that started it all in May 2011. I was waiting for a friend to finish her yoga class and started browsing through the magazine. I saw a fancy picture of a yogi doing the Scorpion pose, and was awestruck. I was wearing active gear and immediately felt the urge to try a class. I had the desire, but was quite intimidated because I wasn’t sure about my strength or flexibility.
I didn’t realize that I had entered an Intermediate Vinyasa flow class, not a beginner’s session. Needless to say, I was struggling throughout the class as I was unable to hold my Downward Facing Dog or do a Chaturanga Dandasana. Despite that, it was very heartening when the teacher complimented my “beautiful” alignment with the Wild Thing pose, and asked if I had been practicing for some time as I was “quite good with the flow.” That was enough to encourage me to sign up for a 30-class package.
What inspired you to teach?
Yoga came into my life when I was struggling with high anxiety and stress. I was recently divorced with a two-year old daughter, and struggling to juggle motherhood and a full-time job as a school teacher. I had suffered insomnia and panic attacks. Yoga gradually helped me to slow down and stay calm. The impact was so great that I decided to quit my job and sign up for an intensive one-month Yoga Teacher Training course with Dr Venky Reddy, a well-known Yoga Teacher Trainer in Singapore. Yoga increased my strength and flexibility, and I could do so many things with my body that I never thought possible. After every class, I felt stronger and calmer, and ready to face the world. It was a yoga teacher friend of mine who encouraged me to start teaching professionally.
What was your biggest challenge?
My biggest challenge was overcoming my low self-esteem. I had little confidence in my abilities and talents, and was always a “Yes” person. I considered myself unattractive with a severely-underweight body, unruly curly hair, buck teeth and thick glasses throughout my youth. I was unpopular, shy and quiet in school. Being the eldest of four kids, I had tutored my three younger siblings while growing up, so I chose to become a school teacher. I taught for 10 years, and was passionate about my teaching job. Despite this, I rarely received praise and approval from my stoic and conservative Asian parents. It didn’t help that I married a foreigner who left me twice—once when I was eight months pregnant, and again after we reconciled and relocated to the U.S.—and later got divorced. I felt rejected and hated what I saw of myself in the mirror. Yoga changed that and gave me the tools and courage to love myself again. I have overcome the need to seek validation from others.
What is your main focus and philosophy when you teach?
My philosophy is that yoga aims to heal not just the body, but also our mind and spirit. Healing through yoga transforms and empowers us. My mission is to help my students achieve a healthy balance. I remind my students at every class that the goal of yoga is to restore balance to our body, mind and spirit so we can love ourselves, and thus serve the world around us better. I believe every day is a practice, on and off the mat.
What are the advantages/disadvantages of being a freelance yoga teacher in Singapore?
There are many advantages of being a freelance yoga teacher in Singapore. Studios are always looking for freelancers or part-time teachers to take on substitute classes, and they also have no objections to you working elsewhere. It provides freedom to conduct your own private or corporate classes. The downside to being a freelancer is, of course, it is not economically viable. Freelance yoga teachers are not paid as well as full-time teachers. A flexible schedule works for me because I also teach English classes in the afternoons and conduct private yoga lessons too. It is my dream to eventually own a cozy boutique yoga studio to serve my community.
Herna Mohari teaches at The Yoga Co. and One Wellness Fitness Club.
You can write to her at yogasamugrasg@gmail.com
This article was first published in the print edition of Yoga Journal Singapore, which is now Yogahood Online.
