International Yoga Day is only a few hours away! It is being celebrated annually on 21 June since 2015, and the idea was first proposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his 2014 speech at the UN.
For the build-up to IYD 2022, we look at the some of the Yoga influencers from the Indian diaspora who've made it big across the world.
Tejal Patel
Tejal Patel, who used to teach Yoga at Manhattan’s Battery Park before the pandemic-induced shutdown in March 2020, now teaches on her website "Tejal Yoga".
Patel is, according to the website, "an Indian-American, first-generation, youngest of three daughters, left-handed, Sagittarius yoga and mindfulness educator."
She teaches via Zoom and hosts a podcast called "Yoga Is Dead".
With the username "tejalyoga", she has a following of almost 26,000 on Instagram.
David Ramacharran
David Ramacharran is a Yoga instructor and certified advanced Thai Massage Therapist, and has focused on helping others with the benefits of Yoga since 2015.
In 2015, he completed his first 200-hour teacher training at the Sivananda Ashram in Kerala, South India.
He then went to New York and completed a 500-hour advanced teacher training in Dharma Yoga.
Ramacharran has also had 800-hour dharma training which consists of advanced asana, psychic development and nidra.
On Instagram, he is known as "thelostyogaboy", and has more than 4,500 followers.
Puravi Joshi
Puravi Joshi teaches, according to her website, "vinyasa, mandala, rocket, yin and trauma-informed yoga" and is "passionate about making the practice accessible and fun".
She is a 500-hour + registered yoga, breathwork and meditation teacher based in London.
She has, over the past five years, worked with schools in London and the United States, drafting Yoga curriculums.
She can be found on Instagram as "puravijoshi" and has around 12,500 followers.
Misha Patel
Misha Patel is a yoga instructor nased in London.
Her aim, according to her website, "is to create a safe and playful environment for each student to unlock their full potential."
She is currently on her way to 500 hours, and teaches both online and in studios, along with private classes, both online and in person.
Her instagram username is _misha.patel and she has more than 7,000 followers.
Yash Moradiya
Dubai-based Indian yoga instructor Yash Moradiya broke the world record for holding the longest upside-down scorpion.
He held the position for 29 minutes and four seconds, breaking the previous record of four minutes and 47 seconds.
He has been practising yoga as an extracurricular activity at school since the age of eight.
Moradiya has also studied the philosophy and the ancient knowledge surrounding yoga to understand its roots.
On Instagram, he can be found with the username "yash.yoga" and has almost 4,400 followers.
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