Your Brain Needs a Yoga Break
The world is going through a Fourth Industrial Revolution, says the World Economic Forum. Think about how fast technology is moving. The human brain can’t keep up with it. Staring at a screen is labor on the brain: scientific research studies have shown evidence related to this trend (Google it).
If you’re thinking of a fun way to invest in yourself this year, give yourself an extended brain break. Here are 38 ways that yoga is beneficial to health.
Every yoga instructor is unique. The Aia would like to introduce you to Kamal Kanibanda. She crafted our yoga program.
We’d love to learn about your background.
I was born in Manchester, England. My parents came from India. I loved solving problems and maths from a very young age and I went on to study Physics in England with 1 year of my studies in America and then continued my studies in England with a masters in Aerospace engineering. I started my Engineering career in 2000 with an International Aerospace Company which produced Helicopters.
After 3 years, I had the travel bug, my wonderful boss — who I will eternally thank — gave me a sabbatical. I set off with my rucksack and snowboard with a one way ticket. I had the best time of my life. 18 months later I returned to my job, but after a year again I felt the need to change, move, breathe, and live.
My company organized a 3 month transfer for me to our offices in Northern Italy. Three months became 7 years. I learned a new language, made new friends, I started a life for myself in Northern Italy and i had fallen in love with Italy!
After 7 years in northern Italy, after a series of events, I knew that the time had come to take the plunge and go for my dreams, to work for myself.
From a very young age I was always trying to have a little business of my own. I remember baking cakes for friends birthdays at the age of 14 (even though I couldn’t bake!).
I attempted a travel business in Peru taking people down the Amazon in a handmade wooden raft with some Peruvian people that I met on a holiday. I organized trips to China with my friend who lived there. I even tried to start a business selling packs of Indian spice mixes!
I guess it was always my destiny to work for myself.
What led you down the path of yoga?
I had attended a few lessons on and off in the past, but I didn’t really “get it.”
I left the class feeling indifferent.
When I lived in North Italy after a few setbacks, I decided to try out yoga again. I loved everything about it. The feeling I had before, during and after each lesson and of course my wonderful teacher was profound. Every class was a challenge, a journey and a release.
How has your life changed from this pivot?
Starting yoga for me was the turning point towards where I am now.
Since my first yoga lesson 7 years ago, I found the courage to leave my job and follow my dreams. It’s a long story but I initially organized yoga retreats in salento and asked teachers to teach.
Then one summer in Salento, my friends who owned a gym did free fitness classes in the park. I attended.
Every now and then they would ask me if I wanted to teach yoga and I said, “NO.” I seriously didn’t want to teach. And more to the point, I didn’t think that I could teach.
One day, they played a trick on me.
During a class one day, they said, “Kamal will finish with some yoga.”
I had no choice.
I taught 15 minutes of yoga. I don’t remember what. But I got amazing feedback. I did this again the weekend after. I went to India and got my Teachers Training Yoga Certificate. I came back to Salento and started teaching and in 2018 I went back to India for 3 months to teach Yoga.
Tell us more about your business. Who are your favorite types of students to teach? What have been your proudest moments as an entrepreneur?
In Salento I teach daily and I really can say, with all honesty, that I have the best students ever. I have never promoted my classes on social media. Everyone who comes to me has been recommended by a friend or student, or they met me at an event.
Word-of-mouth all the way!!
I also organise workshops, retreats, events and in the summer, endless outdoor events. I am a true believer that every yogi finds their teacher…and vice versa.
What are some of your proudest moments?
I feel blessed, grateful and proud of what I am doing and achieving everyday. I feel gratified every time a student tells me that they feel better, or I see them get into a position that they have struggled with for months/years, when I finish a successful workshop or retreat. It’s difficult to define a proud moment:maybe it’s the day I decided to take control of my career, my life and take responsibility for all my actions.
What benefits do you specialize in helping people gain, through yoga?
Stability, strength, being present, backache, concentration, relaxation, flexibility, releasing blocked and unwanted energy…the list is endless. Sometimes you don’t even realise the effect you have on a student until they actually confide in you.
What inspired you to start running retreats and eventually, Wellness Weeks?
When I lived in Northern Italy, after 6 months of yoga classes (as a student) my friend and I decided to go on a yoga retreat in Europe.
I didn’t like anything about it, except the teacher and the friends i made.
I kept thinking that I could do a better job with the hospitality, food and organisation. When I returned to Italy, I asked my friend who kept telling me how beautiful Salento was to find me a location and together we organised a retreat. I left my engineering job after the first retreat!
The wellness weeks with Giulia are a natural progression of the work we are doing together. We started off with weekly yoga classes at the Aia 3 years ago. Then, we added workshops. Then, weekend events.
And now we are focussing on Wellness Weeks.
We now both have the experience with organizing, me teaching yoga and working together. It’s such a great week of feeling good, having fun and experiencing Salento. Both Giulia and I have sacrificed so much and we are continuously working hard all year round to follow our dreams and reach our goals…and in the process a beautiful friendship is being created.
What’s unique about the programs you offer, compared to other retreats?
I think that Giulia and I as hosts make the difference.
I teach and Giulia cooks. We are hosts. We create a family. People seem to connect with us. We keep it real but yet often we find that people leave our retreats inspired to make a change. We both live in the area and so guests feel like they are living the Italian way and they will definitely meet a few of our Italian friends during the stay.
Giulia has strong Salentino family roots and her passion for this land really shines through. I like to think that people who come to live this experience see that that we are 2 hard working individuals, passionate, motivated, professional but yet are always up for a glass of wine and a good laugh!
What’s special to you, about Salento?
The people. The food. The people. The sun. The sea. The people. The food. The wine.
For 8 months of the year, you feel like you are on holiday. Summer is always guaranteed, the beaches are pure paradise, the food is fresh and seasonal, the wine is divine, the historical centers each have a charm about them, the people are special, in such a short time I have found people who treat me like family. We have 2 coastlines: The Adriatic & Ionio Sea. Simply magic.
Salento does remind me a little bit of India: the people, the importance of family and food and this definitely makes me feel at home.
What’s special to you about each of your students?
They become a part of my life, a part of my journey, a reason to become a better teacher, a reason to keep myself balanced. Each one is special in their own way.
How are you working on leveling up as a teacher?
It’s not always easy teaching day after day. When teachers have problems, they are tired, they just want to be alone etc. They still have to give energy and make their students feel great.
Apart from my personal practice, I am very aware that I need to stay balanced and not let the pointless things in life drag me down.
If this happens, it’s hard to teach.
The journey involved in becoming a grounded teacher is never ending. But if there is passion and love in your job, everything is possible.
What’s your next dream?
To be honest I feel like I am still living my initial dream. For now I want to keep filling retreats, keep organizing original events and workshops and continue to meet, work with and teach the most incredible people.
My next dream is to continue the job I love and start traveling again. I have travelled just over 70 countries and would like to get to 100.
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