Hemlata Sharma, Co-Director and Senior Yoga Instructor at Yogasthali, Jaipur, India.

Hemlata Sharma: Building a Yoga Career Through Authenticity

Jaipur-based yoga teacher reveals the secrets behind the success of both her personal career and the institute she runs with her husband.

Kriti Gupta
Jul 29, 2017 · 7 min read

After obtaining a masters degree in English from MDS University followed by a Master of Computer Applications (MCA) from Punjab University, Hemlata Sharma took the brave step to dive into a completely different field.

Hemlata Sharma

With her strong determination to study yoga, she has earned a position as the co-director and senior instructor at Yogasthali, the first yoga school to be certified with the Yoga Alliance’s Spirit of the Standards (RYS 500) designation.

Hemlata also happens to be married to the Founder and Director of Yogasthali Yoga Society, Umesh Sharma.

Committed to lifelong learning, Hemlata completed her Level 2 of yoga teacher training with the Quality Council of India (QCI), obtained her Yoga Alliance RYT-500 certification in the US, and is currently in her final year of a Master of Science in Yoga Therapy (M.Sc. — Yoga Therapy) from Jagadguru Ramanandacharya Rajasthan Sanskrit University (JRRSU).

I met with Hemlata to gain insights into her career and advice for yoga teachers.


Yoga gave my life meaning. It taught me how to live better, in harmony, and with an abundance mentality. It gave me an awareness of my thoughts, feelings, and the actions I take. When people ask me how I manage my two kids, home, and career, I tell them that yoga gave me the patience, courage, and energy to make it all possible.

Hemlata Sharma teaching a class.

Yoga is the science of life. It teaches us how to act, react, and perform with awareness and balanced thoughts, feelings, and deeds. When I started doing yoga as a hobby, all the concepts of living a happy and peaceful life suddenly became clear to me. I felt drastic changes in my behavior and ways of thinking. Dealing with various situations in my daily life became easier.

I developed a strong inner voice that kept persuading me to teach others how yoga is the path to pure enlightenment and how it can make a difference in living. That was the turning point which made me take up yoga as a career.

We started yoga with a small group of students to see the effects of yoga in their day-to-day lives. When we saw that it had a tremendous effect on their bodies minds, and souls, we realized we were on the right path. Since then, our school, Yogasthali, has opened its arms to people from all walks of life, race, age, and gender.

Hemlata Sharma enjoying a session with foreign students.

Our Institute is an oasis of peace, simplicity, and sincerity which draws people from around the world. The workshops and courses we offer include all aspects of yoga studies and training to become a professional teacher.

We currently have three branches in Jaipur and recently established one in the USA.

This institute has successfully taught yogic principles to people from all walks of life for over seven years. The ambiance in our center is relaxing, refreshing and makes you feel at home. We have highly trained teachers who are good at taking care of people and handle the classes with sensitivity and understanding.

Watching our students practice yoga with dedication is the most fulfilling part of being their teacher. It’s amazing watching them dive into depths of yoga and attain that peace mentally and spiritually each day. Their gratitude and respect make me feel blessed and happy beyond words.

My journey towards becoming a teacher certainly hasn’t been a smooth ride. My prior education had nothing to do with yoga, and so it was an entirely new thing for me.

I struggled to find time for practicing yoga. But gradually, things started working in my favor of me after I gained an understanding of chitta (heart-centered feeling). I continued working to gain knowledge of yoga and the various effects it had on my body, mind and my soul. Daily practice helped me learn what worked best for me.

I practiced constantly to understand each posture’s effects deep inside my body, mind, and soul. I opened my mind to believe and understand that not everyone’s body and mind work in the same way. This has enabled me to design asanas (poses), kriyas (deeds), and pranayama (breathing exercises), and meditation according to the needs of my students.

My commitment paid off, and today I can call myself a professional yoga teacher.

Hemlata Sharma

When we get any recognition, it is humbling and motivates us to continue moving forward with confidence. It gave me a chance to meet world-renowned yoga masters and learn about their experiences in the field of Yoga. Also, since it was an international award, people started seeing Yogasthali as a more authentic and a reliable school to enroll in.

The event was held in Ujjain, an ancient city beside the Kshipra River in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.

Hemlata Sharma

I found it tough to attract students initially. After learning my Guru’s teaching methods, observing many sessions, indulging in deep yoga-related conversations with him, and doing a lot of reading, people finally started seeing me as a professional yoga teacher. Only then did I start attracting students to my sessions.

To attract new students, we offer one or two free demo classes for them to see the professional standard of our yoga sessions. We make sure to give personal attention to each student, take note of their feedback, and continually motivate them to progress a little further.

We occasionally do events such as free camps and seminars for publicity. However, our primary source of new students is word of mouth.

We’re also working on getting certified by the Indian government’s Ministry of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy).

A well-maintained website and social media are the most successful ways to attract students from other countries.

We regularly share details of our events. For example, we recently celebrated International Yoga Day. Things like this all go up on our website and social media. We also run ads targeting prospective students abroad with details of our yoga teacher training programs.

We are also working on building online classes and adding video/ audio reviews on our website.

A yoga class at Yogasthali, Jaipur, India.

Life moves fast today. Everybody is under stress and in a hurry to get ahead. It’s easy to neglect one’s physical and mental wellness. Asana plays a great role in releasing mental tensions by dealing with them on the physical level. Regular practice maintains the physical body in an optimum condition. Yoga is a need today, but it’s bound to become a culture tomorrow.

My advice to the coming generation is this:

  • Before you adopt yoga as a career or business, think of it as science. Get deeper into it, understand it sincerely and then try it on yourself.
  • Don’t use yoga as a strictly earning medium. Even if you do, make sure you give students value for money.
  • Understand student’s needs and teach them what works best for them.
  • Always take the time to plan your classes.

Our teaching methods and curriculum are the same everywhere. However, in the USA, we tend to focus more on the classical Hatha and Ashtanga styles of yoga. Apart from that, the only other difference is the language of instruction.

The newer forms of yoga tend to focus on the physical level and avoid addressing mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being. At Yogasthali we teach classical Hatha Yoga because it is much more effective for the cultivation of self-awareness, relaxation, concentration, and meditation.

We focus on teaching correct techniques for practicing asanas, kriyas, and pranayama. Proper technique is essential if you wish to gain physical, mental, and spiritual benefits.

While yoga classes at fitness gyms certainly have their place, a dedicated yoga school such as ours provides students an environment ideal for connecting with their inner selves. It’s easier to focus on one’s practice without being disturbed by other forms of exercises. We welcome people to come and try our approach — your body and mind will thank you for it!

Hemlata Sharma

As for opening further locations, we have high standards for recruiting teachers, so will only expand once we have responsible and dedicated team members in place.


To learn more about Hemlata Sharma and the Yogasthali Yoga Society, please visit Yogasthali.com.

Kriti Gupta

Written by

Freelance writer, philanthropist in ghostwriting sphere, un-apologetically feminist & a newbie mommy.

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