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FORTY FORT — For internationally respected teacher Pradeep Teotia, of San Francisco, a love for yoga would be no good if he kept it to himself.
“Yoga is my passion and I love to share my passion,” he said in a telephone interview. “Knowledge has to be shared.”
Yoga practitioners of all levels, from beginners to seasoned, are welcome to share his knowledge this weekend, by signing up for workshops Teotia will give Jan. 15-17 at Balance Yoga & Wellness in Forty Fort.
Teotia has given annual workshops there for the past four or five years, owner Corinne Farrell said, and it’s always been a rewarding experience.
“Pradeep talks a lot about doing what you love, finding joy in the things you do and the people you surround yourself with,” she said. “You sweat in his class. You’re gonna move, but everyone leaves feeling amazing.”
Farrell recalls feeling that way the first time she studied with Teotia, when she and Balance Yoga’s former owner, Jennifer Ciarimboli, traveled to San Francisco for a bhakti yoga seminar.
“Bhakti is the yoga of love and devotion,” Farrell said. “It’s the philosophy — not religion but philosophy — that we’re all one and that we care for each other. No matter what it is that we do, we do our best to touch other people’s lives, always in positive ways.”
One way Teotia, who began to practice yoga with his grandmother in India when he was about 6 or 7 years old, touches people’s lives is by guiding them toward a sense of serenity.
“I try to foster in them that they can connect with their body and their mind and find a moment of quietness inside them,” he said. “They can improve their breathing to help calm the mind.”
It works, Farrell said, explaining how controlled breathing can help with daily frustrations.
“When I’m in my car and I get cut off by somebody I can take a deep breath and not get tight and not hold my breath and get angry, because that turns into stress and tension and can turn into sickness.”
Teotia’s visit will include three workshops.
The first, “Yoga Everywhere,” will be 6 to 8 p.m. Jan. 15. The second, “Awakening, Strengthening and Letting Go,” runs from 10 a.m. to noon on Jan. 16. The third, “Empower Detox Flow” will be held 10 a.m. to noon Jan. 17.
“All of these workshops are movement based,” Farrell said, explaining there will be time devoted to meditation, pranayama (breath work) and asana (yoga poses.)
You can expect Sunday’s workshop to include a lot of twisting which can actually help your body cleanse toxins from the liver and kidneys, she said. “You create an empowering feeling to get rid of those things that aren’t serving you anymore,” she said. “There’s a feeling of creating strength physically and mentally.”
Farrell said she expects “some of the oldest members in our yoga community, into their 80s, and the youngest, in their early 20s,” will attend the workshops.
Beginners are welcome, too, Teotia said.
“Definitely,” he said. “There is nothing wrong with trying. Come with an open heart and an open mind and everybody will get something out of that. This is the new year, a time to try something new. Completely brand new is completely fine.”
