International Yoga Instructor Course (IYIC) is very practical and has made me more aware of many aspects of my mind and body. We were encouraged to practice cleansing, asanas and breathing and now it has become part of my daily routine with amazing results. I am gravitating naturally to healthier lifestyle options and am motivated to impart and share the knowledge gained with others.

Yoga is very popular and common in Australia with many different teaching styles in the market. It is very encouraging that after attending a class, many students have asked me about my teaching style and where I received my training. They are pleasantly surprised to find out that I was trained in Malaysia and not in India.

Australia is also very stringent about having local qualifications and certifications. I have taught at 6 different community centres, a physiotherapy clinic, a secondary school, the Taekwando squad for Victoria, private classes at Isika Spa at Crown Metropole Hotel, Lululemon Stores and workplace yoga at various corporations including the Institute of Neuroscience at Melbourne University as well as my own private and group classes. I have never encountered any issue with my IYIC qualification. I have now been happily teaching and practising yoga in Melbourne for the past 4 years.

I am eternally grounded with gratitude for all the training I have received from Master Mani and the trainers of IYIC. Every time I return to Malaysia, I look forward to attending as many classes as I can with Master Mani- for inspiration, guidance and to evolve my teaching skills.

I started to learn yoga when I was 13 and it was my mom who encouraged me to join the Super Yoga Kids program. Initially, I joined because of my mother but as the months went by, I began to enjoy seeing my own progress with the asanas (yoga postures). Besides having a better knowledge of my strength and flexibility, I have also become calmer through yoga.

After graduating from Super Yoga Kids, I continued my yoga training with Master Mani and learned Kriya Yoga, which to me are mental practices that highly benefit disciplined individuals. I have also since completed the IYIC Level 1. The good news is I’ll be teaching yoga next semester. Our yoga style is so much different than the Health Center Coordinator wants me to teach the yoga classes. Those in the camps are more like fitness classes. Thank you, mom, for sending me to yoga classes. This job can really beef up my resume and help me make some friends as well.

The IYIC has taught me that yoga is a mind-body science. It has helped me manage my emotions, deepen my self-understanding, enhance my leadership skills and guided me to a more disciplined lifestyle. It has also given me a skin that is glowing and radiant! Teaching full time and running a yoga centre is a very meaningful experience for me.

Acquiring ancient wisdom through a master yoga teacher is the best investment in one’s life. It’s important for us to be prepared by understanding the true benefits of yoga as we do not know when we will need it. I have been teaching yoga classes for 2 years and it speaks volume When you are certified! And the learning doesn’t end here… I have now also completed my Yoga Therapist Certification at Yoga franchise.

What I really liked about IYIC is that we were taught how to penetrate asana deeper,understanding how to go beyond our ” body memory” limitations and even touched on own personality development of sort. We learned to be non-judgmental and compassionate when teaching. At the completion of the course, we took home priceless knowledge and some wonderful friendship.

After joining the weekly yoga foundation classes, I decided to go further with IYIC. I realise now how IYIC is much more than physical exercise. It is a deep and rich science that requires knowledge and patience.

First met Master Mani when I invited him to conduct a charity event in SJKT Pulau Carey, back in April 2011. It was early in the morning and together with his group of volunteers, they braced it through with us to travel deep inside the estates to teach the kids yoga.

That was the first time I’ve ever met a yoga Master personally, and through yoga has never attracted me; I was awestruck looking at how Master managed to calm the kids for the first minute, cheer the kids in the second minute and ‘bend’ them in the third minute.

I didn’t meet him again until exactly a year later. I personally wanted to learn yoga, after struggling for a couple of months at home without a ‘guru’. I contacted the ever graceful Saandhi and showed interest to enroll in International Yoga Instructor Course. I could not afford the full fees because I was saving up money to go on a volunteering mission, but instead of waving me away, they embraced me with open arms.

I learned the way to integrate asanas with breathing, Pranayama, cleansing techniques, meditation, mudras, and most importantly, I discovered myself. When I came in I just wanted to learn asanas the right way, now I’ve naturally changed my characteristics and have developed deep affection towards Master and the way he teaches. It also helped me look at yoga, not as a physical exercise, but much deeper than that.

I’m a fun loving guy and grew up in a crime infested notorious area, where we do unwanted things to get the attention of the masses. Master knew perfectly how to handle people like me in a class and taught me the value of life, which for me was above the asanas we learned. It puzzles me though how could someone like him that people give so much attention to remain rooted to the ground with so much humility and humbleness.

In short, IYIC taught me the perfect techniques to teach, learn and embrace Yoga. This invaluable lessons and experience can never be explained through words, and I thank my destiny that it has allowed me to meet the people in MAYI Yoga Academy and Master Mani.

Learning the proper way of yoga practice in IYIC helped the healing of my knee, which was injured during gymnastics. My muscles have also been strengthened by the right techniques. I have started teaching children’s yoga classes after graduating from Super Yoga Kids Instructors Course.

It’s very different from teaching gymnastics as it has elements of fun while I help the children to concentrate while learning. Teaching them to understand how the yoga postures work and self-awareness makes it really interesting.

Signing up for IYIC was like a “retirement plan” for me and I didn’t plan on starting to teach even after I graduated as I was quite comfortable with my full-time job. But with encouragement from Master Mani and positive support from my classmates, I plucked up the courage to start teaching part-time, and have never looked back. Teaching a yoga class after a long hectic day at work brings personal balance. I consider it my overall self-development as there is continued learning for me as well, while I share with my yoga class students.

Before joining IYIC, I had been attending yoga classes at a renowned fitness center for several years. I realise now that what we were taught was purely physical.

Completing the foundation level of IYIC has given me a totally new perspective of what yoga really is. It’s the first time I have experienced breath awareness and am becoming more sensitive to my own internal circulation and energy flow. It feels great!

I attended the 5 days intensive IYIC under the guidance of Master Manisekaran and discovered a whole new meaning to the word YOGA. On the 5th day, when we were evaluated on our abilities to convey the yoga teachings, I noted a new me emerging from within. A voice that reminded me of the importance of conveying the yogic teachings correctly and congruently, was so prominent in my head.

Many lives can be transformed and lived in the most natural and positive way if done correctly. Master Manisekaran has exhibited the compassion that seems to come from the depth of understanding that one should be allowed to celebrate one’s own unique ability, while subtly guiding to harness their positive energies towards their higher evolution and transmutation. I see MAYI Yoga Academy as an organization rising from the same depth that Master Manisekaran’s evolution has come about. Today, I have completed Self Mastery (Kriya Yoga) and Super Yoga Kids Instructors Course and have been conducting regular yoga sessions in schools (as a karma yoga project), sharing the holistic science of yoga with my corporate clients, friends, and family, amounting to more joy and satisfaction!

The comprehensive teaching of IYIC has not only expanded my knowledge in yoga but also equipped me with the necessary technical and interpersonal skills in teaching it as well. I feel stronger physically, and more centered. The unique hands-on approach of IYIC has certainly boosted my self-confidence and my speaking skills. I feel so happy that now I can earn extra income by conducting yoga classes on a part-time basis, which is as good as the income in my full-time job!