My Story
Unusual Beginnings
I do feel that I have been really truly blessed somehow, to have met the right people at the right time and to change the perceived trajectory of my life if based on my early years.
I was born in Gloucester and grew up in a very small English seaside town. My parents were devout Sufis, following a teacher called Ian Dallas, a charismatic leader of a Sufi order. My name was growing up as Habiba (Biba). What having this hippy Sufi alternative upbringing did do is set me up to be different. As much as that led to xenophobic bullying as a child, it helped me to notice that I was different than the other kids. I escaped through dance from the age of 5. I was luckily mentored by an incredible woman June Ranger who knew the bigger world out there. She would tell me daily “work your socks off girl and you’ll be anything you want, and then I want you to get out of here.” Reflecting, she was the catalyst for the incredible opportunities, those socks definitely were pulled up and I flew out of there as soon as I was 16.
A Creative Life in Dance & Movement
By 22, I was a professional choreographer in London and the USA, and founded a leading Women-Only modern dance company that toured extensively. I choreographed over 40+ music videos as well as choreographing regularly for Top of the Pops and for film, working with Garth Jennings (SING) on films and various commercials.
This work took me to New York to be mentored and work with a choreographer named Doug Elkins, who was creating incredible work fusing modern dance and old school b-boy style dance. This was a golden age of exploration of movement in New York. One day, I walked past a place called Jivamukti Yoga, a little colourful space down on the Lower East Side, and walked in. I have practiced Yog every day since that day.
Yoga, Creativity & the Evolution of Teaching
I founded a Yoga TT School in 2009 in London. It was the first certified RYS in the UK specifically training teachers in the Vinyasa Yoga method, as part of the Krishnamacharya lineage. Since then many established and talented teachers have been through this programme and I have focused hard to make these trainings detailed, rigorous and philosophically deep at the same time building lifelong friendships.
A highlight of that time in the 2000’s was working extensively with Yoga Journal. I taught at the conferences in the US, created sequences and shot many photoshoots for YJ, a seminal yoga magazine at the time. In 2007, with an amazing team, I creative directed an award-winning yoga DVD on the original vinyasa method that was also inspired by my training in Kundalini Yoga.
For me, creative expression overrides normalcy, led by a curiosity in everything the physical and esoteric body is capable of. Creating movement(s) through collaboration with incredible people has always been the driving force, as is music. Music, for me, is the stem that blossoms every waking thought and feeling. I cannot separate movement and music from ‘me’. Music is my medicine in every conceivable way.
I trust in the creative process and that it will bring me steadiness and support in all forms. I continue to be as curious about the embodiment of esoteric anatomy as I am on the potential of the physical somatic layers. Movement in all forms, as internal and somatic enquiry, embody an external connection to nature and human potential.
Teaching, Sadhana & Continuing the Path
I am a teacher, always have been and always will be, I believe teaching is gift that should be treasured. My experience as a teacher shows me the human ability to heal, grow in intellectual capacity and physical stability, and watching beautiful humans in movement practices that move their soul is what keeps me dedicated to passing on and holding a place for learning.
I continue to be a student and have a daily Sadhana where my life is laid bare before me, in the presence of a sacred thread to my teachers. My Sadhana is the time to heal, understand my personal and collective history, get back into my body. Yoga gives me a dedication to connection through teaching in all forms. I’m just doing that, passing on what I know at the moment, with more to come…
In a now saturated yoga world, I aim for a clarity of teaching and inspirational from traditional Sashtras, hoping that my love of Sanskrit, of mantras and the ability to explain the nuances of esoteric subtle anatomy and yoga with excellence, humour and honesty.
“I am simply sharing the ideas, thoughts & wisdom of yoga philosophy and a sacred life.”
Radiantly Alive
Having been diagnosed with auto-immune disease Coeliac and Lupus, I began to extensively research nutrition, anti inflammatory lifestyle and how to heal from auto-immune issues. I love to share this knowledge and passion for adaptogens, herbs and nutrition as a path to health and vitality.
I was lucky enough to meet my Guruji in 2016 in a Kali Mandir, and took Guru Diksha in 2023, receiving the name Jahnavi. I now divide my time between Rishikesh and London so I can be close to Ganga Maa Ji (Sacred Ganges River) and regularly run SUTRA JOURNEYS to the most sacred (and many secret) temples and sites in Beloved Bharat.
My wish for the future of SUTRA is to share knowledge through the Sastras, offer beautiful retreats in places of pilgrimage, and share beautiful pieces I find on the way through SUTRA STORE.
Om Namo Narayan
Jahnavi x
