“Not a dancer, an acrobat, a ballerina, or even a sportsperson. Not a young, bendy lady. It was a sedentary, shy person with a weak back and a fearful mind who walked into the first yoga class in 2000. Till then (and even thereafter), I had not been interested in any organized physical activity. I did abysmally at all the compulsory games in school, and still cannot appreciate the much touted virtues of ‘competitiveness’. It was curious, therefore, that since that first class, the physicality of this subject exhilarated me. The body is, indeed, a precious tool. I had seen pictures of Mr. B.K.S. Iyengar in incredible poses, but when I blundered into that first class at the Iyengar Institute of New York city , I did not know much about how it was different from any other yoga class. Eventually, the New York centre came to occupy an important place in our lives in the city. The kindness, friendship, honesty and chutzpah of the teachers, and of the several friends we made there, was only to be expected of citizens of the greatest city of them all.
in 2005, we returned to India, settling first in our own maximum city, Mumbai.
Like all classical subjects, the study of yoga works best when learnt consistently with one teacher. Soon after returning to India, I started studying with Zubin Zarthoshtimanesh, and later teaching at his centre in Mumbai. (more about my teacher here). Zubin continues to be my primary teacher. I also continue to study at the fountainhead of this tradition – the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute in Pune.
Apart from yoga, I have studied science at the undergraduate level, spent two wonderful years at the Institute of Rural Management in Anand (IRMA), and two more at the New York University studying biology and environmental sciences. I have spent a few joy-less years working in the corporate sector, and some joyous ones working as part of a construction crew, teaching cooking, and working with rural artisans around India.”
Jaya, and the practice room, are mentioned in the list of recognised teachers in Bangalore: