K: You normally come up with some very thought-provoking and inspiring topics for your workshops. However, I remember five or six years ago, your workshops used to be called, simply, "Aadil Palkhivala Workshop"  -- what's shifted?

A: It's true. I used to never have a topic. For the last 15 years it was just, "Aadil is coming to teach a workshop." Nobody came for a topic, they came for themselves. But more specifically, in the last 3 years it has changes a lot, because there are so many yoga teachers, and so many new students that people don't know the difference between a good yoga teacher and a bad yoga teacher, so they come for the topic not the teacher.

K: You have an amazing ability to read bodies. How do you know what to teach?

A: I was listening to Kevin Trudeau yesterday and he shared that when a person presents him with a problem, he can immediately come up with a solution that the person themselves cannot even come up with, because he is so open to seeing the bigger picture. That is how I feel when I teach.  Having been in the field for so long, being completely receptive to what's going on in the room with objectivity - this allows me to see what most teachers cannot see.

A: Beyond what you can see in the physical bodies (which can tell you a LOT), there are many other channels to which you can attune yourself to learn what a student needs. Really good, experienced teachers can tap into all of them!  Even when I teach with a topic, I am doing this all the time, drawing on the information the students are sending me through these channels to create a class that is just for them. Learn more >

Videos for Upcoming Workshops

May 22-27 & 27-30: Kripalu, Stockbridge, MA www.kripalu.com/aadil

May 13-16: New York Yoga Journal Conference www.yjevents.com/ny

April 11:  Interview with Joel Salatin of Polyface Farms, the joyful organic rancher featured in the movie Food, Inc. talks with Aadil and Savitri about the sustainability of meat, GMOs, and the experience of someone who is truly "in the trenches" in support of organic foods. Go to archives to listen > 

• How to Keep Your Skin Young (audio)   
• Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue (audio) 
• Home Health Remedies with Jehangir(audio)   
• Cure Disease by Removing Toxins (audio) 

I used to be a trip leader for a whitewater rafting company.  My job was to keep the group together, off the rocks, enjoying the journey down the river. For me, owning a Purna Yoga studio may be quite similar. It has afforded me the opportunity to deepen my truest sense of responsibility and it continues to challenge me to be consistent in clarifying my dharmas. 

My husband and I were led to our home on Waconda Bay almost 14 years ago.  While we chose it to be our healing place, complete with a yoga studio, deep down we yearned to share it with family. We just didn't understand at the time which family. I had been teaching yoga for 5 years when I started the College of Purna Yoga 500 hour Teacher Training. When I completed that course, a new business plan was born, something I could really grow: private and small group yoga classes by appointment in a space dedicated strictly to Purna Yoga. "Joyful Yoga at Sunny Shore," was created as a natural extension of our home yoga studio.

I've always enjoyed a good party and JYSS is a place where we explore the restorative qualities of Purna Yoga, "seriously but not too seriously," as Aadil says! We are looking forward to playing with asana this summer on standup paddleboards ("SUP" Yoga). I am trying to learn from the past, live in the moment and move forward to create a place, similar to Purna Yoga Centers, where joy and effort invite Spirit into our lives; a place that keeps the group together, off the rocks and enjoying the journey. www.joyfulyogaatsunnyshore.com