I attended the first Mhaha Sadhana at the new location on the West side. The soft voice and shiny eyes immediately captured my heart. There was something in this teacher that made me come back.

The Asana practice was always, and still is, challenging and powerful to all levels, but the purpose of Yoga, and the idea of  Dharma Yoga practice – self realization – was constantly offered compassionately as an encore and foundation to the practice. Looking back I see the beautiful journey of a strong teacher, teaching the same concept of self realization. Experiencing body sensations in deep Asana poses that develop a subtler realization of self knowledge through hard physical work into an  energetic concept,  and with time, the energetic work teaches us to go deeper into a physical pose.

I started to practice Yoga instead of going to the gym. I felt there was something else in this practice that made my body stronger after  giving birth to my 3 children, and made me feel better and happier. The more I practice, the better I became in all aspects of my life. After couple of years with different teachers and different styles, I arrived to Dharma Yoga center and took  a class with  Sri Dharma  Mittra… that was it!!! Finally I’ve found a real teacher that teaches constantly how to practice on and off the Yoga mat. As more time passes, I feel like its a rebirth of myself. I discover myself and the more I clean myself inside out, I can discover a whole new world around me. It’s like living the same life, in a whole  different dimension.

Sri Dharma Mittra is actually the only teacher that makes students understand why they are practicing Yoga. Some students enjoy the physical practice and not more than that. But what about the meaning and purpose of life through the Asana practice? How can we enjoy a physically challenging practice as a tool for a better life experience?Yoga means in Sanskrit to “bring together” and “oneness.” Dharma Yoga is the practice which develops students physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.  It makes students better human beings. The physical practice is just a starting point to those who are looking to challenge themselves.

In the end, it is all about being compassionate, an wake up call for life’s obstacles, and knowledge of Karma is a lovely tool. I’ve learned to love myself, which means a constant awareness of how I nourish my body with food, what words I choose to think, how I choose my friends,  and how I let people treat  me.  As I practice a compassionate way of being toward myself, I extend it outward and learn to see myself in others. Practicing compassion makes me a better of “being”  to the world around me – I act in a loving and compassionate way; same as I wish to be treated  by others. Being compassionate sharpens the idea of  “all is one”, and that is Yoga.

My life changed completely since the first day Ive met my teacher, Sri Dharma Yoga. My heart gets bigger and opens more every time I practice with Sri Dharma Mitra, and that is not just by attending physically to any program or  a class, but it is also about thinking and connecting to my teacher, who reminds me always to be a better version of myself in different occasions of life.

Forever I am grateful. Om Shanti 🙏🏻❤️🕉

This post was written by Hana Hershko 
Dharma Yoga LOAY 500, 700, 800 hrs certified