Ritu Nanda is a professional Yoga Teacher and a Therapist based in Singapore. She is certified by the prestigious Yoga Alliance and also holds Diplomas in Traditional Pranayama, Yoga Therapy, Pre-Natal / Post-Natal Yoga.
Guided by the desire to create awareness towards a healthy lifestyle, Ritu decided to help people overcome their physical ailments, mental and emotional challenges by embracing Yoga religiously. She aims to start a Yoga School where people can learn yoga in a traditional and correct way, the way it should be learnt.
Looking back, Ritu’s journey to self-transformation, healing and discovery of yoga began several years ago after her health started deteriorating due to severe food allergies. Despite trying different treatments, she still could not find a cure. She had very few food options and that caused severe physiological and physical imbalances within her body. Adding to that she didn’t have a healthy lifestyle as that included alcohol, late nights and stress due to business. In 2014, after the birth of her daughter, her condition worsened and she felt rigid and always tried. She joined a well established gym and even got a personal trainer to assist her but nothing helped. Though she was an active and health-conscious she now struggled with a weak body and soon realised that she had to do something immediately or face its consequences.
“Despite attending numerous yoga, Pilates and other fitness classes for over a year, I saw no changes in my body, mind or soul. Since thirty to forty people attended the classes together, teachers could not give individualised attention to anyone. Also, beginners and advanced learners were in the same class, and that disturbed the learning curve. New students like me didn’t know why or how to perform the postures correctly,” recalls Ritu.
Disillusioned by the whole experience, she decided to learn and practice real yoga. So she read books by famous yogis, watched yoga videos and performed asanas by following instructions in yoga books but soon realised that this approach was incorrect too. “Watching yoga videos on YouTube neither makes us aware of our body nor its specific needs. Then one day, a friend introduced me to the real concept of yoga. And at that moment, I knew this is going to be the life-changer I had been seeking. So I decided to visit India (the country where yoga originated thousands of years ago) and acquire the best teacher training for yoga,” said Ritu.
For the next couple of months, Ritu stayed at a yoga ashram in India. There she lived a very disciplined life observing strict vegetarian diet and abstaining from alcohol. Though difficult, she accepted the challenge head-on and this paved the path towards a healthy balanced life.
“As I started to practice yoga every day, a shift happened and I felt like I was reborn. I noticed that my condition was improving and my allergies were almost gone. This empowered me to go deeper into the teachings of Yoga and Ayurveda.
In 2019, Ritu completed her first level of teachers training, followed by the second level in 2020. Further to that she attended many specialised programs such as the Women’s Yoga for Wellness and completed 500 hours of Yoga Teachers Training and 100 hours of pre and post-natal training.
Today, she continues to be an enthusiastic learner and seeker of yoga.
“My enthusiasm for yoga does not allow me to take a break from attending new programs and expanding my knowledge. I believe that yoga is a journey. We know where and how to begin, but there is no end to the learning.”
As a yoga teacher, Ritu Nanda is committed to spreading her knowledge to more and more people as this has created a very positive impact in her health and overall being.
“I have seen and experienced the power of the breath. And when combined with the correct posture, it can heal everything in this world, paving the path to human wellbeing.” The journey continues…..