When Bengaluru-based Neha Goyal gave up her well-paying job at a bank and took to yoga, little did she know that it held something great for her in the future.
This MBA graduate has been selected by the Ministry of Ayush to be deployed as the Yoga Ambassador for South Korea. She is among the first few to be selected from across the country to promote yoga in other countries across the world.
Neha started practising yoga five years ago as a form of exercise, to keep herself physically fit. However, seeing the results that it yielded, soon she turned it into her passion.
“I realised that not only was I getting stronger physically, yoga was also making me mentally stable,” she says. Soon, she began practicing yoga fulltime at Art of Living.
In 2015, Neha completed her teachers training course and began teaching yoga for a living.
“I was employed with Kotak Mahindra. I was being paid well. When I took to teaching yoga, I found I could make enough to meet my expenses,” she adds.
Neha then completed an MSc from Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Santhana (S-Vyasa) and is now pursuing her PhD in yoga.
This yoga enthusiast was among the thousands who applied for the post of an ambassador.
“We have to clear the Quality Council examinations. Besides that, eminent people in the field conduct interviews that we need to clear. This is done to ensure that anyone going outside to promote yoga is thorough with concepts and has clarity,” she explains.
With her new post, she shoulders a number of responsibilities, from teaching yoga to promotion of yogic style of living in the country that she is sent to.
As an ambassador, Neha will be responsible for establishing an Indian Common Yoga Protocol, and spreading awareness in universities, colleges and other communities to help people find harmony and peace through yoga.
Neha will also be inspiring deeper study into ancient texts like Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads and understanding of the ancient language of Sanskrit which has its origin in India.
“I will have to promote yoga in foreign universities. This will also mean checking the possibility of introducing fulltime courses there,” she says.