Today we’d like to introduce you to Harpinder Mann.
Hi Harpinder, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I grew up in Panjabi Sikh family and was raised going to both Sikh Gurdwaras and Hindu Temples my whole life, taught to be in sangha (spiritual community), pray to God, read scripture, do seva and donate. We would go on spiritual pilgrimages to India as a way to honor our devotion to the Sikh gurus and Hindu deities. These seeds of spirituality and devotion have been sown into my family, ancestors, and culture for as far back as I can look.
But it wasn’t until I went to India on my own in 2015 as the Director of Marketing for an education startup and started going to the Ananda Sanga in Delhi to learn yoga that I truly felt that spiritual connection for myself, something I had been seeking my whole life without even realizing it.
I had tried yoga previously in 2013 and 2014 at studios in Los Angeles while I was attending UCLA but it never sat right with me. It always felt more like a choreographed dance routine that the white yoga instructor had no interest in sharing with me. I was consistently the only person of color in the classes and eventually, I stopped going.
The Ananda Sangha community in India and the teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda forever changed the course of my life. The teachers taught with such care and devotion and with a profound connection to Spirit that I sobbed on the taxi ride back to my hotel every single time. There I experienced kirtan, Kriya Yoga, meditation, and satsangs. The asana practice was gentle with a focus on healing affirmations and the celebration of life itself.
To this day, yoga is a way for me to experientially connect to spirit and to my self. My profound awakening and transformation only happened because I gave in to my loneliness, anxiety, and imposter syndrome. I had to first acknowledge the reality that I was living in was not fulfilling me. Then began the journey and I am still on it.
These practices are my refuge and my guiding path. I go back to India every year now to study and practice with my teachers, I take part in 10-day silent meditation (Vipassana) retreats, and I have over 800 hours of yogic and mindfulness training.
I carry the wisdom of my ancestors and honor the depth of spiritual teachings that have been passed down to me in my personal sadhana and now in the work I do with my students and clients.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
There are a few things we can count on in life: 1. That change is inevitable and 2. Everything is impermanent.
Over the last four years of teaching yoga and mindfulness full-time and two years of running the Womxn of Color Summit (during a global pandemic!), I’ve had my fair share of challenges and unexpected obstacles.
I did not feel safe teaching in most studios and in my four-year teaching career, I spent only the first 6 months teaching in studios. There was a certain expectation of teaching that yoga = asana (the physical movement) and that is not my own understanding, practice, or how I teach yoga. There was a whitewashing of the practice that did not sit right with me.
Now I teach mostly 1:1 with folks of color on reclaiming their power & intuition to be free through all 8 limbs of yoga: the yamas and niyamas, asana, tuning inwards, meditation, breathwork, and spiritual connection. This came through from my own experience of being taught yoga 1:1 by my teacher for a year – the transmission of teachings and relationship that was built forever changed my life.
The Womxn of Color Summit was even started from a problem we perceived: why were we still seeing white experts and white participants centered in the healing and wellness spaces? Why were we continuing to reward white colonizers taking from and profiting from technologies and wisdom traditions from Indigenous people around the world with our time and energy?
As a yoga and mindfulness teacher myself, I knew there was something wrong with this spiritual erasure when the names of inspiring Black, Indigenous, and Womxn of Color teachers, healers, guides, mediums, coaches, and leaders were not celebrated, amplified or even known at all.
With the Womxn of Color Summit, we have reached thousands of people through our virtual summits (The Art of Creative Living and The Art of Authentic Living), our two podcast seasons, our in-person retreats, monthly new moon gatherings, advocacy work, and create brave and inclusionary spaces for BI&WoC to share stories, wisdom, and make impactful change.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Harpinder Mann Yoga & Womxn of Color Summit?
Now as a full-time yoga teacher with Harpinder Mann Yoga, mindfulness educator, community builder, and the co-founder of the Womxn of Color Summit, I have the great joy and blessing to share my love and reverence for yoga. To work with folks of color to help them mindfully connect to their bodies with curious awareness, to bring a sense of healing peace, and stillness, and create more meaning in their lives.
I encourage myself and my students to show up in their fullness – to honor their humanness, to not need to pretend to be anything other than what they are in that moment. This is how we show compassion to ourselves and begin to transform.
I am actively working to decolonize wellness by creating community and providing accessibility to healing spaces for BI&POC (the global majority) through my 1:1 work and with the Womxn of Color Summit.
Yoga is a spiritual practice and holistic self-transformation process that goes on for a lifetime(s). It’s a path of liberation and reminds us of the true purpose of yoga – for us to remember the nature of who we are – Purusha, the eternal Self that is perfect, timeless, and complete. This is why we take care of our body and mind with so much discipline, care, and attention in yoga – they are the vehicles that take us through life and bring us closer to the ultimate goal of realization and liberation.
So we practice to still the mind so we can step into being the witness, the observer, and realize the nature of who we truly are – this is Self-realization. This self-discovery and awareness are key for spiritual growth.
I believe that when we take this time to learn about the true purpose yoga and practice experientially ourselves, we become more aware of all the beautiful things in our lives and better equipped for the challenges. This practice for me is about accepting the realities of life’s highs and lows and coming back home to a place of inner peace.
The more we heal ourselves and grow, the more yoga teaches us to help others, to be of service – seva. It is a path of both self-realization and selfless service. We practice to connect to our heart’s ability to care deeply for ourselves and for all beings around us – we all have the ability to make a deep positive impact and create social change.
And this is where my life and work sit – at the intersection between social justice and healing. This is what I teach and also the type of heart and service-centered folks that I get the deep honor of working with.
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
“Mindfulness is the energy of being aware and awake to the present moment. It is the continuous practice of touching life deeply in every moment of daily life. To be mindful is to be truly alive, present, and at one with those around you and with what you are doing.” – Thich Nhat Hahn.
The question I ask myself often is: how can I keep coming back to faith? What does it look like to trust in my life’s path? To create enough stillness and spaciousness in my body and mind so that I can hear more clearly the voice of my inner wisdom, of Self, and of God?
This is also how I work with my students – to get them to see there is another voice, that is loving, compassionate, and wise. However, we need to be listening deeply. And that’s why we practice. Mindful living in this way helps us attune to the present moment, to intuition, and to happiness.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.harpindermann.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/harpindermannyoga/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harpindermannyoga
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/harpindermann_
