The founder of Anahata Yoga on his mission to make yoga accessible to all
In the What Matters To Me series, a Generation T honouree describes what they do, why they do it, and why it matters.
Ever since he began learning yoga at age two, Yogananth Andiappan has dedicated his life to the practice, following the teachings of his yoga guru father, Asana Andiappan. Yogananth’s non-profit organisation Andiappan Yoga Community offers classes to people who can’t afford yoga or who have special needs—challenging the idea that yoga is a pursuit only for the healthy and wealthy. Here, Yogananth discusses his work in his own words.
See also: What Matters To Me: Henry Motte-Muñoz
When you don’t belong, you have to prove yourself. In India, unless you belong to a certain caste, you are often not accepted as a yoga teacher. I wouldn’t be accepted at a traditional yoga school in India as a yoga teacher because I am not Brahmin. It was the same for my father, but he found a teacher and later began to reach out to people who didn’t have access to yoga, knowing the health benefits it can offer. As a result, my father’s interest in yoga became purely therapeutic. He was teaching from a health point of view, starting from body, mind and breath, so all people, regardless of religion and caste, could practice yoga. Yoga for health was very new at the time. His approach was to practise for health and wellbeing. I came to Hong Kong to bring this approach to people.
To me, yoga means connecting with society and people
