Yoga, Meditation, and Artistic Practice

For many years, Iyengar Yoga has been an essential part of my daily life and artistic practice. As a full-time practitioner, I approach yoga not simply as a physical discipline, but as a way of cultivating attention, awareness, and a deeper relationship with the world around me.

The precision and mindfulness that characterize the Iyengar method have profoundly influenced the way I observe, think, and create. Through sustained practice, yoga becomes a form of embodied research—a process of listening, alignment, and inquiry that extends beyond the mat and into every aspect of life. The body becomes a site of knowledge, revealing connections between movement, perception, memory, and environment.

Alongside my yoga practice, I maintain a daily Transcendental Meditation (TM) practice. Meditation provides a space of stillness that complements the active investigation of yoga. Together, these practices support clarity, presence, and an expanded sense of awareness, creating conditions that allow creative work to emerge with greater depth and intention.

A profound turning point in my practice occurred shortly after the passing of my mother. During that difficult period, I hoped to attend the Philadelphia Iyengar Yoga Convention with Abhijata Iyengar, granddaughter of B.K.S. Iyengar. I had missed the deadline for a scholarship application while caring for my mother and managing the circumstances surrounding her death. Attending seemed impossible.

Then something unexpected happened. A person I barely knew offered to pay for my participation in the convention. She could not explain why she felt compelled to do so. At first, I declined. Eventually, I realized that perhaps what I needed to learn in that moment was how to receive. Accepting her generosity became an important lesson in itself.

Attending the convention proved transformative. The teachings of Abhijata Iyengar had a profound impact on my daily practice, opening new paths of inquiry and understanding. I also had the opportunity to speak with her personally, an encounter that continues to resonate deeply. Even now, I feel that I am still absorbing and unfolding the lessons from that experience.

My artistic research is rooted in relationships—between human and non-human participants, between memory and experience, between the visible and invisible forces that shape our lives. Yoga and meditation nurture these same concerns. They encourage an understanding of interdependence and cultivate sensitivity to the subtle networks that connect us to our surroundings.

The discipline of daily practice strengthens my ability to remain attentive, receptive, and engaged. It helps me develop a more conscious relationship with time, space, and the environment, while fostering the openness necessary for experimentation and discovery. In this way, yoga and meditation are not separate from my artistic work; they are integral components of the research process itself.

Both practices continue to inform my exploration of perception, embodiment, care, and connection, supporting an artistic approach that values presence and an ongoing dialogue with the world.