My name is Sacci – Sachendra Singh Chauhan. I am a yogi with nearly thirty years of training, and have been practicing since I was five years old. I come from a long line of dedicated yoga practitioners dating back at least a thousand years, to whom yoga was not merely a form of fitness, but a philosophy and a way of life applicable to all aspects of everyday living. Passionate about Yoga, I have been sharing its wisdom through teaching for over 15 years in Asia and Europe. As every journey begins in a different place and takes its own path, I would like to share something of my own journey with you.
I was born in Northern India in a small country village called Saray Maresh.
I had an adventurous childhood, a mixture of free-spirited play with my friends, yoga practice with my uncle Kamal Singh Chauhan, and some military style discipline from my youngest uncle (which I quite resented!). During my childhood days, life in my village was very simple but very rich. We lived without electricity, and made or grew everything ourselves. Generally my day would start around 4 to 5 a.m., hearing the sound of Ramayana recitation by my Grandpa. Often he would invite me to sit down with him, or tell me to bring flowers and other things for his pooja (Vedic ritual). He was an early riser, waking at around 3am, 365 days a year, in all weather. I still have clear memories of our old house. It was made with stones, logs and clay by our grandparents. The main doors were gigantic & studded with brass clamps. In the main hall there was a huge beam holding up the roof, I still wonder how they managed it to put it up there.
We had our own goshala (cow shelter) and we would make our own ghee from yoghurt.
Everything was organic those days, so much so that there was no concept of the word “organic”. Foods, fuel, eating utensils all were biodegradable. Cows were fed natural kusa grass and were raised with much love. Bulls were very helpful on the farms. Cow dung was used as natural fertilizer in the farms. Soil had its unique and lovely earthly smell, which would just energize you by being close to it. Clay cups were the ‘use and throw’ type which would recycle naturally in the soil. In summer time we use to simply feast on mangoes. Tomatoes were so full of nectar and so delicious that they would melt by simply putting them in the mouth. Food, surroundings and life were just divine.
During Diwali time we would make ghee lamps and decorate the borders of our entire house with it. Because I was especially fond of mangos, my cousins and I would often go out to find them in the early morning in the backyard mango grove behind my Grandfather’s bhajan kutir. Mangos were so delicious in those days. It was like finding treasure in the kusa grass. We had fun climbing mango trees, bringing the cows out to graze, and playing in the garden. When I was three years old my family took a trip to visit my uncle in Rishikesh. It was the first time I swam in the Ganges River.
At age 4, I started going to school and began to learn Sanskrit from a Brahmin tutor who would visit our house every morning at 7am. School was in a town 3 kilometres away. Riding to school in a ‘bhagi’ (pony & cart) was so awesome, hearing the tapping sound of the horse’s hooves, being amongst the lush green ‘sundari’ trees. It was especially pleasant during autumn and spring, truly another world. I was quite competitive during my school days, in both my studies and at sports. I was probably the naughtiest kid in the whole school, but I would be forgiven very often for all of my mischievous activities as I usually came first in the entire school. Despite all of this, other people remember me as a naive child.
At age 5 I started practicing yoga seriously under the tutelage of my uncle. He would teach me for 1 to 2 hours in the morning. Most of the time I would simply imitate him practicing yoga and often ask him questions as they arose in my mind. Around the age of 7 a very special person came into my life. He was a science teacher at my primary school, as well as being an amazing yogi. There was a very unique connection between this teacher and myself from the start - he knew just which buttons to push in order to bring out the best in me both in terms of yoga practice and academic studies. This teacher came from a holly city of Varanasi - a very special place in India with great spiritual and cultural significance. Feeling constantly inspired by his belief in my talent, I kept on pushing the limits of my physical endurance and loved showing off my physical prowess and the progress we made together by doing headstands for hours at a time.
During this period of my life I would go to Rishikesh during my summer holidays and learn from other teachers there. The years from 5 to 12 were one of the most active periods of my yoga practice as I would practice in the early morning, then go to school and demonstrate yoga postures during school’s yoga session. I participated in various yogic inter-school demos and competitions. I was also very much into helping my classmates learn yoga and I would happily teach them. Eventually I discovered that teaching is my nature and dharma for this life which I simply love doing although it was more spontaneous back then in school days.
At around age 13 we moved to Mumbai and my yoga practice continued as I found another teacher who was a staff member in my school. Yoga practice and participating in inter-school competitions continued, although during secondary school I became more studious, majoring in science. It was also the time when I became very introverted, a situation which continued through high school kept in touch with my roots during those years in Mumbai and I would travel back to my village and to Rishikesh during the summer holidays, which were 3 months long. Often we would visit holy places in Northern India. So my childhood is full of great memories of satsang, yoga, bhajans, Diwali, farm-festivals, Holi with bhanga shake…….
It was during my teen years that I first experienced the vibrating flow of energy through my entire body. This led me to realize that there was a lot more to ‘being’ than the naked eye could see. Thirsty to discover the wisdom of life through Yoga, I kept pushing myself towards new heights and dedicated many hours to daily practice with passion and never-ending curiosity. I was 18 when an unfortunate car accident took my yoga teacher away from me, creating a great sense of loss in my life. No one knew or understood me as well as he did. I decided to take time off from my academic studies and dedicate myself completely to the practice of Yoga and inner self-exploration. During this year I travelled a great deal around India soaking in the wisdom of different spiritual teachers, yogis and ascetics who lived in the mountains and in ashrams, uncorrupted by the materialism of civilization. Receiving personal training, I saw for myself that the far shores of knowledge are never reached, but this inspired me to keep seeking. Already I had few students of my own who would learn yoga from me for free or “pay as you wish” as was the system in those days.
When I was16 years old our family business collapsed, and for several years I supported myself by selling children’s book and gifts door-to-door. In fact I ‘dropped out’ of university a couple of times due to having to focus on financial endeavors. It was a very uncertain time; however it had its own flavor.
Around age 20, I became deeply interested in the possibility of experiencing the “yogic light” which exists in the absolute dimension. I had heard that many yogis had experienced it, so I began to enquire and learn from yogis whom I came across during my travels to holy places and yoga ashrams in North Indian. During this time I also travelled to the Himalayas and to Bodh Gaya (the birthplace of Lord Buddha) Gorakhpura.
Satisfied with some answers that I had received I returned to Mumbai and in my practice would sit and meditate in my own room for up to 17 to 18 hours effortlessly. It wasn’t really an experience but rather a realm, an absolute dimension which I became part of. I experienced a realm where the ether was filled with orgasmic love and light, where an absolute peace existed. I had many such mystical experiences. A much deeper understanding of Yoga came to me during this time. It was a transformational time. All would happen simply by intent. This practice lasted for many months, and when I emerged I continued to teach yoga.
Teaching was mostly done without charge, the only remuneration was the voluntary donations given by my students, so eventually I thought of learning something more practical for my financial welfare. I decided to look at the world from a material point of view. I returned to university and did my postgraduate studies in Software technology. Instead of doing 17 hours meditation at a time I was now in computer labs for 17 continuous hours. My efforts got me a programmer’s job in Mumbai, and after few months I was in Hong Kong working for an IT company. We worked long hours and often ended well after midnight.
In the year 2001, I came across a teacher who asked me to cover her yoga class in Hong Kong in her absence. Teaching yoga in Hong Kong was a whole new experience for me, and I found it very interesting. So I soon had a full time job in IT and part-time Yoga classes in the mornings and evenings. I was teaching at various yoga centers and clubs. Eventually I regained my lost passion and began teaching yoga full time in Hong Kong. In 2003 I rented an old apartment in the busy Causeway Bay area of Hong Kong as a yoga centre. My practice expanded simply by word of and several sincere and dedicated students started coming every day. I was very happy to teach them. Shortly after this I started to be regularly offered classes and courses in different parts of Asia, and my travel schedule became so demanding that , Eventually my travels related to yoga began to demand so much of my time, that I was compelled to close the centre and teach on a freelance basis. In the past few years I have experienced different methods of asana and pranayama of Yoga directly or indirectly through Ramdev, Bikram Chaudhary, Dhrama Mittra, BNS Iyengar, BKS Iyengar, and Pattabhi Jois. Amongst modern yogis, I especially admire David Life, Sharon Gannon, Doug Swenson, David Swenson, Krishna Das and many more.
For the past decade I have been developing and teaching yoga methodologies encompassing Hatha Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga, Raja Yoga, Mantra, Kundalini Meditation, Wellness and Holistic Yoga, Teacher Training Certification programs and yoga workshops for over a decade. I teach individuals, groups or organizations.
Every year I visit India and meet some of my old yogi friends and study with ascetic yogis. I am very grateful to them, for with their guidance I continue to learn and grow on the path of yoga.
The dynamic Spirit and energy of life compel me to always be on the lookout to take my yoga skills, techniques, passion and wisdom to higher levels. For the real yogi, who sees with eyes awake, everything is ever-fresh. The bliss of Yoga is multiplied many fold by sharing the bounty and joy of Yoga with students. Reflective of my personality, my teaching style brings warmth and humor as well as progressive instruction to students with an emphasis on the positive force of Life. Being only human, with my own karmic challenges, I am no perfected master but have experienced ups and downs in my personal life and in relationships, and yoga has been of enormous benefit to me in facing and moving through all difficulties. Having discovered my inner healing powers which helped to regenerate me during my own difficult times, I encourage students to unleash their own inner potential and heal themselves from within.
Currently I am working on creating an online yoga practice & resource plateform.
For me, it is another step in the path towards universal harmony and healing that is at the heart of yoga, and of other sincere and positive disciplines. As the site grows, expands and deepens, we hope to become a true vehicle to facilitate well-being in us all.
We look forward to sharing the journey with you.
Namasté
Sacci
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