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The heart behind Hridayam

Puneeta Singh

Founder Hridayam

Mentor, Faciltator, Sadhak

“For me, yoga is a living practice: it asks you to rise to your potential while teaching you to soften into yourself, to build strength without losing sensitivity, and to return again and again to the inner heart where calm and vitality co-exist.

About Puneeta:

  1. Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher, RIMYI, Pune
  2. Functional Training & Corrective Exercise Specialist ACE Certified – American Council on Exercise
  3. Certified Vedic Mantra Chant Teacher – KHYF
  4. Barefoot Training & Rehab Specialist – EBFA-Evidence Based Fitness Academy
  5. Certified Personal Trainer – ACE
  6. Certified Facilitator from Gnostic Centre (A research centre for Growth and Consciousness of Studies)
  7. TRX Certified

Puneeta’s Journey

Early Curiosity
First Steps into Yoga

My journey with yoga began as a little girl, with questions about the vastness of the sky, what lay beyond it, and the true purpose of this existence. At 19, I began practicing Hatha Yoga under the guidance of a kind, compassionate, and deeply devotional teacher from the Bihar School of Yoga. I practiced simply for myself, for the joy of it.

One day, while I was practicing, a stranger came up to me and asked if I could teach them the asana I was doing.

Early Curiosity & First Steps into Yoga

I paused and replied, “I can do it myself, but I don’t know how to teach.” That moment planted a seed. It made me curious to explore yoga more deeply, not with the intention to teach, but to experience it through a wider lens.

Over time, I studied with teachers from different schools and styles of yoga and eventually pursued a teacher training program, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Ambition, Injury & Questioning the Practice

In those years, with a strong and athletic body, asanas came easily to me. Ambition pushed me toward advanced postures. When we are young, the body can tolerate a lot of aggressive practice, even when it is driven by ego or the desire to perform.
But the body has its own way of teaching.

Injuries followed:
A slipped disc in my cervical spine, a torn hamstring, and a knee injury. My mind began to question the practice. I found myself thinking, “This cannot be what yoga is meant to do.” I do not blame any school or style of yoga for this, only my own lack of understanding at the time. I truly believe that every school has something unique and beautiful to offer.

This is simply my journey.

Healing, Discovery & Iyengar Yoga

It took years of practice and reflection to understand that yoga is a lifelong path of study, practice, assimilation, and sharing. Pain, as difficult as it is, became my greatest teacher.

In 2009, I discovered Iyengar Yoga. Through this method, I began to heal the pain and injuries in my body. The journey of learning was both grounding and intoxicating. I progressed quickly and soon practiced advanced asanas alongside senior practitioners.

Illness, Humility & Beginning Again

Life then brought another chapter, an incorrect health diagnosis and unnecessary medication led to fresh suffering, leaving me almost bedridden. Facing this new reality of the body was deeply humbling.

With the support of my family, I found the courage to begin again. Using props, I slowly started to move, breathe, heal, and quieten. Progress was slow, but steady.

Illness, Humility & Beginning Again

My gratitude to B.K.S. Iyengar is immense. His teachings and blessings brought me back to life. It was during this time that the desire grew strong in me to dedicate myself to Iyengar Yoga and to support others on their own paths of healing.

Teaching & Holding Space

After years of devoted practice and study, I qualified to teach Iyengar Yoga. In my classes, I work with the whole person, not just the body. Together with my students, we move through fun, laughter, seriousness, introspection, experimentation, and exploration, always arriving in the present moment, where peace, joy, and stillness are found.

Hridayam: The Spiritual Heart

My own journey has found strength and resilience through love, understanding, and compassion. Over time, I came to realise that the source of this infinite love and compassion lies within our own hearts.
From this reflection, Hridayam was born.

The word Hridayam means the spiritual heart, the centre of our physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being.

I have always believed, and continue to believe, that if what I share can touch and transform even a few lives, that is my purpose and my joy.

Experience Hridayam

Lineage & Gratitude

My Guru Sri M says: “If the practice of yoga is not changing the person who is practicing it and making them a better human being, then no matter how complicated the āsanas or prāṇāyāmas they can perform, it is not yoga.”

I am deeply grateful to B.K.S. Iyengar, whose genius and dedication made yoga accessible to people of all ages, abilities, and stages of life. His invention of props and methodical approach to teaching continue to be a gift to the world.

Our Lineage & Philosophy

Finally, I am grateful to all my students who have stood by me over the years. I have learned more from them than I can ever express.