Kisanna

I am Kisanna Barna, psychologist, ashtanga yoga practitioner.

I first encountered yoga while I was still in university. I had tried many different styles until, on the recommendation of an acquaintance, I visited and walked down to my first vinyasa krama class at Bandha Works. I immediately felt that I was in the right place: I was impressed by the authenticity of the shala, the professional dedication and devotion I saw in the instructors, as well as the yoga classes themselves, which I began attending more and more frequently and regularly because I felt that I was better with them than without them.

A little later – in the second half of my first pregnancy, looking for a predictable series that offered regular practice which could be modified to my current physical (and mental) state – I began practicing ashtanga vinyasa yoga. Which I have been practicing ever since, now within the possibilities of family life with young children. This arrangement reinforces my conviction that yoga is for everyone, and that it extends far beyond the practice of asanas.

In 2019, I had the opportunity to travel to India, the birthplace of yoga, where I practiced ashtanga with Vijay Kumar. Four years later, in 2023, I was accepted into the Sharath Yoga Centre, where I was able to practice under the supervision of Paramaguru Sharath Jois.

For me, yoga is an opportunity to connect with ourselves. It's the quieting of inner turmoil and outer noise, when we can glimpse what we're currently experiencing, 'what we're dealing with.' It regularly confronts me with the limitations of my perfectionism, and teaches me to be more accepting and permissive with myself, more 'letting go' of external expectations.

As a psychologist, I find it especially exciting to discover the parallels between the thousands-year-old Eastern teachings, yoga philosophy, and modern Western psychological and neuroscience theories. A blog series on this topic will be launching soon on the yoga school's website.