Deepti Martolia- Founder of Lyrical Yoga

Tell us a bit about yourself?

I am a Yoga teacher, designer and an artist. I am creative person, positive and sensitive. I am spontaneous too. I love animals.

 Was your dream same as where you are right now?

I am a Piscean. So, I am supposed to be a big dreamer. I used to dream a lot. Few dreams have changed, few are still the same.

What was your childhood like? Where did you grow up?

I was born and raised in Uttarakhand. Most of my childhood was in a small town in Uttarakhand. I was surrounded by hills and mountains when I was a child. And I think that is where my love for nature comes from.

 What inspired you to give up your design career and take up yoga?

For few years design and yoga was going parallelly. But there came a time when there was so much on my plate and I had to put my energy and time into the right direction and Lyrical Yoga that time needed more focus. So, I took a little break from design.

 Tell us more about Lyrical Yoga. How did you come up with the concept?

Lyrical yoga is a blend of yoga and dance. I used to practice contemporary dance and when I started yoga training, I saw lot of similarities between contemporary dance and yoga and realised there are few things that I can merge and blend together. There also happened to be few times when I taught yoga, students asked me if I am a dancer because when they observed me practicing yoga, it felt like I am dancing. That sowed the seed for Lyrical Yoga.
I feel, the designer in me is who has brought these things together. I explored more to bring the right essence into Lyrical Yoga and developed techniques that could help in different ways.

 What are the advantages of Lyrical Yoga over regular yoga practices?

I do not think there is any advantages over regular yoga practices. Any yoga practice will provide you the required benefits. In Lyrical Yoga, it is more like an extension of Vinyasa Flow. If you have rigidity in your body, a lot of lyrical yoga practices will help to ease it out.

If you are somebody who loves ‘flow’, lyrical yoga practices will offer you methods and ways to explore the limitations of your body. So, lyrical yoga is something that will help you understand your body better and later you can develop the rhythm and explore your breath with the techniques.

Who can learn lyrical yoga and how sustainable is it?

Lyrical yoga is for everyone. You need not be a dancer or a regular yoga practitioner. We have taken lyrical yoga workshops for 50-year-old people as well, both men and women.

There are very basic techniques you can use while practicing.

How does it feel like to be where you are right now?

It always feels nice and content when you listen to your heart. I think I have always done what my heart has told me. Also, it feels good when I receive appreciations and, when loved and cared.

What are your other passions apart from yoga?

I love to do charcoal sketches and love making things with my hands.
I love to work on papers and enjoy making small DIYs.

 What is your vision for Lyrical Yoga?

To reach as many people as possible, to feel and practice its essence. Also, I would like to train more lyrical yoga teachers who could take it further. It would be great if it could reach all over the world.

 Favourite part of the day?

I love mornings. I am a morning person. I would like to start my day with yoga practice, a cup of coffee and a nice breakfast.

How would you describe your style?

I like loose, flowy clothes. It also depends on my mood.

 How would you relate yourself with Teejh?

Every time I wear something ethnic, I feel special and beautiful. I love wearing sarees and ethnic jewellery. I think Teejh’s oxidized jewellery and sarees make women feel very precious and special.

How was 2020 for you? What do you look forward to in 2021?

2020 was not the best year for a lot of us. We all had a so many hardships.
Even for me, I had ups and downs. But I would always like to look on the brighter and the positive side. In 2020, I got a lot of time to myself and understand things I love to do. I also got chance to spend more time with my family.

In 2021, I want to be more conscious about myself, more aware of what I do.Also, to spend some time to listen to myself.  A lot of times, we tend to forget and deviate from giving time to ourselves, as there are lot of things happening around us. So maybe spending a little more time to be with yourself can really help.

 What message would you like to give people who love to follow their passion?

Always listen to your heart. Sometimes we are always doubting ourselves.
But I believe if you really want to do or achieve something, everything will fall right into place. Don’t be scared. You are stronger than you fell you are, and you will surprise yourself.