Dr. Shyam is a scholar-practitioner and professor of the department of philosophy at the York Centre For Asian Research at York University in Toronto, Canada, and the founder of yogaphilosophy.com.

Dr. Shyam translated the Yoga Sutra as a project as an undergrad taking South Asian Studies. This is what sparked his interest in yoga. Through studying the ancient sources of yoga, he recognized how time and colonialism had changed the yoga practice. Then, he began to understand the true philosophy behind the yoga practice.

Yoga is a devotional practice for doing the right thing and becoming a better version of yourself. It creates independence and self-responsibility, two huge parts of yoga often left out of Western practice.

Devotion to yoga is about recognizing the ideal of the practice and committing yourself to it even if you don’t fully understand it. Because when you’re devoted, you challenge yourself to go deeper, understand, and become better.

Challenge yourself to deepen your practice by going deeper than Asanas and really understand the yoga practice as a whole. After that, yoga is just another part of your life. It becomes second nature when you truly understand the philosophy.