About me
“Real wisdom is recognizing and accepting that every experience is impermanent. With this insight you will not be overwhelmed by ups and downs. And when you are able to maintain an inner balance, you can choose to act in ways that will create happiness for you and for others. Living each moment happily with an equanimous mind, you will surely progress toward the ultimate goal of liberation from all suffering.”
- S. N. Goenka
Hey there!
I’m Harpinder.
Namaste and Sat Sri Akaal! My name is Harpinder Mann RYT-500 (she/her) and I am a yoga asana and meditation teacher, mindfulness educator, and community builder currently living on unceded Tongva Land (LA). I am actively working to decolonize wellness by creating community and providing real accessibility to our ancestral practices for people of color.
My practice is rooted in my spiritual background of Sikhism and Buddhism and ancestral roots in Panjab, India - this informs my desire to teach yoga authentically as a spiritual practice. Teaching since 2018 and practicing since 2013, I teach in a way to help people mindfully connect to their bodies with curious awareness, to bring a sense of healing peace and stillness, and create more meaning in their lives.
Yoga is a spiritual practice for me - one that takes me back to my True Self without the noise of the ego and society. This practice gave me the freedom and power to be seen and live authentically. To know that there is nothing wrong with me. Especially all while growing up feeling isolated and ostracized for being "different" and always one of the only Indian girls at school. It has healed parts of my Self I never even realized needed tending.
My work sits at the intersection between social justice and healing. I work 1:1 with folks on reclaiming their power & intuition to be free, am passionate about working with pregnant people, teach at recovery centers and to kids with autism, and have led events and speak at organizations such as Tulane University, Grindr, Ogden Museum, Decolonize Birth Conference, Lightning in a Bottle, and many more.
xoxo,
Harpinder Mann
My Story
Yoga found me during a time of my life when I was struggling with anxiety (and imposter syndrome) but didn't yet have the words to articulate it.
I was working in India as the Director of Marketing for a startup but the immense pressure from my egomaniacal boss and being separated from my support system who were still back in the states was slowly taking a toll on my mental health.
I had tried yoga previously in 2013 and 2014 at studios in Los Angeles while I was attending UCLA but it never sat right with me. It always felt more like a choreographed dance routine that the white yoga instructor had no interest in sharing with me. I was consistently the only person of color in the classes and eventually, I stopped going.
It wasn't until I started going to the Ananda Sanga in Delhi in 2016 that I truly found a yoga community. Even writing this now, I feel tears coming to my eyes because this community forever changed the course of my life.
The teachers taught with such care and devotion and with a profound connection to Spirit that I sobbed on the taxi ride back to my hotel every single time. There I experienced kirtan, Kriya Yoga, meditation, and satsangs. The asana practice was gentle with a focus on healing affirmations and the celebration of life itself.
To this day, yoga is a way for me to experientially connect to spirit and to my higher self. My profound awakening and transformation only happened because I gave in to my loneliness, anxiety, and imposter syndrome. I had to first acknowledge the reality that I was living in was not fulfilling me. Then began the journey and I am still on it.
It is with great joy and gratitude that I get to share my love and reverence for this practice.
Trainings
350hrs Vinyasa Yoga and Anatomy Training from Stretch Yoga in Brisbane, Australia.
200hrs Kundalini Yoga from Swaha Yoga in New Orleans. Emphasis on chanting, healing through mantra, and sacred sound.
40hrs Prenatal Yoga with Living Now Yoga in New York. Focused on BI&WoC maternity and infant care.
55hrs Mental Health and Wellness Training with Yoga Medicine.
300hrs Advanced Yoga Teacher Training with Living Now Yoga in New York. Modules include restorative yoga, yin yoga, pelvic intensive, breath + pranayama, and more.
Trauma-Informed Yoga Training with Transcending Sexual Trauma Through Yoga.
46hrs Y.O.G.A. for Youth Training to work with underserved youth.
Studies
In-depth study of Raja Yoga from the Ananda Sangha Center in New Delhi, India. True connection to spirituality.
Doula Training with Nicole Deggins
Anatomy of the Spine Mentorship with Juliana Mitchell
Thrive Program - Social Justice, Creating Inclusive Wellness Spaces, and Amplifying Marginalized Voices with Eliana Chinea
Vipassana Meditation in the lineage of S.N. Goenka
Decolonial Yoga: A Contemplative Approach to Dismantling Cultural Appropriation with Dr. Neil Dalal
Yoga Therapy for Anxiety with Gary Kraftsow
Yoga Sutra Study - Fundamentals of Sankhya Philosophy and Yoga Sutra with Prasad Rangnekar
Fun Facts About Me
I’m obsessed with:
Exploring the infinite creative
potential within all of us
Sun Sign:
Leo in Western Astrology
and Cancer in Vedic Astrology
Guilty Pleasure:
Dancing in my living room with my
cat Alfy (she loves it, yes really)
Favorite Book:
Currently: Love & Rage
Personal Hero:
My mom
Favorite Asana Pose:
Balasana
My offerings
Individual: I offer private, semi-private, prenatal, and group yoga and meditation sessions.
Community: I’ve had the honor of teaching at yoga retreats, free and donation classes for BI&PoC, led over 40 workshops, and created an online wellness community through the Womxn of Color Summit.
Organizations: I have partnered with and taught at organizations like Tulane University, Grindr, Ogden Museum, Decolonize Birth Conference, Lightning in a Bottle, Expectful, and many more.
Private yoga sessions
Group yoga classes
Other opportunities
yoga and spiritual lineage acknowledgment
I pay gratitude to all the teachers and practitioners before me, who have kept these teachings alive through centuries of colonization, oppression, patriarchy, empire, and racism. I acknowledge and honor yoga as a spiritual practice originating from the people of South Asia and strive to also keep these teachings alive with humility and reverence. I commit to applying these teachings for the greater good of humanity and to uplift all beings and the earth. I vow to practice inclusion and to bring these practices to where they are needed most.
I bow deeply to my teachers, ancestors, to the moon, sun, sky, stars, and to the elements that make up all life. I honor the nature of interconnectedness and acknowledge that without them, I would not be here.
May the merits of this practice benefit all beings.