About Puthenpurayil Yoga
Yoga & Meditation in Litchfield County, Connecticut
Beyond ideas of right and wrong, there is a field. Meet me there.
Rumi
What's in a Name?
Puthenpurayil (POOTH-en-PURRA-yil)
A family gathering spot and the centerpiece of land once owned by a swami--a local spiritual leader who fed the poor in a small farming village located along the idyllic waterways in Kerala, India. The swami was my grandfather; Puthenpurayil was my father's childhood home. Traveling there, every cell in my body feels it--zinging. The name literally (and ironically, given its age) translates from Malayalam to English as "new home." Nestled in the center of Puthenpurayil, next to the kitchen, there is a beautiful old wooden silo that stores rice.
It is a Malayalam word that conjures, for me, the sense of home that can arise when we feel centered--our thoughts quiet, our bodies calm--when we are nourished and peaceful. Puthenpurayil is a nod to my personal heritage and to the ancient roots of yoga in India. It's an invitation to find a "new home" within yourself, at the center of your practice.
Note that Puthenpurayil Yoga bears no relation to the Puthenpurayil family in Kerala.
Victoria Sahadevan Fossland
200-hour Vinyasa Training: Nexus Institute Yoga & Wellness, Nosara, Costa Rica
50-hour Yin Training: Bernie Clark & Diana Batts, Vancouver, Canada
From a background in medicine, writing, and teaching, my path to teaching yoga and meditation has been anything but straight--and yet--we are all ever-evolving, seeking to balance all of the facets that make us whole. Every step informs the next.
I began meditating when I left a career in surgery, wanting to spend more time with my family. For over a decade, I "used" yoga for other pursuits: to maintain a body that would ski past 80 years old; to develop a stronger pop-up for surfing; to stand up straight.
Along the way, my yoga practice evolved into much more than a physical endeavor, merging with the benefits gained through meditation.
Seeking to "deepen" my practice, I earned a 200 hour Registered Yoga Teacher certificate by studying under Janel and Horace Usry at Nexus Institute Yoga & Wellness, a 5-star Yoga Alliance training school in Nosara, Costa Rica,.The Usrys' teaching lineage extends directly through Amba and Don Stapleton to Amrit Desai, the founder of Kripalu.
I became a certified yin yoga teacher by training under Bernie Clark and Diana Batts in Vancouver, B.C., Canada. Bernie is the renowned author of The Complete Guide to Yin Yoga.
The net result: I've found a more holistic approach to helping people care for their unique bodies.
So here I am, tapping into my roots and teaching. So hum. Sanskrit for "I am that."
I have lived in Litchfield County, CT for more than 30 years. You’ll often find me out and about with my dog, Zug, exploring trails in the woods, open to possibilities as my journey unfolds.
I hope our paths cross along the way.
"I realize I can have a practice again."
"It felt like someone was taking care of me."
"That was just what I needed."