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Bengaluru mother Priyah overcomes anxiety and developed a daily yoga ritual with her daughter, strengthening their bond and emotional well-being.
Sometimes it is a simple guided practice that you have come to appreciate. Whatever form it takes, it is now a non-negotiable part of your day. (Image: Isha Foundation)
Every night around sunset, Khiyara reminds her mother of something important. “Mom, we haven't done it yet.” Sometimes it's a few minutes of sitting in silence. Sometimes it is a simple guided practice that you have come to appreciate. Whatever form it takes, it is now a non-negotiable part of your day.
For Khiyara, a ten-year-old student from Bengaluru who loves art, dance and tennis, these moments are about simple togetherness. For Priyah, they mark a return to herself and her daughter. Her story reflects a challenge many parents face today: staying truly present while juggling the constant mental noise.
For years, Priyah seemed to have much of what many aspire to. Model, actress, content creator and Mrs. India – Empress of the Nation 2018 (2nd runner-up), she has built a successful career and growing public profile, working with several international and regional brands. Behind the scenes, however, she struggled with anxiety, self-doubt, and a constant feeling of mental clutter.
“I started to doubt myself. I became my own worst critic,” she recalls. “Everything happened in my head. I thought endlessly before making even simple decisions.”
The struggle eventually spilled over into his personal life. “I thought I was spending time with my daughter, but I was constantly on the phone,” he says. “Even when someone was talking to me, the noise in my head was much louder than what was happening around me.”
Like many modern parents, she was physically present but emotionally on edge. “I wanted peace. I wanted tranquility,” he says. “Everything felt loud.” What worried her most was the impact this could have on her daughter.
“It hurt me,” he says candidly. “And I was worried that if I didn't address it, I might end up hurting her too.” The turning point came when Priyah became involved with the Conscious Planet movement and then connected with volunteers from the Isha Foundation in Oman. Encouraged by what she experienced, she enrolled in Inner Engineering, a program that introduces participants to simple yet powerful yogic tools for inner well-being.
The transformation, he says, was neither dramatic nor instantaneous. “It wasn't an overnight miracle,” he says. “It was a process. Like brushing your teeth every day. You do it constantly and over time something changes.”
What changed most was not his career or his circumstances, but the way he lived them. “The way I look at situations today is completely different,” he says. “I have more clarity. I know my priorities.”
And at the top of those priorities was his daughter. “I realized I needed to be happy if I wanted to give her happiness,” he says. “I needed to love myself to give her love. I needed peace within me if I was to guide her.”
The difference soon became visible at home. Instead of rushing through conversations, he found himself listening. Instead of multitasking during family time, he became fully present. Instead of feeling exhausted, she had the energy to participate.
“We're best friends now,” Priyah says, laughing. “I connect with her not only as a mother, but as someone who can meet her on her level.” The couple dances together on their terrace, plays tennis matches that can last for hours, and takes long walks without phones.
For Khiyara, the change was impossible to ignore. “Mom can spend time with me,” he says. “When he's with me, he's not constantly on the phone.”
Perhaps the most notable part of her story is that no one asked Khiyara to start practicing yoga.
She just looked. “One thing I learned is that you can't preach to children,” says Priyah. “Children observe and learn.”
One day, as Priyah sat doing her daily practice, Khiyara asked her if she could join. “We did it together,” Priyah recalls. “Afterwards she said, 'I feel very good.'”
That simple moment became the beginning of a shared ritual.
Nowadays, Khiyara often reminds her mother if they miss their regular schedule. And the benefits, he says, manifest themselves in unexpected ways. “If I'm angry about something at school and I start doing yoga, I feel a lot better,” she says. “I don't think about that anymore.”
She remembers feeling upset with a classmate who had repeatedly caused problems at school. Carrying that frustration around all day, he found himself unable to let it go. “Then I started meditating,” he says. “I felt calm and at peace again.”
For Priyah, moments like these reinforce something she firmly believes: that emotional well-being should be encouraged as consciously as academic performance. Today's children, he says, are growing up amid unprecedented levels of stimulation and distraction.
“Not everything on social media is real and not everything is productive,” he says. “If children want to navigate this world well, they need some way to find balance within themselves.” However, she believes that responsibility begins with parents.
“If you want your child to learn something in life, it won't be thanks to your advice,” he says. “He's coming to see you.”
For many, yoga is still primarily associated with physical postures and flexibility. But Priyah and Khiyara's experience points to another dimension of yoga: its ability to shape relationships, emotional resilience, and the quality of our daily lives.
Loneliness, anxiety and digital overload are becoming common experiences across generations and this is where yoga becomes so relevant because it offers not only physical fitness, but also presence.
Presence with ourselves, presence with our children, presence with life.
As Priyah reflects on her journey, her message to other parents is simple. “Start now,” he says. “Don't wait and regret not starting ten years ago. Even if it's just five minutes. Go for a walk with your child without your phone. Sit together, connect with nature, connect with them and everything else will fall into place.”
And every night, somewhere in Bengaluru, a ten-year-old boy makes sure the promise is kept. “Mom,” Khiyara reminds her. “We haven't done it yet.”
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