Arundhati Baitmangalkar is one of the most recognized yoga teachers in the country today. Born and raised in South India, Aru's formal training runs deep and traditional: she studied in Mysore and Bangalore, India, including under senior disciples of B.K.S. Iyengar, grounding her practice in classical, lineage-based instruction rather than a Westernized or trend-driven approach.

Today, Aru is the founder and lead teacher of Aham Yoga in Redmond, WA, now in its 13th+ year. Her mission is simple and non-negotiable: elevate the standard of yoga education by keeping it authentically rooted in its origins — precise, well-sourced, and taught with real pedagogical rigor. (She's also a former professional Bollywood dancer and runs BollyWorks, a Bollywood dance studio, on the side.)

Aru is the creator and host of Let's Talk Yoga, a podcast ranking in the top 5% globally, with over 1 million downloads and listeners in 200+ countries. Through the podcast and her teacher trainings, she offers continuing education to yoga students and teachers worldwide, tackling subjects other yoga media shy away from — cultural appropriation, primary-text scholarship, pranayama and what it actually takes to teach yoga well.

Her work has been featured in Yoga Journal and Yoga International, and she was named one of Yoga Journal's "Yoga Teachers Who Made a Profound Difference" for her straight-talk approach to bridging traditional teachings with contemporary practice. She has also been recognized among the top 20 yoga teachers of color to watch by Yogawalla, and Aham Yoga has received an Expertise Award for Best Yoga Studio.

With 20+ years of teaching experience across Hatha, Ashtanga Vinyasa, Iyengar, Restorative, Therapeutic Yoga, and Pranayama, Aru blends classical rigor with a teaching style tailored to each student — never diluting the tradition to make it trendier.

Somewhere along the way, the yoga world reduced breath to cueing inhale, exhale, and perhaps adding ujjayi.

But breath is not a technique.

It is the single most intelligent anchor inside asana. It shapes nervous system tone, pranic direction, muscular effort, mental steadiness, and subtle awareness — all before we ever touch formal pranayama.

In this deeply layered and practical session, Arundhati B invites you into the hidden curriculum of breath. You will explore:

• The six distinct qualities of breath and how each alters a student’s internal experience

• The three-layered nature of breathing — physical, energetic, and perceptual

• How breath organizes effort, stability, and expansion inside postures

• Why reducing breath to ujjayi limits both teacher and student

• How to deepen breath literacy without turning your class into a pranayama workshop

This is not about adding more technique. It is about refining perception.

If you are a teacher, you will leave with sharper tools and a radically more intelligent way to cue. If you are a practitioner, you will experience how breath alone can transform the depth of your practice.

Join Arundhati in a new movement in breath literacy — as she reshapes how we understand and teach yoga through the breath.

Breath is one of the most powerful—and underutilized—tools we have for regulating the nervous system, sharpening awareness, and changing how we respond to life.

In this experiential workshop, we’ll explore several foundational pranayama practices and how they directly influence energy, mood, focus, and emotional regulation. Rather than treating breathwork as an abstract concept, we’ll look at when and why to use specific techniques—whether you’re feeling anxious, depleted, overwhelmed, stuck, or disconnected.

Simple, Intelligent Breath Practices That Actually Work

Prāṇāyāma does not need to be intimidating, esoteric, or reserved for seated workshops.

And yet, many yoga teachers either skip it entirely in asana classes or overcomplicate it to the point where students feel confused or disconnected.

This session is about practicality and discernment.

In this applied workshop, Arundhati B shares the exact prāṇāyāma practices she weaves into her movement-based classes — intelligently, safely, and with clear purpose.

You will learn:

• Which breath practices integrate naturally into asana sequences

• How to layer prāṇāyāma without disrupting class flow

• When to stimulate, when to settle, and how to read the room

• How to cue simply without diluting depth

• The difference between teaching technique and cultivating experience

This is not about adding complexity. It is about adding clarity.

Whether you are to yoga or seasoned practitioner, you will leave with practical tools you can use immediately — and a deeper confidence in guiding breath within dynamic classes.