Advisory board
Our advisory board comprises distinguished individuals who bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise in yoga, entrepreneurship, and special needs advocacy. Together, they provide invaluable insights that help us grow and serve better.
Brahmacharini Nirmala Chaitanya
Originally from Canada, Nirmala has been teaching yoga as part of Sivananda Yoga Ashrams & Centres in India for 24 years. A senior teacher in the Sivananda Teachers’ Training Courses and a trained visual artist, Nirmala is passionate about the symbolism and more subtle aspects of hatha yoga and creating unique programmes to share the traditional teachings of Yoga, Vedanta, and meditation.
Having trained thousands of yoga teachers over the years, Nirmala particularly enjoys supporting young women to gain the skills and confidence to take their own practice and teaching forward. Nirmala is the Director of Sivananda India’s Online programmes. She teaches primarily in India but has also taught extensively in Canada, the US, and Sri Lanka. What makes this so special is Nirmala ji has been Aruna’s teacher, under whose tutelage she completed her yoga teacher training.
Her guidance and insights in helping design yoga courses and workshops will undoubtedly be of immense value addition to all the members of Yoga-Darshini.
Mrs. Anuradha Mahesh
Ms. Anuradha Mahesh is a chartered accountant and cost accountant with a masters in commerce and has worked with the Big 4 Audit firms in India and abroad. She is a well known advocate of the special needs cause and has served as a trustee with a Chennai based special school from 2006 to 2019. From 2016-19, she took the additional responsibility of a director with the same institution.
She is the recipient of many awards for her exemplary work in the field of special needs education like Champion of Chennai, Lady Sivabogam Award, NGO Leadership award, Women’s Economic Forum to name a few. Anuradha now drives Special Needs Empowerment Hum (SNEH), which provides sustainable sheltered employment for adults with special needs.
Anuradha will be supporting Yoga-Darshini in establishing meaningful and sustainable collaborations to build the brand.
He is a serial entrepreneur with extensive experience in hardware electronics, dot-com, and IT companies. He has held significant positions in various startups and served as a general manager in incubators.
Currently, he heads the Indian operations of Aigilx Health Technologies Private Ltd. Based in Chennai, he mentors startups, offering expertise in product development, go-to-market strategies, fundraising, team building, and scaling. AJB’s comprehensive knowledge spans all stages of a startup’s lifecycle, making him a valuable asset to emerging businesses.
His role will be crucial in scaling Yoga-Darshini and making it a global brand.
