“I decided to open a yoga studio in the heart of Piacenza because I want to help other people feel well, as happened to me”. The space in via Santa Franca 42 for Gurpreet Kaur Dhow it’s more than a second chance. This is not only because at 29 years old your life plan is still to be designed, but above all because Yes Studio it is a place where you can think about yourself, about physical and internal well-being. The choice made by Gurpreet proves it: she arrived in Italy from Punjabin India, together with his family at the age of six, after having initially lived in Naples, he moved to Val Luretta where his father managed to find work on a farm.
Gurpreet starts attending school in Agazzano and soon turns out to be a brilliant student. After middle school and high school Respighi. As soon as he turned 18 he started working in a pizzeria in Agazzano so as not to burden his family too much and in anticipation of enrolling in the faculty of Business economics at theCatholic universityaddress International Business. “I knew that for the first year I wouldn’t be able to ask for a scholarship and I didn’t want to ask my father for help – he explains – who I saw working hard. He would have supported me anyway, but I didn’t want to, I have always been independent.”
The first level degree – with experience abroad, at London School of Economics – arrives on time and now Gurpreet sets a higher goal. “I enrolled in the Master’s in English in Global Business Management, also in Cattolica, and this time I told myself that I should graduate with top marks and honours. I worked hard and I succeeded.” The thesis, discussed with the professor Laura Zoniand her curricular path allow her to have an important professional opportunity in an international company. And this is where something starts to crack: the work experience doesn’t turn out to be as fulfilling as expected and after an entire young life lived by always demanding the best from herself, Gurpreet feels the need to stop and breathe.
“At a certain point, realizing that you only work for the money can be a difficult revelation. While financial gain is important, it alone rarely offers authentic satisfaction – he points out – Without a deeper connection to your work — be it passion, the desire to grow, or contributing to something meaningful — you risk feeling a emptiness, a sense of dissatisfaction that not even the highest salary can fill. True fulfillment comes when work reflects more than just financial results; it is found when there is a balance between your values, your interests, and what you do every day”.
“After a year in the company, when it came time to renew my contract I decided to quit – he says -. I said to myself ‘now or never’, it was time to change my life a little. I decided to go abroad and chose Australia to improve my English. The goal was to be able to take advantage of my degree, but my permit – the Working Holiday Visa – it allowed me to only have temporary jobs and stay for a short time. Shortly after arriving in Melbourne I started working as a waitress in a hotel, a job which still left me with a lot of free time. Feeling finally free from my responsibilities, I made the most of this experience and immersed myself deeper in yoga.”
But why, shouldn’t this be a common practice in India? “This is no longer the case – explains Gurpreet -, even if the principles on which yoga is based are fundamental parts of Indian culture, the daily practice has been greatly lost. Certain customs that could make us more flexible than people of other nationalities, such as staying on the ground for long periods of time, cross-legged, to pray or to eat while leaning on typical low tables, have been lost. For example, when I started doing yoga I was very rigid. I never practiced it as a child because it is not very widespread in Punjab, and I only took a few lessons in person in Piacenza, or online. But little. In Melbourne, however, I found a yoga center a few steps from home, and as soon as I had time I took a class. Slowly my body started to loosen up and I also felt better mentally. Then I told myself that, after having spent my whole life working, without understanding what I really wanted to do, without a passion to follow, without a stimulus, I had finally found my purpose”.
In Australia Gurpreet obtains his first certification to become a teacher. In the months following October 2023, before returning to Italy, she also spent time in India, where she did not return as a young girl. A journey that is not only a return to the origins, but above all the opportunity to give even more solid foundations to his project: a Rishikeshthe yoga capital of the world, acquires a second certification as a teacher.
“Participating in the yoga course in India was a precious opportunity to reconnect with my Indian roots and rediscover my culture with a new awareness” he explains.
Seeds that have now taken root: during the summer Gurpreet held outdoor lessons, on Thursdays and Saturdays, thanks to the availability of the Municipality of Gazzolae Yes Studiowhich started in June with the help of a friend in finding the premises, is now fully operational with courses Hatha e Yin yoga and lessons also early in the morning, from 6.30 am, to start the day in the best way. “I want to be able to convey to others the sense of well-being that yoga gives me – he concludes -. The experience of Covid it has left us all a little lost: we are bombarded by constant stimuli and information, and we are no longer able to be happy with what we have”.
“It is often believed that great flexibility is necessary to do yoga, but it is the opposite: it is precisely because we are rigid, physically or mentally, that yoga can help us. It doesn’t matter if you can’t touch your toes or if you’ve never done a complex pose — the practice is here for everyone, at every point along the way. I myself – she says – am a somewhat “anomalous” teacher: you won’t find in me someone who shows you acrobatics or impressive poses. The true goal of yoga is meditation and the achievement of an internal state that allows you to face life without being overwhelmed and to be present, appreciating every detail, to fully enjoy life itself with awareness. The positions and breathing are tools, means to a deeper end. I’m waiting for you to discover authentic and accessible yoga together, you will only need comfortable clothing and some time for yourself: the mats are already available in my studio.”
