My name is Eva Milano. I’m a yoga teacher and a life-long student.
I was 17 when I went to my first yoga class.
There are two things I remember from it. It was harder than I expected and when I held a pose long enough, the body naturally started to release and go deeper into it. However, growing up in the mountains in Bulgaria, yoga was some mystical activity that cost way too much for a high-school student to afford.
In 2011 at university, I started attending weekly Art of Living yoga classes for only $10 a year!
They laid down the foundation of my yoga practice. I used to do my own flows with the poses that I learned there for years before I ever looked into any video classes.
In December 2018 I travelled to India.
I was going to attend a traditional wedding. I can safely say that my two weeks in New Delhi split my life to before and after. On my first day in India, I met the bride’s grandmother – a 71-year-old lady who moved as gracefully as a girl. She did not seem to know my grandparents’ struggles to climb the stairs of bend over to pick something up. Of course I had to ask her: what’s the secret?
“Yoga. I can hardly remember a day in my life when I have not done yoga.
Yoga is good for your body, your mind, and your soul. What’s left? Nothing.” ― she said.
I spent hours talking to granny and taking notes of what she said.
On that same trip, I also stayed in the Sri Aurobindo Ashram. For the first time ever I meditated. I realized that sitting with my eyes closed is just that, not meditation. If my mind was busy with the thought of what I forgot to do earlier and what I would like to eat later, I was just sitting with my eyes closed. At the same time, if I was present and fully devoted to what I was doing, I could be meditating in any situation. I left the ashram feeling peace and clarity I hadn’t had before.
I started 2019 with the intention to practise yoga like granny – so I can hardly remember a day when I’ve missed it.
The more I was doing it, the more I would see yoga transform not only my body but also my mind and my life. At this point, I knew I want to go further with it and I signed up for a 200hr Yoga Teacher Training at Rishikesh Vinyasa Yoga School. I was not thinking of becoming a yoga teacher. I simply wanted to deepen my knowledge and advance on my spiritual journey.
Studying in India gave me an understanding of how all-encompassing yoga is. It left me with a sense that in yoga I could find everything I’d ever need in life. I saw so much value in what I learned there that I came back home excited to spread the knowledge.
To give others tools to improve their own lives. To motivate them to pursue health and happiness. My workshops and the elevate calm website aim to do precisely that.
I like to explore the intersection of science and spirituality that can be found in yoga. I’m passionate about the transformation that starts with the physical body and goes far beyond. Above all, if I have found something that has helped me, I’m here to share it.
This is my yoga story. What is yours?
