Malavika created her Instagram account primarily for herself, but she eventually became interested in yoga and began teaching courses. Her yoga teachings have become a vehicle for her message of healthy living.

Malavika Ananth is the co-founder of Every Body Can Yoga. She has an Instagram page called EveryBodyCanYoga, which she started six years ago before founding her yoga company by the same name.

Malavika shares that she started her page with the aim of inculcating a habit of fitness. She started with running and going to the gym, but then stumbled upon yoga, which she liked a lot. For two years, she self-trained in yoga. She realized she liked doing yoga very much and also teaching it to others. It turned into a passion.

In 2017, Malavika joined a 200-hour teacher training course in yoga in Chennai. She soon found her inner calling and decided to take up yoga as her career. As soon as she got her certificate, she joined a studio in Chennai called 136.1 Yoga & Wellness Academy. To sustain herself, she also worked as a math teacher at Byju’s.

Malavika realized that she needed to keep upgrading herself in yoga. Working at the studio helped her a lot. But she found two jobs difficult to manage. During the lockdown, the concept of working from home started. The studio was shut down because of the pandemic. She started teaching yoga online. By August 2020, it was going on at full throttle. She left her corporate job, took to teaching yoga full-fledged, and started her own company.

Malavika found that most of the yoga teachers were thin and slim, and many people with plump bodies hesitated to engage them as teachers. As she herself was full-bodied, she was able to convince people that people with any type of body could do yoga. She tried to break the stereotype. The name of her company also originated from the idea that everybody can do yoga. She does not focus on weight loss but rather promotes healthy living through her classes.

Malavika advises people not to look at weighing scales. In her opinion, even the BMI is not suitable for Indians. It has been developed for white males. We Indians have different foods. She only insists on people eating whatever they cook at home. She promotes a concept called ‘mindful eating." She says you should listen to your body. She believes yoga helps you talk to yourself.

Malavika feels Corona has increased awareness among people about maintaining a fit and healthy body. She has had about a hundred students so far. She always tries to convince people that yoga is beyond weight loss. Yoga targets hormones. With regular yoga, the hormonal balance in our body improves.

Malavika’s success mantra is ‘Go with the flow." Do what your heart desires. She herself started as a civil engineer and then a researcher at IIT Madras. But she was never in place for those things. She listened to her heart’s calling and shifted to yoga full-time.

For anyone aspiring to become a yoga instructor, her advice is that apart from having some qualification and certification in yoga, you must also have a good understanding of how our body works. You must realize that everybody is different. She says you must first practice yoga yourself for three to four years and then take to teaching it.

Malavika has not had any particular role models in her life. She has learned from many people who have done outstanding work in the field of yoga.

Malavika says that ultimately, our goal is to be better human beings and make the world a better place. She believes in ‘Live and let live’. She says you should not dictate your terms to others. She also thinks you do not need to please others. Do what you would like to do, asserts Malavika.