Wild Yoga Tribe Podcast Episode #96 – Yoga as a Path Home – Yoga in Armenia with Lili Manuel

Welcome to Episode #96 of the Wild Yoga Tribe Podcast. My conversation with Lili Manuel, a yoga teacher from Armenia, was so lovely as we unpacked what Iyengar yoga is and how it became Lily’s passion. As Lily says, yoga brings you back home to yourself and can become an irreplaceable part of yourself. If you’re looking to tune into a podcast episode that is all about yoga in Armenia then this is the conversation for you.

Tell me more about Lili Manuel

Lili Manuel, a passionate yoga teacher from Armenia, is dedicated to the art of Iyengar yoga. With 8 years of teaching experience at Shakti Yoga Armenia, a studio she founded, Lili’s expertise is well-established. Her journey includes multiple certifications, with 200hr and 300hr yoga teacher training, a 100hr therapeutic yoga certificate, and she is now pursuing a 500hr Iyengar teacher training certification.

What to expect in the Yoga In Armenia episode of the Wild Yoga Tribe Podcast

In this episode of the Wild Yoga Tribe podcast, Lily Allen-Duenas welcomes Lili Manuel, a yoga teacher and yoga studio founder from Armenia onto the show, to discuss her journey into the world of yoga. Lili is the founder of Shakti Yoga, a studio in Armenia, and has extensive experience in Iyengar yoga. 

Lili shares how she first discovered yoga during her time as a flight attendant when she saw someone meditating in a movie. Despite the lack of awareness about yoga in Armenia at that time, Lili’s intuition led her to explore further. She recounts her journey from finding a teacher to her decision to quit her job and travel to India to immerse herself in yoga. Lili explains her attraction to Iyengar yoga, describing it as a detailed and deep practice that aligns with her preference for precise exploration.

Lili delves into the response of her students to Iyengar yoga. Lili emphasizes how her students have embraced this practice, leading to higher engagement and longer commitment compared to other forms of yoga. They also discuss Lili’s inspiring journey of founding Shakti Yoga in Armenia. Lili shares how she followed her intuition and started a yoga studio that has thrived for eight years, serving as a haven for her community.

The conversation pivots to the state of yoga in Armenia. Lili explains how yoga has gradually gained popularity in the country, transitioning from a misunderstood concept to a widely practiced and cherished activity. Lili also touches on the gender dynamics within yoga classes in Armenia, with women being more receptive to yoga while men remain less engaged.

Lili reflects on her experiences practicing yoga in different Asian countries, such as India, Malaysia, and Vietnam. She underscores the significance of India in her yoga journey, describing its unique and mystic atmosphere that fosters a deep connection to the practice. Lili explains that while yoga is more prevalent in these Asian countries, she finds that men still show less interest in yoga in these regions.

The podcast concludes with Lili sharing the powerful lesson she has learned from yoga—feeling at home with herself. She describes yoga as an integral part of her being, not something external. Lili also provides her personal definition of yoga, emphasizing its presence within herself and her sense of coming back home. The conversation ends on a positive note, as Lili and Lily express their gratitude for connecting and sharing their love for yoga.

Favorite Quote From Lili Manuel

“Yoga is not something outside of me. Yoga is just me. It’s just inside of me. It’s has always been there. It’s just me. I don’t know how to explain that, but it’s really what I feel.”

Connect with Lili Manuel

https://www.instagram.com/shakti_yoga_armenia

https://www.instagram.com/lili_manuell/

https://www.facebook.com/shakti.yoga.federation.armenia

Support the podcast:

https://www.patreon.com/wildyogatribe

Want more?

https://wildyogatribe.com/thepodcast/

Everything you need is just one click away! Check out all the resources here: https://linktr.ee/wildyogatribe

Wild Yoga Tribe Podcast Episode #96 – Yoga in Armenia with Lili Manuel Podcast Transcription

[00:00:00] Lily Allen-Duenas: Namaste family. And welcome back to the wild yoga tribe podcast. Today, I’m so excited to welcome Lili Manuel, a passionate yoga teacher from Armenia on to the

podcast. So two Lilies get to talk together. So as I mentioned, Lili is from Armenia and she’s a dedicated yoga teacher with Iyengar with that tradition. So she has eight years of teaching experience at Shakti Yoga, a studio that she herself founded in Armenia. And Lili has multiple certifications, 200, 300 our yoga teacher trainings, therapeutic yoga certificates, and now she’s pursuing her 500 hour Iyengar teacher training certification.

So thank you so much, Lili for joining me today. I’m really excited to talk with you.

[00:00:53] Lili Manuel: Hello, Lily. Hello, everyone. Thank you, Lily, for this wonderful project. It’s really very nice. Thank you for the invitation also.

[00:01:02] Lily Allen-Duenas: Thank you for being here. So Lili I would love to ask you what initially drew you to the practice of yoga. How did yoga come into your life?

How did yoga come into your life?

[00:01:13] Lili Manuel: I was working as a flight attendant and I saw one movie that someone was sitting and meditating. I didn’t know, was it yoga, was it meditation, what meditation actually was. Because in Armenia, yoga was not common [00:01:30] in those years, like 10 -12 years ago. And I just felt by intuition that it is something that is mine.

Then I saw one of my colleagues, flight attendant, was practicing yoga somewhere. And I asked him where he is practicing. He told his teacher name and I went to his teachers and started to practice with him. Also, he started to teach, to give classes in parks. I went with him and started my yoga path since the very first day I knew that yoga is something that is going to be with me my whole life.

And when I was practicing yoga, I was also Working as flight attendant had never time to go to practice yoga. Just one day, I decided to quit my job and go to India and to practice yoga. That’s how yoga came to my life. 

Why Inyengar Yoga?

[00:02:33] Lily Allen-Duenas: Yeah, that’s beautiful. And what made you choose a Iyengar yoga? As your primary passion and the focus of your teaching.

[00:02:41] Lili Manuel: Iyengar yoga, I like because it is more detailed. I like everything more detailed and very deep. Why Iyengar yoga? I was searching yoga which will be very deep and will give me more knowledge [00:03:00] and one of my Rishikesh trips I met with a guy who had a teacher of Sanyor Iyengar yoga teacher.

His teacher was Senior Iyengar yoga teacher. And he said that he is doing retreats in Rishikesh every year for 10 days. And I just asked him to join. And next year I came back to Rishikesh to join his classes and I really fell in love with Iyengar Yoga. Because it is, as I mentioned, it is for me a more detailed, more deep, teaches a lot of awareness, gives a lot of intelligence about you. So that’s why I decided to do Iyengar Yoga. That’s how I started my Iyengar Yoga path.

[00:03:52] Lily Allen-Duenas: Wonderful. And I agree. Iyengar is so detailed, very precise. And it’s about, I think really getting to know each asana, right? Each pose.

[00:04:04] Lili Manuel: Yeah, exactly.

[00:04:05] Lily Allen-Duenas: Yeah. And how do your students, do they like Iyengar yoga when you’re teaching that? How do you find that they’re responding to Iyengar yoga?

How do your yoga students respond to Iyengar yoga?

[00:04:13] Lili Manuel: was going to India every year since I had a studio. were feeling difference, a little, when I was coming back from classes, yes, as a yoga teacher, you want to learn something new, to bring something new to [00:04:30] your students. But as I came back from Iyengar yoga, I felt that they loved even more and people come even more and continue practicing yoga. They just don’t quit after month membership card is expired. They like to continue. I think they like, most of all, like them. I like the Iyengar yoga.

[00:04:56] Lily Allen-Duenas: Beautiful. And I would love to hear, Lily, too, about your journey founding Shakti Yoga in Armenia. What inspired you to start your own yoga studio?

What was it like to start a yoga studio in Armenia?

[00:05:07] Lili Manuel: When I started in Armenia, as I mentioned there were not so many yoga studios. There were just few. When I was a flight attendant, I loved my job, but I was always thinking to do something my own. Not to depend on work and to do something that I really like. It happened spontaneously. I just decided to have my kind of spiritual corner that was my yoga studio. It was very small for just six people when I started and after one year I saw that it’s not enough for six people and started to search for a new place for bigger place for more people. How I [00:06:00] was inspired the reason as I mentioned I always wanted to have something mine and it was a way to have my spiritual corner. It happened by intuition and fortunately it’s already eight years still works.

Was it scary to open a yoga studio in Armenia?

[00:06:16] Lily Allen-Duenas: Wow. Eight years. It’s amazing. And I know that you mentioned too that yoga in Armenia, 10 years ago was not very popular. So could you tell me, was it scary for you to open a yoga studio when it wasn’t something that, everyone in Armenia was looking to practice yoga? Could you tell me more about that?

[00:06:38] Lili Manuel: You know I was not even thinking will it work or it will not work. I will, I had inner belief that it’s going to work because I had some friends who told they will come, but those friends who told they will come, they never came. Quite different people just started to come to yoga. It’s strange, but when I look back, I remember, I understand that I was not scared. It was not scary. I just decided to start and I started

[00:07:17] Lily Allen-Duenas: It’s amazing when you just know you’re stepping into what you’re supposed to be doing and you’re like, yep, I don’t care. It’s gonna happen. You’re trusting the universe. That’s really

[00:07:26] Lili Manuel: yeah, yes, exactly, yes, [00:07:30] you’re right, Lily, I trusted the universe.

What is yoga in Armenia like?

[00:07:33] Lily Allen-Duenas: Amazing. And so I also wanted to hear just about yoga in Armenia. Maybe now or in the past is it becoming something that women are practicing or men, young people, old people, are there now 10 studios in your capital city with you? Could you tell us about the landscape of yoga in Armenia?

[00:07:56] Lili Manuel: When I started, the average age was from 24 to 34 after some time for a long time, the age of people and all female, no man in Armenia was practicing like maximum 10%. it’s a little bit about mentality also, so why men should do yoga, men should do box or something, strong gym, but now I noticed even today I spoke about that, that there are a lot of young girls about 18 years old who practice yoga and they just don’t come for fashion. They really like yoga and they practice yoga continuously. For me, it is surprising that young girls practice yoga. What concerns men, unfortunately, I still don’t have enough men who practice yoga. They just come sometimes, [00:09:00] just one man, two men, maximum three men in yoga class. That’s how it works.

Even if I had a man yoga teacher, mostly still women were coming to yoga class. In Armenia, men still cannot overcome to come to yoga. The fact that they also should do yoga. That still works, unfortunately.

[00:09:25] Lily Allen-Duenas: Yeah, I understand that and it’s it’s becoming more and more slowly and slowly. But isn’t it interesting that in India yoga was initially for all men exclusively and now around the whole world, it’s like women are flocking to it. Do you ever reflect on that and how curious that is?

[00:09:44] Lili Manuel: My Iyengar teacher is a man, we are about 60 people in our Iyengar yoga teacher training course, and we have only one guy, and my teacher also says that mostly female come to yoga classes because they think yoga is for women.

Why? Because men are not flexible and yoga is something soft, something easy. So not for men. It is because of lack of flexibility, one reason, and another reason they think that it is not something strong for men. That’s why. What I wanted to say as I traveled, maybe [00:10:30] I saw mostly in India that men do yoga or foreigners come to yoga.

But one concerns in Asia like in Bali, like in Vietnam, and I was in Kuala Lumpur also. Maximum 25% that I could see that men come, but not very regular. Just sometimes. That’s what I saw. I think even in Asia still men do not do yoga so much.

[00:11:01] Lily Allen-Duenas: Gotcha. Lily, also, I wanted to ask how immersing yourself in the culture and the practices of different Asian countries, like in India, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Bali, Vietnam, how is that enriched Your understanding of yoga and its philosophies.

How does immersing yousrelf in Asian Countires enrich your understanding of yoga? 

[00:11:20] Lili Manuel: think for Asian countries, it is more common. I think they practice It’s like a food for them. What I noticed, it’s like a culture, so everyone will go to yoga. For example philosophy for Vietnam, for Indonesia, yoga philosophy is closer to, a little to their religion. I think so. So they take yoga easier and they practice as I said, like food. They just go to yoga. They [00:12:00] don’t think that they should miss or something, everyone goes no matter how old they are.

[00:12:06] Lily Allen-Duenas: Do you think it’s important for yoga teachers to go to India and learn yoga or to go to an Asian country to learn from teachers in the, that have roots in the ancient kind of traditions?

[00:12:19] Lili Manuel: I think India is the best because Indian atmosphere is quite different. India is different. I love India very much and I think Indian teachers are still different. My teacher is also Indian. He just lives in Malaysia. I found my teacher in Rishikesh. It depends, I think it depends.

It depends what you want. It depends where you want to travel. What you want to learn. Learn. But India for a yoga teacher is something different. I think Lily, you can understand what I mean, because Indian atmosphere is quite different.

[00:13:05] Lily Allen-Duenas: Yeah, it’s very sacred, very holy, very yeah there’s like a purity to the energy as well.

[00:13:12] Lili Manuel: yeah. There is something mystic Yes. Our atmosphere is, you can understand what I mean,

[00:13:20] Lily Allen-Duenas: Yeah, I do. I do. And I think that going to India is incredible. Of course, the sites, the sounds, the colors, the cows in the street, the [00:13:30] food, but in holy cities like Rishikesh, where there’s mother Ganga, the Ganges. The Ganges river that runs through it. There is that aura. I love that word that you selected an aura to the place and it feels pure and sacred, as I mentioned, but it is an incredible place to practice yoga.

And the teachers, I just appreciate that while it’s not true for every Indian teacher, of course, but it’s a lineage that’s been passed down from teacher to student, and it is more part of their culture, most schools are practicing yoga with the kids or the families are practicing, or it’s just more commonplace and it feels more embedded in the fabric of their being, where we in the West, maybe, or in different countries where yoga is a newer tradition, or maybe it’s more at gyms, athletic based asana practice. It feels like something you take an hour to do a day, and where in India it feels more like part of the life.

[00:14:29] Lili Manuel: yeah, exactly. You can understand that. Yes, definitely India, Lily.

[00:14:35] Lily Allen-Duenas: Yeah, let’s go back. Cause I know, Lili, you’ve been seven times, right?

[00:14:39] Lili Manuel: Yeah.

[00:14:40] Lily Allen-Duenas: Wow. Oh, that’s so great. Lili, I wanted to know, what do you think is the most powerful lesson that yoga has taught you or a powerful gift that yoga has given you?

The most powerful lesson that yoga has taught you or a powerful gift that yoga has given you

[00:14:51] Lili Manuel: Oh, what a wonderful question that I need to think because it has given a load. [00:15:00] If you mean to mention just one, it is something that, yes, it’s very powerful, something that I cannot explain. Okay. Yoga gave me, since the very first day, as I said, that I practiced yoga, I could feel it. When I do yoga, I feel at home. I feel I come back to me. That is the most powerful that yoga gave me. I just come back home, to myself. Not ego self, but that brings closer to that me. Fully at home. That I am me.

[00:15:40] Lily Allen-Duenas: Perfect. And I ask every yoga teacher on the podcast, what is your personal definition of yoga?

What is your definition of yoga?

[00:15:48] Lili Manuel: Oh, for people. Every person has his own perception about yoga. Saying yoga, people understand very different things. Especially I see students also understand differently. They have their own perception.

What concerns me, what is yoga for me, I always say, yoga is not something outside of me. Yoga, it’s in myself. It’s not something even that I love because it’s not outside of me. Yoga is just me. It’s just inside of me. It’s [00:16:30] has always been there. It’s just me. I don’t know how to explain that, but it’s really what I feel.

Yoga Is something unreplaceable, something that no one can take away from me because it’s just me. It’s inside of me. It comes from myself.

[00:16:50] Lily Allen-Duenas: Something irreplaceable that no one can take away from you. That’s beautiful. To feel that it is just such a part of you, like your own heart or your lungs. Like I like that.

[00:17:03] Lili Manuel: Yeah. And it’s my, especially Iyengar yoga is my passion. I can practice from 3 hours to 7 hours and it’s amazing how I don’t notice how the time flies.

[00:17:20] Lily Allen-Duenas: You’re in the flow state.

[00:17:22] Lili Manuel: Yeah, exactly.

[00:17:24] Lily Allen-Duenas: And for our listeners who don’t know too much about Armenia, they’re maybe unfamiliar with your culture, or even where your country isn’t on a map, would you mind telling our listeners more about Armenia?

What is yoga in Armenia like?

[00:17:36] Lili Manuel: Yes, of course. Honestly when I just started yoga, people were asking if it’s religion. Because Armenia is a Christian country. 99% of people are Christians. Armenia is famous as first country that accepted [00:18:00] Christianity as a national religion.

And… Many years, five, six years only I was hearing if it’s a religion, if you change the religion, if I come to yoga, if I will change the religion. I was hearing that all the time and honestly I was already bored of that question, but recent times lately. No one is asking. Everyone just likes to do yoga.

Every second person knows what is yoga or already practices yoga, less than more, or just says, Oh, yoga. I also want to do yoga. Now, nobody speaks about it. Now, in Armenia, it’s very common and there are really many yoga centers. Nowadays, already three, four years, it’s very common and popular in Armenia.

[00:18:54] Lily Allen-Duenas: That’s great. That’s awesome. And in terms of Armenia as a country. Do you have a lot of mountains? Do you have something that Armenia is really known for? Maybe a type of food anything special about your country to share?

What is Armenia like? What is Armenia known for? 

[00:19:10] Lili Manuel: Oh, Lily, you are, you already mentioned, yes, our mountains are very popular are very touristy. If you search in Google, it is included in 21 best countries to hike for its mountains which includes Silk Road [00:19:30] also and it is on 12th place for 2023 countries to go for hike. 

We have also nice waterfalls, high mountains uh, all are above 3000 there are vulcans in the peak, you can see lakes when you go to the peak. And yes, nice mountains are always nice in all countries, of course. But Armenia is known for mountains, most of all. And there are wonderful ancient monasteries on the top of mountains. which are made by caves also that is like from 5th century, from 4th century. It’s also ancient country, yeah, that you can find a lot of architectures also. 

[00:20:30] Lily Allen-Duenas: Perfect. Oh, yeah. I love hearing about the mountains and I love hiking. That’s something I really do enjoy and I always need another hike trip on the schedule. My husband does not like to hike in the same way I like to hike. He likes to hike very flat spaces. He would prefer a long walk and I like to do more vertical, treks and trails, but I didn’t know that about Armenia. So that’s beautiful. 

[00:20:54] Lili Manuel: Mountains in Armenia are vertical. You will like, you will definitely like.[00:21:00] 

[00:21:00] Lily Allen-Duenas: Good. Perfect. Also Lili, for our listeners who are curious about Armenia or about your studio, maybe they’re planning a trip or have a question for you. Would you mind sharing here on the podcast, what’s the best way to get in touch with you? I’ll definitely put your social media in the show notes.

So wherever they’re listening, they can just scroll and click a button. And it’ll also be on my website, WildYogaTribe. com slash Yoga in Armenia. There’ll be a blog all the links, a transcript of this episode as well, so people can read it. But here on the podcast, Lili, would you share your social media with us?

How to get in touch with Lili and learn more about yoga in Armenia

[00:21:38] Lili Manuel: Of course, that’s my pleasure it is a Shakti yoga Armenia The meaning of Shakti, do you know Lily?

[00:21:46] Lily Allen-Duenas: Yes, I do. Our female power.

[00:21:49] Lili Manuel: Yeah, female power because I was not serious when I opened I just, as I mentioned, I believe in the universe, it was spontaneous, I believe it is something that will work and did not, didn’t know what to name my studio. Just asked two Indian teachers at the same time messaged and said, I need advice how to name, what name to give to my studio.

At the same time, message came Shakti. from different people who don’t even know each other. So that’s how I named Shakti. Shakti, female [00:22:30] power, divine energy, yes. So it is called Shakti Yoga Armenia.

[00:22:36] Lily Allen-Duenas: Perfect. Lily, do you offer any retreats or anything in Armenia or internationally?

[00:22:43] Lili Manuel: At the moment, I do workshops and, I do teacher training courses for two hundred and three hundred hours and collaborate with the Indian school. Which is in Rishikesh. I collaborate with them. Retreats in summer sometimes I do. But mostly I do workshops. Concerning for example, I do tomorrow workshop. For hips, pelvis area. The other day we were working on feet. Because it’s common to Iyengar to work separately. Which gives awareness about the whole body. Most of all I do workshops and teacher training for it. But I think in future maybe we’ll do some retreats out of Armenia. But now I’m not ready.

[00:23:37] Lily Allen-Duenas: It takes a lot, doesn’t it?

[00:23:40] Lili Manuel: Yes, you

[00:23:40] Lily Allen-Duenas: So Lili, I have loved talking with you. This has been so beautiful to get to hear your story about how yoga first come and came into your life. By a flight attendant friend and now how it has become an irreplaceable part of yourself. I think that’s the journey is so lovely and I’m so [00:24:00] grateful you took the time to be with me today. Thank you so much.

[00:24:03] Lili Manuel: Thank you very much, Lily. Thank you for invitation. Thank you for suggesting me this nice program, this nice project. It’s, as I mentioned, wonderful project and it feels how you love yoga. I was happy to meet you. Thank you very much.

Wild Yoga Tribe Podcast Outro

[00:24:21] Lily Allen-Duenas: Thank you so much for tuning in to this episode of the wild yoga tribe podcast. My conversation with Lili Manuel, a yoga teacher from Armenia and the yoga studio founder of Shakti yoga was so lovely as we unpacked what Iyengar yoga is and how it became Lili’s passion. As Lili says, yoga brings you back home to yourself and can become an irreplaceable part of yourself. If you’re looking to tune into a podcast episode that is all about yoga in Armenia, then this is the conversation for you. Thank you for listening to the wild yoga tribe podcast. Be well.

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