From Lotus Pose to Creative Prose | Melis Gülbay

Can you share how you first got interested in practicing yoga and how it has impacted your life?

It was 2011 and my life was quite boring; working 8 to 6, living with my family and having some relationship issues. And I've always been interested in spirituality, spiritual rituals, books and all that stuff. I wanted to do for myself, for my body and I searched the internet for yoga or pilates studios nearby.

I found a cozy place on my way from work to home. I just visited that place after work. I remember I felt very comfy and safe at that place and I wanted to give it a try. After that day, I continued to go to this studio almost every evening after work for 4-5 years.

Finally, I attended a yoga teacher training at that studio and received my teaching certificate in 2015.

For sure it has radically and profoundly affected my life and keep continuing to affect. Yoga is one of the things in my life that made me who I am today. It is a great guide to be present at this very moment, to understand myself and other beings in the daily life and it is a precious reminder that everything is temporary. 

How do you manage to integrate your yoga practice into a busy work schedule, does yoga inspires you?

I am trying to do my best when it comes to my yoga practise. I try to get on my mat as much as possible every day, 5-10 minutes or 30-60 minutes if I really have time. My practise is not always about fancy poses, I always do some breathing exercises and a little meditation at the end.

Even in the most busiest day 5 or 10 minutes is enough to be aligned in my body and focus on my breath to calm my nerv system and to feel my body and connect to the source.

Yoga, for sure inspires me.  It has its own ways to inspire. It gives me different and wider perspectives while creating ideas.

Have you faced any challenges in maintaining a yogic lifestyle while working in a demanding creative field?

Obviously no because the basis of yoga philosophy is to stay calm and present in your breath while doing all those poses. So yoga actually gives you the ability to embrace life as it unfolds around you, with all its challenges and conveniences and to keep yourself in the moment to the maximum. To answer your question, yoga is here to support me in all these challenges. 

How do you handle stress and pressure at work, and how does your yoga practice contribute to that?

My basic method is concentrating on my breath and I use some breathing techniques for sure :) They helped me a lot not just in the stressfull office enviroment but in every kind of hard times. As you practise yoga and make it your lifestyle then everything in your life -this could be people or your job or events- begins to harmonize with your new state of mind. 

Perhaps my next wish is to set up regular yoga sessions with my colleagues to help them understand how yoga can build a next level communication between us as a team.

Are there specific habits or routines you would recommend for finding balance and fulfillment in both areas?

Intention, will and persistence... I think these three are the things that will bring you balance and fullfilment in whatever you are interested in in life. Yoga is not just a set of fancy poses, there is also breathing, meditation and the unique philosophy of yoga. If we try to experience yoga in all these aspects, it will be easier for us to seek balance in everything in our lives.

And yes, we should not forget that we will not always find balance, sometimes the path itself, that search, is more valuable than what we will find at the end :)

I want to end this lovely interview with one of my favourite mantras :

‘All is well.’Namaste corporate people!