Padma has taught yogic meditation courses and has led guided deep relaxations in a variety of settings since 2001. She is certified in Integral Yoga® asanas (postures), pranayama (breathing techniques), yoga nidra (deep relaxation), yoga philosophy, and anatomy & physiology at the 500-hour level. She is also certified in Yoga as Stress Management and has adapted yoga practices for business settings, schools, and healthcare professionals. Padma loves sharing with others what she has absorbed about yoga and meditation over the years. She had the good fortune of learning from true meditation masters from India and the U.S.
Padma lived at the headquarters of Integral Yoga® in Virginia for eight years, where she oversaw the weekend and week-long Programs, taught various workshops for Basic level Teacher Trainings, and was immersed in yogic lifestyle.
Padma Habib, Unwind the Mind Founder
My Journey
I have had a daily meditation practice for over twenty years. It helps me to feel anchored to something beyond the ever-changing mind. I find the meditation technique I apply a good balance between challenging and doable which makes the practice very enjoyable. It’s like the enjoyment of playing a game—sometimes we may do better than other times, but as we practice, we polish our skill and over time become better at it. I believe that the ‘game’ of meditation not only results in a steady, relaxed state in the short term, but in the long term leads towards lasting fulfillment.
Like many people do, I found Yoga and meditation at a time in my life when I was having difficulty. I was at a crossroads, feeling lost and without purpose or direction. Something in me was yearning for greater meaning. In 1994 I had been taking Integral Yoga® classes and practicing deep relaxation. I had attended a talk by the Founder of Integral Yoga, Sri Swami Satchidananda, at a Unity Church in South Florida and his words left a real impression on me. He spoke of things that rang true and were profound, but in a way that everyone could understand. He also had a wonderful sense of humor, and I wanted to learn more. I made a mental note that someday I would go visit the Integral Yoga® headquarters—Satchidananda Ashram—in Virginia. After the talk a small group of us met with him, though at the time I didn’t realize we were in the presence of a great Yoga master.
Years later, in 2000, I made the decision to go to Satchidananda Ashram (aka “Yogaville”) for a couple of months and ended up staying for eight years! Every day I felt inspired not only by the profound Yoga teachings that were based on the ancient, classic scriptures, the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and the Bhagavad Gita, but also by the example of many around me who had lived the teachings for decades and beautifully embodied them. The goal of Integral Yoga® is to maintain an easeful body, a peaceful mind, and a useful life.
Sri Swami Satchidananda envisioned and in 1986 built the LOTUS temple, an interfaith shrine in the shape and color of a lotus flower on the outside, and on the inside, there are altars and artifacts of every major religion and even religions yet unknown, connected by a light at the pinnacle. The LOTUS shrine embodies Sri Swami Satchidananda’s universal teaching that “Truth is One, Paths are Many”. Here people of all different faiths feel welcome and can come to meditate and to realize our essential oneness.
I currently live in Boulder, CO with my husband and I enjoy hiking, bike riding, and deepening my study and practice of Yoga philosophy, hatha, meditation, and applying the Yoga teachings in my interactions with others.