Namita Piparaiya, Woman Entrepreneur, Yoga and Ayurveda Lifestyle Specialist & Founder of Yoganama

Interview: Namita Piparaiya – Woman Entrepreneur, Founder of Yoganama & Yoga and Ayurveda Lifestyle Specialist

This is the interview of Ms. Namita Piparaiya, Woman Entrepreneur, Yoga and Ayurveda Lifestyle Specialist and Founder of Yoganama.

Tell us a little about yourself

Namita Piparaiya: Before finding my true calling in Yoga, I was a senior corporate executive with MNCs such as Citibank, Aviva, and Generali. As part of my wellness journey, I have completed over 700 hours of Yoga Alliance certified training in Hatha Yoga.

I have also studied Pranayama, Ayurveda, and Yoga Philosophy from some of the most reputed institutions and teachers globally.

These include courses and workshops across Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, Cambridge Summer School, eCornell, The Himalayan Institute (USA), David Frawley’s American Institute of Vedic Studies, Chinmaya Mission, Indea Yoga, Paulie Zink (founder of Yin Yoga), and BNS Iyengar (Mysore).

By way of education, I’m a Maths Honours graduate from Delhi University and an MBA in Finance and Marketing from Symbiosis.

I grew up in Haryana where my father retired as an IAS officer and my mother was into horticulture.

How did you get your idea or concept for the business?

Namita Piparaiya: In my last corporate job, I was offered a promotion, which would have escalated my career exponentially. It was a great opportunity and the best thing that could have happened to me professionally.

But instead of feeling excited, I felt weighed down – because accepting it would have meant committing to growing a business that I had no particular passion for.

It was then that I decided to let go of the security of a monthly pay check and decided to invest my energy and resources in what I believe the world needs today more than anything else-peace of mind.

And as I had learnt through experience and practice – Yoga was an important and essential ingredient to achieve that goal. 

What service(s) or product(s) do you offer?

Namita Piparaiya: Yoganama covers the following offerings:

• Written and Video content on Yoga, Ayurveda and wellness
• Private and Group Yoga classes
• Corporate workshops
• Yoga Retreats
• Ayurvedic Lifestyle Guidance

What is unique about your business?

Namita Piparaiya: It brings three pillars of mindful living under one roof – Yoga, Ayurveda and Philosophy. Yoga extends beyond performing asanas on the mat – it is also about breath, meditation, and sensible living.

Infusing Ayurveda principles can help us understand the strengths and weaknesses of our inherent nature to better navigate our everyday life.

And philosophy is like the pole star which help us stay on track through the ups and downs of life. The Yoganama platform furthers one’s journey to health and happiness by helping incorporate these principles and practices in one’s daily routine.

What made you choose this type of business?

Namita Piparaiya: Yoga is a versatile practice that can help you stay both physically and mentally fit. The physical techniques of Yoga help you improve your posture, mood, energy levels, and metabolism.

Yoga is also helpful in lifestyle diseases like Diabetes or Heart ailments. It even helps us manage stress related conditions like PCOS, chronic fatigue, gastro issues, or headaches.

With Pranayama and Meditation, we start working at the subconscious level, influencing changes in our behaviour and the very structure of our brain.

Pranayama practices relax and calm down the nervous system. Consistent Meditation practice makes us less impulsive, more rational, improves our cognitive functions, and reduces food cravings.

Moreover, Yoga is a very accessible practice – you can do it on a chair, in a small hotel room, in the comfort of your home, or outside in a park.

It can be modified to suit everyone from young adults to senior citizens. That is what makes it so empowering. And that’s the reason I took this path.

What was your mission at the outset?

Namita Piparaiya: To create awareness that yoga is not just asana practice but a lifestyle that can help people in every aspect of their life from relationships to physical health to better productivity.

To then enable those who are on the fringes of Yoga to practice in the comfort of their homes.

To share easy to implement, relevant and useful nuggets of philosophy and Ayurveda for everyday life that will improve standards of thinking and create a better living environment for everyone.

How many employees in your organization?

Namita Piparaiya: Organisationally, we are two founding partners in Yoganama Wellness. LLP. Yoganama’s focus presently is content creation, and that is something that I am inherently leading.

We are presently a lean team and take the support of freelancers for marketing, SEO, editing etc as and when the need arises.

But are constantly looking out for talented professionals who have an inherent interest in yoga and wellness.

What are your company’s goals?

Namita Piparaiya: To be the most foundationally strong Yoga platform.

How do you build a successful customer base?

Namita Piparaiya: Through an extremely active and engaged presence on social media, classes and workshops, corporate programs, and other wellness services.

Yoganama’s primary focus is on creating a lot of valuable content that’s relevant to people’s everyday lives.

What have been some of your failures, and what have you learned from them?

Namita Piparaiya: Sometimes I think I started teaching Yoga too late. For the first few years I focused on studying and enhancing my knowledge before starting to teach actively.

In hindsight, this is a vast subject and learning never ends – and I sometimes believe that I could have started teaching earlier. That said, I am sure my students benefit from my initial efforts and my learning continues.

Who has been your greatest inspiration?

Namita Piparaiya: My mother, who was a force to reckon with in the small town we grew up in. Her resilience infused all of us with hope and confidence to chart our own path, just like she did, despite all odds.

If you had one piece of advice to someone just starting out, what would it be?

Namita Piparaiya: Plan well, have clear goals. Don’t just take impulsive decisions and take some time to plan out what you want to do, what your goals are, before diving into anything.

Does your company help the community or society?

Namita Piparaiya: The venture is based around helping the community and society. Every day I am trying to convey the message of wellness in everyday life. 

Website: Yoganama.com