How Yoga Set Me Free: A Story Of Personal Liberation
From Corporate Law to Teaching Freedom - A Conversation with Yegor
Today we sit down with Yegor, RA 300hr graduate and scholarship recipient, who teaches weekly classes at our Ubud studio. His journey from corporate law in Russia to teaching yoga in Bali is a powerful reminder that it's never too late to choose freedom over fear.
RA: Yegor, you spent 10 years in the legal world - 6 years studying, 4 years working, plus military service. What was that life like?
Yegor: It was living from weekend to weekend, honestly. I was using whatever it took to escape the darkness of the reality I had created for myself. The last two years of law school I was working and studying simultaneously, and then four years as a practicing lawyer. I was successful on paper, but inside I was drowning.
RA: Can you tell us about the moment that changed everything?
Yegor as a lawyer. Circa 2016
Yegor: It was in 2020 after another long party - this was my regular pattern of trying to escape. Everyone else had fallen asleep around 7am, but my eyes were still wide open. My mind was spinning with anxiety and depression, my back was in intense pain from stress, and I was shackled by all my addictions. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, the word "Yoga" came into my mind. Seriously!
RA: That's remarkable, especially since you'd never practiced before. What was your awareness of yoga at the time?
Yegor: (laughs) I thought it was like voodoo or some kind of cult! My mom was actually a practitioner, but I had completely dismissed it. That night, though, something deeper was calling.
RA: How quickly did things start to shift once you began practicing?
Yegor: I started the next day and never stopped. Initially it was pure asana-oriented, but within months I discovered the power of meditation and pranayama. The transformation was so rapid, I was unrecognizable - I no longer needed to escape life, I started to enjoy it fully.
RA: What books or teachings had the biggest impact during this period?
Yegor: The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer was huge - especially his concept that "you are not your thoughts."¹ Eckhart Tolle's The Power of Now taught me about presence.² Then I dove into the Bhagavad Gita, Yoga Sutras, Sadhguru's Inner Engineering³. Atomic Habits helped me understand how to build sustainable practice.⁴
But perhaps most importantly, I learned what Tolle means when he says: "The present moment is the only time over which we have dominion."² Building that strong container to hold whatever life brings was everything.
RA: How did your family and friends react to this transformation?
Yegor: (chuckles) Total shock. My mom got over it quickly and supported my journey. But others? My family - mostly government officials - were resistant, and some friends started telling weird stories behind my back. I expereinced resentment, triggers, tests. But honestly, that was a sign I was making the right choice.
RA: When did you know you wanted to teach?
Yegor: After sharing my practice with friends for the first time, I realized this was the most meaningful thing I could do - help people find connection with themselves again, spark that same light in others. My decision surprised everyone.
RA: How did you find the courage to finally leave law and become a full-time yoga teacher?
Yegor: I taught part-time for about 6 months while still practicing law. Then I just took a leap of faith. A couple of hours after I signed my resignation letter, all the yoga studios got shut down due to COVID-19. No proper place to teach, almost no work. But the calling was impossible to ignore - the path was as clear as light in a tunnel. I taught online and privates for a couple of weeks until some studios reopened, then decided to travel to Sri Lanka.
RA: What drew you there?
Yegor in Sri Lanka. March 2023
Yegor: Initially surfing! But I discovered the spiritual richness of this Buddhist country. I did my first 10-day Vipassana retreat and found this beautiful place with a yoga shala where I could teach. For a guy from Voronezh, living by the ocean and teaching yoga felt like a dream.
RA: What brought you specifically to RA's 300hr program?
Yegor: It was almost the only 300hr course in Bali at that time. But more than that - the teachers were top notch, the studio gave such a strong sense of community sense and cozy vibe. It was exactly what I was seeking.
RA: How has your teaching evolved since RA?
Yegor: I found deeper layers of connection with my body, and built a foundation for a holistic yoga approach. The knowledge of anatomy and incorporation of somatic practices transformed how I teach. I feel students connecting differently.
RA: You're now teaching regularly at our Ubud studio. What do you love most about it?
Yegor during 300hr YTT in RA. July 2023.
Yegor: It was my goal once I decided to teach yoga - to teach in a studio like this. The community, fellow teachers and staff who became friends, students from all over the world, that beautiful jungle view. It's magical!
RA: What does your daily practice look like now?
Yegor: I wake up at 5 am for daily meditation and breathwork. My movement practice is mixed - could be yoga, resistance training, soft acrobatics and floorwork, or rehab sessions. It's about listening to what my body needs.
RA: For someone trapped in corporate life but scared to change, what would you tell them?
Yegor: Don't be afraid to follow your wildest dream. The universe will turn everything around to help you.
The heavy burden of living a life pursuing a career that didn't make sense is unbearable. When you align with your most meaningful desire, your brain circuits literally re-wire themselves. The calling within becomes impossible to ignore.
RA: Any final thoughts on liberation?
Yegor: True liberation isn't about escaping life - it's about showing up fully for it. Yoga taught me how to appreciate the present moment as it is, to build a strong container for whatever comes. That's real freedom.
References
¹ Singer, Michael A. (2007). The Untethered Soul. New Harbinger Publications.
² Tolle, Eckhart. (1997). The Power of Now. Namaste Publishing.
³ Sadhguru. (2016). Inner Engineering. Spiegel & Grau.
⁴ Clear, James. (2018). Atomic Habits. Avery.
Yegor teaches weekly classes at our Ubud studio. His story reminds us that sometimes our darkest moments lead to our brightest days - and that it's never too late to choose the path that calls to your soul.
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What's your own liberation story? If you have an inspiring transformation to share with our community, we'd love to hear from you. Reach out - your courage might inspire someone else to take their own leap of faith.