Meet Sajiv: The Teacher Behind Jivamukti at Living Yoga Johannesburg
Sajiv came to yoga because his back was giving him trouble.
His chiropractor suggested Pilates or yoga. He walked into a gym class, loved it immediately, and before long was going almost every day. A lot of people find their way to the mat through something that wasn’t working in their body.
From student to teacher
What happened next is the part worth telling.
He signed up for his teacher training at Living Yoga, in this studio, in this space. He didn’t want to teach. The practice had opened a door, and he wanted to understand what was behind it. In his own words, he was very much in the “I’m only doing this to deepen my knowledge” camp.
Then, almost immediately after qualifying, the opportunity to teach appeared. He took it.
That was more than eleven years ago.
The actuary who teaches yoga
Sajiv is still here, and not because nothing else came along. He runs his own business, Wizard & Co., as an actuarial consultant, spending his days with numbers, complex problems and the kind of analytical thinking that yoga gives him somewhere to set down.
He is still here because every time he steps onto the mat to teach, he is doing exactly what he meant to do.
What Jivamukti with Sajiv is like
If you’ve never been to a Jivamukti class, it is not simply movement.
Through breath, music, sound and yoga philosophy, Sajiv creates a class he describes as uplifting, with room for both challenge and softness. If you arrive feeling low or depleted, he hopes the practice helps you reconnect with something within yourself that feels a little brighter.
“I aim to create a space where you feel safe to explore whatever you’re experiencing,” he says. “Alongside the depth of the practice, there’s room for enjoyment, too.”
You don’t have to arrive already feeling peaceful, strong or flexible. Come as you are.
What follows students home
What surprises his students most is how much follows them home.
A piece of philosophy heard in class surfacing during an ordinary moment. A different way of responding to something difficult.
People come in expecting to move their bodies and leave with something they didn’t anticipate needing.
That’s where Sajiv sees yoga doing its real work.
Not on the mat, but after it.
He teaches because he wants to create a space for people to discover what’s possible, and to feel completely accepted while they’re discovering it.
Beyond the mat
Outside of yoga and actuarial consulting, Sajiv teaches Budokon, kids’ yoga and aerial yoga. His curiosity about movement takes many forms.
Right now he is watching The Traitors with the same focused attention he brings to everything else, fascinated not just by the strategy but by the human behaviour underneath it.
Who do people trust, and why?
How confidently can someone get it completely wrong?
He sees the connection to yoga clearly: becoming aware of our assumptions, pausing before reacting, noticing how we show up around others. Whether you’re a Traitor or a Faithful, he says, there’s plenty to learn about yourself.
The analytical mind and the yoga teacher are, it turns out, after exactly the same thing.
Jivamukti at Living Yoga in Parkwood, Johannesburg
Living Yoga is one of a small number of studios in Johannesburg offering Jivamukti with a qualified teacher.
Jivamukti with Sajiv
Tuesdays, 18:00 to 19:00
In the studio at 13 Chester Rd, Parkwood, Johannesburg, and live online
Book via the Living Yoga app or at livingyoga.co.za.
New to Living Yoga?
The R99 first-week online trial gives you full access to the live online classes.
Can’t make Tuesday evenings?
The Living Yoga Library has recorded classes from our teachers, available on demand from R350 a month.
Jivamukti Chakra Tuning and Sound Journey Workshop
If you’d like to experience Sajiv’s teaching in a longer format, he is hosting a workshop at the studio with Mark Dent on Sunday 29 November, 14:00 to 16:00.
It’s a journey through the seven chakras in two parts.
First, a Jivamukti practice with Sajiv, weaving together asana, breathwork, mantra, chanting and guided visualisation. Then Mark leads a singing bowl sound journey, a long stretch of stillness where you don’t have to do or achieve anything.
Open to all levels.
R400 per person.
Spaces are limited.
Ages 16 and over. Tickets
