Tatiana Braggion
Brazil
There are moments in life when we come across paths that transform us, but there are also those rare encounters that remind us the journey has always been there—waiting, simply waiting, for us to take the next step. Yoga, for me, was never a distant concept. It had long been a part of my search, woven into the way I perceived the world, into the silent questions that echoed within me before I even knew how to name them. But when I met Hitesh Ji, something shifted.
It wasn’t a sudden, dramatic change—nothing that turned my life upside down. It was quieter, like water shaping stone, slow and steady. With each class, each conversation, each practice, I realized I wasn’t just learning about the eight limbs of Yoga, the yamas, the niyamas, the pranayamas, the kriyas, the dhyana or how to hold a japamala properly—I was learning how to be. To be present, to feel each breath as a bridge between the seen and the unseen, to allow philosophy to transcend words and become something lived, something recognized deep within.
And so, almost without noticing, I stayed… One course led to another, and then another, and then yet another. Because, something inside me knew this was not a lesson that ends when the daily practice is completed. This is a living process, unfolding, expanding—just as Yoga itself should be. And, over time, I began to understand that life, like Yoga, is not linear. It unfolds in spirals, in cycles that overlap, in layers of experience waiting to be uncovered. Just as the eight limbs of Yoga do not follow a rigid sequence but grow and coexist, life, too, brings us teachers, encounters, and challenges that impart lessons no manual could ever teach.
And within this unfolding, without perhaps even realizing the depth of his role, Hitesh Ji held my hand. With immense gentleness, with a kindness that does not impose itself but is simply present, he carried me through this experience. With patience, with presence, with a silent devotion, he helped me walk a path I did not even know I needed to traverse. And that is why I want this to be known: what Hitesh Ji feels for Shiva is not mere words. He feels! He lives it! He embodies a devotion and a connection to Shiva so profound that I have rarely witnessed anything like it in another person. There is something so authentic, something so pure and unwavering in his surrender, and it reverberates through everything he teaches.
And in the end, this is what this journey is about. Yoga is not just a set of techniques, not merely a system of practices and principles. Yoga is Shiva. The recognition of Yoga is the recognition of Shiva. The structure of Yoga is the structure of life—and the structure of life is the structure of Shiva. This is why he is Adiyogi, the First Yogi, the one who brings form to the formless, consciousness to the vastness. Everything is interconnected. There is no separation between Shiva and existence, between Yoga and the way we breathe, live, and move through the world.
Many classes, many shared moments, many discoveries—both within and beyond myself. And if there is one thing I can say with certainty, it is that this journey is far from over. Because Yoga is not something to be learned, it is something to be revealed. And once seen, it becomes a part of us—like a memory that was never forgotten, only dormant.
Today, as I look back, I see that this path was always mine, even before I consciously walked it. And so, I continue forward, with an open heart, knowing that each step is both a return and a new beginning.
Because Aum does not end when the letters fade. It begins in the silence.
“The silence after the Aum does not begin when the sound ends—it has always been there, sustaining everything.
Silence is not the opposite of sound.
Emptiness is not the opposite of fullness.
Stillness is not the opposite of movement.”
And in this silent space, where everything exists and dissolves at once, I finally understand the deeper meaning of Hari Aum.
Hari, the one who removes, the one who dissolves the barriers between us and the truth.
Aum, the primordial vibration, the totality, that which has always been and will always be.
When Hitesh Ji greets us with Hari Aum, it is not just a salutation. It is a call! A reminder that everything that limits us can be dissolved. That all illusions can fall away, and all that remains is what has always been: Shiva, Yoga, Life.
“Utre Mujh Mein Adiyogi”
Hari Aum
🙏🏻💙🔱
