Bharath Shetty

Bharath Kumara Shetty Handakunda (born 19 March 1979), better known as Bharath Shetty, is the creator-founder of the style of yoga known as "Indea Yoga" and is considered as one of the leading contemporary yoga teachers of the world. He is a registered Yoga Alliance teacher with RYT 200 and E-RYT 500 to his credit. He has 21 years of teaching experience so far. He runs a yoga studio named Aananda Yoga India at Mysore, Karnataka.
Early life
Bharath Shetty was born to Bhujanga Shetty Albandi and Sukanya Shetty in the coastal town of Kundapur, Karnataka on 19 March 1979. He has two sisters.
He was introduced to yoga at the age of 14 by Yogacharya Kumara of Shantivana Trust (a Yoga and Naturopathy Centre) at a regular school he attended. As a child he suffered from severe Asthma and with the practice of yoga, he saw significant improvements in his health. This inspired him to continue learning yoga.
Bharath had his first teaching experience in 1995 when he was approached by a bunch of people in a park where he practiced regularly. Upon their request, Bharath started teaching them yoga and it is then that he discovered his true calling. He decided to become a professional yoga teacher.
Yoga career
Bharath founded 'Creative Yoga Centre' at Bangalore in 1998 and it was his first yoga studio. He later moved to Mysore in 2004, one of the important yoga hubs in India, and set up a new school called "Yoga India" where he conducted regular teachers' training courses. The school was rechristened as "Aananda Yoga India" and it continues to be called so even today. He has trained more than 500 teachers from 60 countries so far.
Bharath has also set up a Yoga Shala called "Yoga Bharata" where people take regular classes as opposed to teachers' training courses held at Aananda Yoga India.
He has conducted workshops in countries around the world like Belgium, Germany, Malaysia, Switzerland, Thailand, Indonesia, Spain, China, Denmark and India. He is also involved in corporate yoga and has trained professionals from Union Bank of Switzerland, Google, Wipro, Oracle, ANZ Information Technologies and Theorem.
The Yoga Pilgrimage
On the evening of September 22, 1999 in Bangalore, Bharath met with an accident where a bus drove over his limbs. He was told by doctors that he would never be able to do yoga again. Undeterred, he started his practice within 2 months after the accident and healed himself through it. In his own words, it was the practice of yoga that helped him bounce back after such a trauma. This incident had a huge impact on him and he decided to deepen his knowledge on yoga. In 2002, he closed his "Creative Yoga Centre" at Bangalore and set out for what can be called as a "yoga pilgrimage". He practiced under the tutelage of the widely renowned Yoga Guru Padma Vibhushan B K S Iyengar for 8 months at Pune, India. After that, he continued his journey and did yoga courses from Indian Yoga Institute, Vivekananda Kendra at Bangalore where he secured 'A' grade and International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre, Trivandrum where he graduated with an 'Excellent' grade. He returned home in 2004.
Indea Yoga
Indea Yoga is the style of yoga developed by Bharath Shetty and concentrates on body-breath-mind coordination. It is based on Ashtanga of Patanjali and Panchakosha of Upanishads.
Personal life
He is married to Archana Shetty and has two daughters Aajna Shetty and Abhijna Shetty.
Philanthropy
Bharath Shetty provides financial assistance to under privileged children for their education through a charitable trust he has founded called "Indea Foundation".
Awards and Accolades
•Bharath Shetty has been awarded with Yoga Shiromani and Yogacharya titles by Vivekandananda Kendra, Bangalore and International Sivananda Yoga Vendanta Centre, Trivandrum upon completion of his training
•Winner of Himalaya Yoga Olympiad (Indian National Yoga Championship) Haridwar and Bangalore in 1998 and 2001, respectively
•Felicitated at Yoga Dasara, Mysore in 2015
•Presented with Melvin Jones Fellow
•Presenter at International Yoga Festival every year

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