Irina Panarina, a yoga instructor, joined the project Fashion&Profession in Prospekt shopping mall. About how she changed her attitude to clothes and why she puts on lipstick before classes. 

"I've been doing yoga for over 10 years. In 2017, the instructor entrusted me to lead classes instead of her, because she was supposed to go for training. I managed to pass on my experience to others, and thus the director of a travel agency also became a yoga instructor. 

I used to think that yogis never get sick, perform all the asanas perfectly, and nothing holds them back if they are going to go somewhere. But the reality was a little different. First, some students study exclusively with you, and if you leave them, they are more likely to leave the practice. Sometimes adults, like small children, need a "kick in the rear". 

Teaching is not about performing asanas perfectly, but about how you help a person discover themselves. And yes, teachers still could get sick. Perhaps only less often and with milder symptoms. 

Since the names of asanas sound in Sanskrit, it is advisable for a yogi to understand a little about this language in order to understand what colleagues and mentors are talking about. However, this is an optional condition for teaching as is commonly believed. 

When I have internal difficulties, lack of inspiration, I watch an interview with Finnish Yogi Petri Räisänen, and read his articles. He has been practicing for more than 30 years and is one of the most respected Ashtanga yoga teachers of the new generation. He admires with his calmness and wisdom. I am also inspired by my purposeful colleague Tania Lymar, who will always find something to say. 

After becoming a teacher, I began to pay less attention to brands while shopping, and earlier I bothered, looking for bright accessories to emphasize myself, wondering how people would perceive me in this or that look. I realized that clothes are an addition to a person, so I switched to a comfortable outfit and abandoned heels. Now I focus more on my feelings. 

When I put on my class uniform, I start to feel different. It's like getting ready for any person to work: they are still at home, but as soon as they put on the last element, mentally they are already all about work. I also always put my lipstick on. It seems to me that this adds femininity to the look. 

I make quick decisions about daily looks. I open the drawer where my leggings are laid out, and depending on my mood, I choose. If I feel very energetic, I take out colorful ones. However, I always compensate for this brightness with a calm top (white, black, beige), so that people who came to classes have no flicker in their eyes.

I wear things for a very long time because I get used to them and get attached to them. I am affected by advertising, especially when I see something good and it constantly flashes in the feed. However, I understand what quality the item should be and how much it should cost. I am willing to pay for high-quality clothes that will survive repeated washing. 

It's hard to imagine a yoga teacher without beautiful leggings and a mat. But the mood with which they enter the hall with students, their readiness and openness to everything that will happen during the lesson – this is the first priority, and then clothes and a mat. 

Professional habit - to make an impression about a person by the way they are dressed and relate to the outfit. For example, a girl came to class dressed in a black uniform, but her top is small. So, it's a person with a strong inner core, who wants with the help of yoga to find answers to their questions. But if a student has a black T-shirt instead of a top, then I wouldn't be surprised if it turns out that they work as a model (laughs - note.). Someone comes in wide trousers: probably shy of their legs. Men are also interesting: many of them are afraid to show their knees. What happens on the mat is life in a zip archive." 

Exhibition Fashion&Profession in Prospekt shopping mall will last until June 14.