Thejaswini on Happiness, Good food, and Values in Indian Family Life.

In the beginning of 2023 I spent 2 months in India deepening my yoga practice and diving into the Indian culture. I spent most of my time in Gokulam, Mysore, where the yoga school I attended was located. Mysore is a little yoga paradise in the south of India, where yoga as we know it today originated. This is where I also met Theja - together with her husband Basava they run Old Green House Cafe - one of the nicest family-run restaurants with the yummiest South Indian food in the area.

Old Green House was one of the first places I checked out when I arrived in Gokulam, and I was met with such genuine hospitality, that I immediately fell in love with the place. Theja greeted me first with a big smile and a “Namaste”. She exuded such contentment and joy just by being, that I was mesmerized by her presence. I think it was at that moment when I had the idea to maybe interview her for the podcast one day, in order to figure out what the secret to this happiness and contentment is.

Santosha is the second of the Niyamas of Patanjali’s 8 limbs of yoga, translating as contentment, and Theja was the perfect embodiment of that Niyama. Later on, I met her two wonderful children and her husband, who were just as sweet and joyful as she was. Both husband and wife are so very generous and also very dedicated to work, be it Basra who works at three different places, or Theja, who works at the restaurant, and takes care of the home and the children each day. 

Me and Theja talked about happiness, family values, growing the children, managing the cafe, and so much more. I am so happy we managed to make it happen, and hope you enjoy this episode as much as we enjoyed recording it. So without further ado, I’ll leave you to the podcast episode.