My corporate career was going well. That was the problem.
I had spent more than a decade in digital media across India, Singapore, and the APAC region. The career gave me stability, growth, and identity. But over time, while I was progressing externally, I was no longer connected to the direction I was heading.
It was not dissatisfaction. It was a misalignment.
The question that kept surfacing was not “should I leave?” It was quieter than that: if I wait until retirement to find out whether this work could become something real, will I be able to live with that answer? I could not.
If your career looks fine on paper but inside it doesn’t feel right, you know what I mean.
From Personal Practice to Purpose
Around the time my role in Singapore became redundant, I had started exploring different wellness practices, including running and yoga. What began as a way to use that transition period productively led me to complete my first yoga teacher training.
The more I practiced and taught, the more connected I felt to the work. I found meaning in the smaller moments: adults leaving calmer, children learning to notice their breath from a young age, and families using simple tools to bring more ease into daily life.
After a few months, I returned to a corporate role. The job gave me stability, but it no longer gave me the same meaning as teaching yoga and mindfulness.
From 2015 to 2023, I continued building this work alongside my full-time career and family life. Most weekends I was teaching, learning, creating programs, or working with adults and children. It never felt heavy because I enjoyed it.
Eventually, I specialized in children’s yoga and mindfulness. Working with children taught me that supporting them requires more than teaching movement. It requires understanding behavior, emotions, attention, creativity, and connection.
As interest grew among parents, schools, and communities, I saw this work was more than teaching yoga on the mat. It was about helping children build self-regulation, confidence, resilience, self-awareness, and meaningful connections.
Passion and Purpose Alone Are Not Enough
One of the biggest factors that helped me move from interest to impact was consistency.
For years, I kept building alongside my corporate career. I did not leave immediately because I had not yet created a viable model that could support both the mission and the practical realities of life.
I started turning my side project into a sustainable platform. Physical classes could only reach so many people, so I asked: if I wanted to have more impact, how could this work go beyond live sessions?
That shift led me to build digital resources, online programs, flagship products, teacher-training certifications, and a broader vision for children’s well-being. I developed a digital kids’ wellness platform, launched my flagship Kids Yoga Teacher Training certification, expanded my work with communities, parents, educators, and families, and deepened my focus on special-needs yoga and inclusive well-being.
What began as individual classes gradually evolved into an ecosystem.
This is where many passion-led ventures face their real test. Passion creates momentum, but sustainable growth needs structure, systems, adaptability, and a long-term vision. This was not only a career transition; it was turning a passion project into a purpose-led business with structure, patience, and consistency.
The Moment I Had to Choose
For years, I balanced two parallel careers: my corporate role and the wellness work I had been building alongside it.
A few questions kept resurfacing. Would I be financially secure without corporate income? Why leave when my career is progressing well? Would I regret not giving my wellness work a genuine opportunity?
The turning point came when changes in my role and team structure pulled my energy away from the work I had spent nearly a decade building. Rather than making an impulsive decision, I took a sabbatical.
That pause gave me space to reflect. Could I commit fully to the work I had built? Was waiting until retirement really better? Would I regret not exploring this path?
The answer became clear. There would never be a completely risk-free moment. The difference was that I had the energy, experience, and momentum to pursue it now.
By then, BlissYogaSG was no longer a passion project. It has evolved into children’s yoga programs, teacher training, school partnerships, inclusive wellness offerings and a digital learning platform.
Build With Courage, But Also With Grounding
Today, when people ask me how to leave a job and follow their passion, I do not tell them to be impulsive. I tell them to start small, while still working, and let consistency give them clarity. Build a structure around the passion. Plan practically, especially around finances and responsibilities. Keep learning and evolving. And take the leap only when your inner clarity and your outer foundation begin to meet.
That moment will not feel completely safe. But it will feel real.
Today, my professional background continues to support my business. BlissYogaSG has grown into a wider ecosystem, with 500+ students certified worldwide as kids yoga and mindfulness teachers, globally recognised Yoga Alliance-accredited teacher training certifications specialising in children’s well-being, a digital-first children’s wellness platform with 60+ pre-recorded programs, and an upcoming Special Needs Kids Yoga Teacher Training.
My work in children’s and family well-being has taught me that real change often begins with adults. When we support parents, educators, and teachers, they are better able to support children.
That is the work I chose, or maybe the work chose me.
Looking back, it does not feel like I left one career for another. It feels like I slowly built the courage, structure, and clarity to come home to the work I was meant to do.