From College Dropout to Aerial Yoga Pioneer: The Inspiring Journey of Sagar Uddhav Shende!

For Sagar Uddhav Shende, it was an ordinary day in Mumbai in 2008. He wasn't pursuing success. He wasn't even looking for yoga. Having dropped out of college and feeling utterly adrift, he walked into a yoga class more by accident than design. Something about the quiet, the breathing, the earthy vibe of that space—it didn't demand anything, but it provided much. And that, right there, was the start of it all. Now, Sagar is subtly redefining the narrative of aerial yoga in India. Not with drama or fanfare, but with substance. His invention—Pancha Koshas Aerial Yoga and Art School in Rishikesh—is more than yet another yoga studio. It's a haven where individuals from across the globe travel to downshift, breathe more intentionally, and recall their bodies through something that appears to be flight but feels like home.

He didn’t wake up one day and decide to be an entrepreneur. It was more like a slow unfolding. One class led to another, and then suddenly he was teaching regularly, then guiding elite teams like the Anti-Terrorist Squad in Mumbai. That work—the impact it had on their stress, focus, well-being—it shifted something inside him. It showed him what yoga could really do when offered with sincerity.

By the time he reached Rishikesh, which was already a mecca for spiritualists and seekers from all over the world, he saw aerial yoga performed like a stage show—moments of acrobatics, visually pleasing but lacking depth. That was something he couldn't connect to. The hammock, in his eyes, possessed something sacred. It could nurture someone's spine just so, open the chest softly, let a sore body let go. not through tension, but through gentleness. So he remained. And he constructed something. Cautiously, gradually.

There weren't prefabricated blueprints. No manuals on how to construct a full-fledged Rishikesh yoga school from the ground up in a city that goes at its own pace. But he believed that if he remained grounded, the right individuals would come along. And they did.

Pancha Koshas is now India's largest dedicated aerial yoga studio, boasting 27 hammocks suspended in an environment that is more sanctuary than gym. Students don't enroll just to get certified—they return to reconnect. That's the true reward, he explains. Not the numbers. Not the applause. The school has branched out into teacher trainings, international retreats, and partnerships, but none of it feels commercial or transactional. It's still healing through movement, still breathing into your own silence. Sagar and his team are now building something the country's never seen before—India's first aerial yoga festival. But don't look for a glitzy affair. It's more of a gathering. A communion of breath, presence, and creative energy.

When asked how he intends to continue growing within such a quickly evolving wellness realm, he simply shrugs, as if it's not even up for discussion. "By not pursuing anything," he tells me, "by remaining with what feels real." That is what makes him unique. Where trends ebb and flow, Pancha Koshas deepens its foundation—dabbling not merely in yoga, but incorporating sound healing, breathwork, intuitive movement—gadgets that bring individuals back to themselves.

There's something terribly subtle, nigh invisible, about the type of influence that this work exercises. You can't measure it in metrics. You sense it when someone who arrived worn out leaves a bit more intact. That's the ripple effect of this practice—small, deep, impossible to counterfeit. To anyone attempting to start their own journey in wellness or entrepreneurship, Sagar's words fall lightly but linger long: "Don't try to figure it all out first. Just stay close to what's honest for you. Let it grow naturally. Trust the slow rhythm."

He doesn't think of himself as being a visionary or guru type. He's simply someone who discovered something that made him breathe better—and chose to share it.