Rajiv Nathan is a yoga teacher, speaker, and educator who graduated from Bare Feet Wellness’ inaugural 200-hour teacher training in 2016. Since then, he has taught at studios throughout Chicago, including Bare Feet Wellness, Bottom Line Yoga, The Lab, and Shiva Shack. He has also taught annually in Millennium Park as part of the City of Chicago’s summer wellness series.
Rajiv’s experience includes leading intimate studio classes as well as public practices for hundreds of participants. This breadth has given him a grounded understanding of the wide range of people, backgrounds, abilities, and experiences a teacher may encounter.
As an educator in the Bare Feet Wellness teacher-training program, Rajiv leads studies in Yoga History and Cultural Awareness. He invites trainees to explore yoga’s roots, examine how the practice has evolved, and consider the responsibilities of teaching an ancient tradition in a modern Western context.
Rajiv also supports developing teachers in building confidence, communicating clearly, and creating intelligent, accessible cues. His teaching encourages trainees to remain curious, culturally aware, and respectful while finding a voice that is both authentic and effective.
Students describe Rajiv’s classes as grounding, playful, and encouraging. He centers his own education on yoga history and philosophy and combines that with his South Asian cultural roots for a class experience that sparks your body and your brainwaves. He treats your practice as a story unfolding on the mat. Expect a curated theme to set the tone for class, poses that feel both intuitive and unexpected (in a good way), and a pace that won't leave you feeling behind. You probably won't find his classes the 'fastest', 'hardest', or 'sweatiest', but you will leave feeling challenged and having made progress on your own physical, mental, or spiritual journey. Rajiv has been teaching since 2016.
When he’s not in studio, find him running his startup consulting business, making music as a rapper, or on the microphone as a professional MMA announcer!
