Meet Kinjal Patel

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kinjal Patel. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kinjal below.

Kinjal, thank you so much for joining us today. Let’s jump right into something we’re really interested in hearing about from you – being the only one in the room. So many of us find ourselves as the only woman in the room, the only immigrant or the only artist in the room, etc. Can you talk to us about how you have learned to be effective and successful in situations where you are the only one in the room like you?

Being different in a room started early for me! Growing up in Connecticut, I was one of two non white children in my grade at parochial school. To add drama, I was also the lone vegetarian. At least we all had the same plaid skirted and oxford button down look. Thank goodness for that. Ha. During those years of my life, all I wanted was to fit in, to blend in. I didn’t get that wish granted, but what I learned was how to focus and be diligent despite being othered, and being bullied. I mean, I was a nerd: I loved reading, and I loved school. So the way I managed was to focus on what brought me joy. And learning brought me joy. It was also essential that I had grandparents who loved me unconditionally. As a child, that emotional foundation is everything.

I now feel this in my day to day quite often as a yoga teacher. I am often the only Indian origin person in a yoga room. I have listened to many teachers appropriate things that are unspeakably sacred to me and my ancestors. For me, the way to counter this is not really to spotlight it: rather I aspire to be a compelling alternative. I think clamoring, ‘oh, white people took yoga, how dare you?!?’…it just doesn’t do anything productive in the long term. Yoga is for everyone. The Vedic tradition is inclusive on principle and I am so proud of that. Some of the most dedicated people I know in the space are not Indian and I know others who are Indian. It doesn’t matter. What matters to me is that I show yoga to others with pristine respect. My approach is to be the most dedicated yoga student and teacher that I can be, and honor my teachers and my heritage. As a woman of Indian origin, I feel more responsibility to be a great role model in the yoga community. If I get to do that, then I am in my joy and ease, and I get to enable others to experience authentic yoga that is bowing to its many thousand year old origins.

A key part of success for me has come from cultivating the ability to know myself. If you know who you are, then you know your purpose, and you have focus. Then, you may be anywhere and be fine. And, of course, I have days where I am not sure of ANYTHING. I mean, it’s 2025: times are wild right now. That’s part of being human. But to note that, accept that, and then despite that, go in and claim your focus: that becomes the superpower. That is yoga.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I founded Rani♡Nani in 2020. Rani♡Nani is my yoga service business. After becoming a physician, I got to study yoga formally, and realized my vocational calling is to empower others through yoga and related disciplines. I am interested in helping nurture resilience in my students/clients: we cannot control what happens to us, but we can manage how we respond. The better we get at this, the more fulfilling and joyful life becomes! Yoga helped me heal myself and understand myself, and I love enabling others to do the same.

Rani♡Nani is named for my beloved late grandmother, who is my favorite yoga teacher. Rani means queen in Hindi and Nani means maternal grandmother.

I love teaching yoga one on one, because that is original tradition of direct transmission. Working together directly also allows me to help my clients in their specific goals and circumstances in the most refined, focused way. My background as an MD also makes me a great fit for persons of any bodily ability, or those with chronic conditions or injuries.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

1. Discipline: when I cultivate discipline, I can see myself more clearly. It clears distractions. And as the world is now, we are bombarded with distractions. Also, in the more concrete sense, nothing great is achieved without a lot of work, a lot of repetition, and sacrifice.

2. Compassion: this is both compassion for others and for yourself. I try to remember that I don’t really know anyone else’s inner world, just like no one really knows mine unless we are that close. And so, being kind to each other and assuming the best about each other is essential to building community and beautiful relationships.

3. Integrity: I keep trying to refine my ability to tell the truth but not harm others while doing that. When truth is uncomfortable, that gets real tough and awkward. But at the end of the day, check in with yourself: are you proud of the way you handled x, y, z? If not, okay, do it better next time.

Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?

My go-to is yoga asana: that is my favorite, nearly foolproof lifeline to sanity.

Or I’ll talk to or hug someone I love. Naps are great, everything is better after a nap. Of course pranayama (breathwork). Or I’ll go to the ocean. I also love running. And writing.

I think the thing is, different circumstances of overwhelm call for different strategies. So my advice is, have a toolkit of things you may do when you’re overwhelmed. Then you can pick, and build trust in yourself to pick the right thing. Sometimes you gotta do all of the things in your toolkit to feel better 🙂 That’s fine! Then, appreciate that you built that toolkit!

Almost forgot the most obvious thing: I just hope that I am able to notice that I’m overwhelmed. Often that awareness softens it all up.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.raninani.com/
• Instagram: @kinjaldoesyoga & @raninaniyoga
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kjalp/

Image Credits

Kat Mills Martin
Nadia Tyson