— Founder & Lead Teacher · Dubai since 2009
Classical yoga · Ayurvedic practitioner · Himalayan lineage —
“Yoga is not a practice you fit into your life. It is the understanding that changes how you live — the lens through which everything else becomes clear.”
The beginning
First yoga certificate · BVB
BKS Iyengar & Graduation
Dubai · Shangri-La
UK studio · Crawley
Ayurvedic relaunch
Sumit Manav was born and raised in Baghpat, a small town in Uttar Pradesh, northern India. In 1998, at the age of 18, he began studying yoga under his Guru, Shreeram Sharma Acharya, in the Himalayas.
The four years that followed were not a teacher training course — they were an immersion. Living and studying in the Himalayan tradition meant learning yoga not as a physical system but as a complete science of human consciousness.
"The Himalayas do not teach you yoga. They reveal to you what yoga actually is — and then the rest of your life becomes the practice of understanding that revelation."
It was during these years of study with the mountain mystics that Sumit first encountered Ayurveda not as a separate healing system but as the sister science of yoga — the framework that explains why different bodies and minds need fundamentally different practices. This understanding became the foundation of everything he would build.
Two years into his Himalayan training, Sumit formalised his emerging knowledge through his first official yoga qualification — a certificate course in Yoga for Health Care from Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan, one of India’s most prestigious cultural and educational institutions, founded under the guidance of national leaders and dedicated to the preservation of classical Indian knowledge systems.
Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan’s yoga curriculum is rooted in the therapeutic application of classical yoga — how asana, pranayama and meditation address specific physiological and psychological conditions. For Sumit, this was the bridge between the contemplative Himalayan tradition he was immersed in and the practical, health-centred framework he would later bring to thousands of students dealing with diabetes, hypertension, burnout and chronic stress.
"Yoga for health care is not a softening of yoga. It is yoga being used exactly as it was always intended — as the most complete system of human healing that exists."
This certification marked Sumit’s first step into the world of yoga as a formal therapeutic discipline — a thread that runs directly from Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan in 2000 to the Ayurvedic prescription system at Lifestyle Yoga World today.
Certificate in Yoga for Health Care — Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan, India. One of India’s foremost cultural and educational institutions. Foundation in the therapeutic application of classical yoga to health conditions — the root of Sumit’s clinical approach to practice.
After his Himalayan training, Sumit pursued formal academic qualifications to ground his experiential knowledge in the rigorous science of yoga. He completed a three-year Bachelor’s degree in Physical Education and Yoga, specialising in Sports Science — giving him the anatomical and physiological framework to understand precisely how classical yoga works on the human body.
In 2005, he earned his Post Graduate Diploma in Yoga Science and Human Consciousness from Dev Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya (DSVV) in Haridwar — one of India’s most respected yoga universities, situated on the banks of the Ganges at the gateway to the Himalayas. DSVV’s approach combines Vedic philosophy with modern scientific understanding of consciousness — exactly the integration Sumit had been seeking since his mountain years.
Training under BKS Iyengar taught Sumit that precision in the body creates space in the mind. Every millimetre of alignment carries meaning.
It was during this period that Sumit also spent two years studying directly under BKS Iyengar — the legendary Pune-based master who systematised the Iyengar method and brought classical Hatha yoga to global recognition. The emphasis on anatomical precision, prop use, long holds and therapeutic application would permanently shape Sumit’s teaching — the influence visible in every class he delivers to this day.
He was also recognised as a National Yoga Champion and identified as one of the top 10 yoga teachers from India — recognition that opened international doors and brought his first international teaching engagements.
Post Graduate Diploma in Yoga Science & Human Consciousness — Dev Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya (DSVV), Haridwar, 2005. Bachelor of Science in Physical Education & Yoga (Sports Science). Two years direct study under BKS Iyengar, Pune.
In 2009, Sumit brought his lineage to Dubai — opening Lifestyle Yoga World at the Shangri-La Hotel on Sheikh Zayed Road. The choice of location was not accidental. Shangri-La represents the kind of environment where people take their wellness seriously, where the community expects quality and depth, and where there is genuine space for classical yoga to be received as it deserves.
The studio became the first in Dubai to offer a comprehensive dosha-based yoga system — mapping every class to the Ayurvedic constitution it balances, building a timetable that was not a menu of generic yoga styles but a prescription system rooted in 5,000 years of classical science.
Over the years that followed, corporate Dubai discovered LYW. Emirates, PepsiCo, Kellogg’s, Fairmont and Shangri-La became regular clients — bringing their leadership teams to Sumit not for a yoga class but for a practice that genuinely addressed what was out of balance. The Pitta executive burning out. The Vata team scattered and anxious. The Kapha organisation heavy and stagnant. Sumit named what was happening and prescribed accordingly.
Founded 2009 at Shangri-La Hotel, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai. Dubai’s first Ayurvedic yoga prescription system. Corporate clients include Emirates, PepsiCo, Kellogg’s, Fairmont and Shangri-La. 4.9 Google rating.
In 2020, Sumit expanded the Lifestyle Yoga World family to the United Kingdom — opening a studio in Crawley, West Sussex, with an additional presence in Horsham. The UK studio brought the same classical Ayurvedic teaching system to a new community, serving students across West Sussex who had never experienced yoga as a constitutional prescription rather than a fitness class.
The UK expansion also reflected Sumit’s growing international footprint — by 2020, he had taught in over 40 countries, spoken at major international yoga conferences, and become a regular faculty member at the World Yoga Festival, one of the world’s largest yoga gatherings.
The twin-studio model — Dubai and the UK — gave Lifestyle Yoga World a global reach that few yoga brands achieve: rooted in Himalayan lineage, delivered in two of the world’s most cosmopolitan cities, trusted by students from every background and tradition.
Studio founded 2020 in Crawley, West Sussex. Serving students across West Sussex and Horsham. WhatsApp UK: +44 7379 054424
After 25 years of teaching — 25,000+ hours, 10,000+ students, 500+ teachers trained — Sumit is relaunching Lifestyle Yoga World around its most fundamental conviction: that yoga should begin with a question, not a class.
The question is: what does your body and mind actually need? The answer, in classical Ayurveda, is your Prakriti — your unique constitutional nature. Once you know whether you are predominantly Vata, Pitta or Kapha, the right practice becomes obvious. The scattered mind needs grounding. The driven executive needs cooling. The heavy body needs igniting.
"Modern yoga forgot to ask the most important question. Every classical text begins with Prakriti — knowing the person before prescribing the practice. We are returning to that."
Every class at Lifestyle Yoga World now carries a dosha tag. The 12-question Prakriti quiz — built on the classical Ayurvedic assessment framework — maps each student to their constitution and prescribes their practice. The timetable is not a menu. It is a prescription system for the full spectrum of human nature.
This is the yoga Sumit learned in the Himalayas. This is the yoga BKS Iyengar practised with precision. This is the yoga the classical texts have always described. It is simply, finally, being made available in Dubai as it was always meant to be taught.
First formal yoga qualification from Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan — one of India’s most respected cultural and educational institutions. Specialising in the therapeutic application of classical yoga to health conditions. The foundation of Sumit’s clinical approach to practice and his work with students managing diabetes, hypertension and chronic stress.
Post Graduate Diploma in Yoga Science and Human Consciousness from Dev Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya — one of India’s most respected yoga universities, combining Vedic philosophy with modern scientific understanding of consciousness.
Three-year undergraduate degree in Physical Education and Yoga with a Sports Science specialism — providing the anatomical, physiological and biomechanical framework that underpins Sumit’s therapeutic teaching approach.
Two years of direct study under BKS Iyengar — the legendary Pune master who systematised classical Hatha yoga and brought it to global recognition. The Iyengar emphasis on anatomical precision and therapeutic application remains central to Sumit’s teaching.
Recognised as a National Yoga Champion and acknowledged as one of the top 10 yoga teachers from India — recognition that established his international reputation and opened faculty positions at major global yoga events including the World Yoga Festival.
Certified in Pranic Healing — an energy-based therapeutic system that integrates naturally with classical Ayurvedic yoga therapy. Hundreds of students suffering from diabetes, hypertension and chronic stress have benefited from Sumit’s Pranic healing protocols alongside their yoga practice.
Regular faculty member at the World Yoga Festival — one of the world’s largest international yoga gatherings — alongside leading teachers from India, Europe and the United States. Has presented workshops on classical yoga, Ayurveda and pranayama to international audiences.
Member of the Indian Association of Yoga. Has conducted over 300 mindfulness and yoga retreats worldwide, and led multiple Teacher Training programmes producing 500+ certified yoga teachers now teaching across the GCC, UK, Germany, Austria, Malaysia and India.
Acclaimed by both regional and international media for his revolutionary approach to integrating ancient yoga practices with modern lifestyle needs. Featured in publications across the UAE, India and Europe. [Add specific publication names here]
Modern yoga has separated two things that were never meant to be separated: the practice and the practitioner. Walk into most studios and you will find a timetable of styles — Vinyasa, Yin, HIIT Yoga, Hot Yoga — offered to everyone equally. The person is not considered. Only the class.
This is precisely what the classical tradition was designed to prevent. Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras do not describe a fitness programme. The Charaka Samhita does not recommend the same treatment for every patient. Ayurveda and yoga were always understood as a pair — one describes the constitution, the other prescribes the practice.
Sumit’s conviction, formed across 25 years of teaching and rooted in his Himalayan training, is simple: yoga should begin with Prakriti. Before a class, before a sequence, before any instruction — understand the person. Then prescribe.
Every student’s constitutional nature — Vata, Pitta or Kapha — determines what practice will genuinely transform them.
Every class, private session and teacher trained is an expression of the purpose to add more to people’s lives.
Join Sumit’s group classes at Lifestyle Yoga World, Shangri-La Hotel. Every class is dosha-mapped — take the Prakriti quiz first and book the classes prescribed for your constitution.
One-to-one with Sumit — a full Prakriti assessment, a personalised yoga sequence built entirely around your constitution, and a written home practice plan. 60–90 minutes at Shangri-La or online. AED 450 per session.
Team Prakriti Profiling, burnout recovery protocols, breathwork for business. Sumit designs every corporate programme around your team’s constitutional profile — not a generic yoga class but a prescription for your people.
Join Sumit for seven days of Ayurvedic yoga in Ubud, Bali — 29 August to 4 September 2026. Elements of Bali: a full immersion in dosha-based practice, pranayama, meditation and Sattvic nutrition in one of the world’s most spiritually alive places.
Sumit has trained over 500 yoga teachers now teaching across the GCC, UK, Europe and Asia. His teacher training programmes combine classical Himalayan lineage with modern anatomical understanding and the Ayurvedic prescription framework.
For students outside Dubai — live online classes that mirror the studio timetable, a recorded library of dosha-specific practices, and online Prakriti consultations with Sumit. Classical yoga without geographic limits.
Take the Prakriti quiz, discover your dosha, and book your first class — or speak directly with Sumit on WhatsApp about what your practice should look like.
Every teacher at LYW has been trained personally by Sumit and teaches within the classical yoga framework he has built over 25 years. As the Ayurvedic relaunch progresses, each teacher is being trained into the full dosha-based prescription system — bringing the same depth of personalisation to every class they lead.
Ancient wisdom · Classical yoga · Shangri-La Dubai
In classical Ayurveda, every body is born with a unique constitution — your Prakriti. Understanding it is the first step to a yoga practice that genuinely transforms you. Take our 12-question assessment and receive a personalised practice map in 3 minutes. This is based on your lifestyle and your body type.
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