Yastheel Phalad is a coach, yoga teacher, and strategist focused on helping people individuals break through internal blocks and create lasting, meaningful change in their lives.

With a background spanning finance, data analytics, and traditional yoga, he occupies a rare space between two worlds — bridging the gap between how people think, feel, and act.

His work focuses on what drives behaviour — patterns, beliefs, and internal narratives — helping individuals build clarity, emotional resilience, and alignment so they can perform, connect, and live at a higher level.

At the core of his approach is a focus on forgiveness, self-acceptance, and integration — grounded in compassion and practical self-awareness.

The Turning Point

From a young age, Yastheel was deeply introspective — drawn to understanding the mind through art, strategy, and chess.

In his final year of university, he experienced a profound existential crisis. The traditional definitions of achievement no longer held meaning.What followed was not a breakdown — but a breakthrough. Beneath external success, something felt incomplete.

In 2016, during his first meditation course, Yastheel entered a deep state of stillness. In that moment came a realization that would shape his life:

"Mind minus ego reveals the Divine."

The path of awareness

This experience led him to his spiritual mentor, Mohanji. When asked a simple question—“What do you want?”—Yastheel’s answer was immediate:

"Please help me make the world a better place.”

Under Mohanji’s guidance, Yastheel began walking the path of Raja Yoga, rooted in self-acceptance and awareness. He realised that real transformation doesn’t come from trying to fix yourself, but from building the awareness to understand and accept every part of who you are.

From Corporate to Conscious Living

At the age of 23, he traded his suits for robes and he left his finance career and traveled to India to train at the Himalayan School of Traditional Yoga. There, immersed in ancient disciplines, he became a fully qualified yoga instructor and later trained as an Acharya by Mohanji—a teacher and guide on the spiritual path.

After working with thousands of individuals over nearly a decade, a consistent pattern became clear: our external lives reflect our internal state. When people develop greater self-awareness and emotional clarity, meaningful change follows — across health, relationships, purpose, and performance.

Today

Yas currently serves as Vice President of Mohanji Foundation South Africa, providing strategic leadership across governance, media, events, and community initiatives. He facilitates workshops, retreats, and programs integrating Yoga Nidra, meditation, self-inquiry, and practical processes with grounded strategic thinking.

His message is simple and unwavering:Clarity and authentic expression are not reserved for those who have everything figured out. They are available to anyone willing to turn inward, accept themselves fully, and walk the path of awareness.