07/08/2026
Dr Mukta Kaur Khalsa has worked with the UN on drug policy through SuperHealth's consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council, and has spent over 30 years working in one of the hardest corners of human suffering: addiction.
I met her at the Research Symposium at the European Yoga Festival, and she brought me to tears.
She's the director of SuperHealth®, a yoga-based approach to addiction recovery. She directed a specialised hospital in Tucson rated in the top 10% of all US treatment programmes, a career built on serious clinical credibility.
But it wasn't her résumé that moved me. In fact, none of this was mentioned in her introductory bio or her presentation. I learned it later.
What moved me was the depth of her commitment to those she works with, people in profound pain. The way she spoke about understanding not just their addiction, but the roots of their suffering. That kind of work demands a willingness to stay with someone's reality fully, without rushing past it.
And given everything she has achieved and everything she carries, her humility was simply remarkable.
That, to me, is the difference between yoga and yoga therapy. Yoga therapy isn't a sequence of poses. It's a relationship. It asks the therapist to be present enough, and steady enough in their own practice, to hold what someone else is carrying without looking away.
Seeing that level of compassion and commitment in Mukta moved me deeply, and after years of leading in this field, it reminded me there's still more for me to learn.
Tag someone in this field whose dedication deserves more recognition.
