Finding your Dharma with Delia Leung
“Yoga is beyond physical beauty, beyond physical health and strength. It can only benefit the mental and ultimately the mind and even the spiritual side of yourself when your physical body is healthy.”
In Hong Kong if you were to search yoga teachers, the name Delia Leung will most likely come up in your searches. She is a Dharma yoga instructor, Mindful Movement Meditation teacher, Nike ambassador and more! Delia was born and raised in Hong Kong, educated in the UK and at a young age was aware of body movement having practiced becoming a ballerina growing up. We met Delia over 5 years ago when she had just left her finance career to pursue her yoga training and started offering classes at a boutique studio, Blue Door Yoga HK. Fast forward to 2020, we have been keeping up with Delia’s offerings and growth in the wellness market space in HK and had the privilege to speak to her recently to share her story with you!
Delia started her professional career as an investment banker in Hong Kong. She enjoyed banking so much at the time, she recalls as a junior analyst, the learning curve was so steep. You had the opportunity to learn from the traders, the desk, the clients and the perk of the job allowed you to travel a lot. However, Delia always knew that deep down in her heart she had a special place for how to work on the mind, how to really truly deeply connect with her heart. Her former years as a Ballerina and later on picking up yoga on the side of her banking career was what kept her conscious mind aligned with the practice of body mind during that fast pace corporate driven period of her life. Fate would have it that one year while traveling in NYC she met her teacher Sri Dharma Mittra, subsequently she decided to take a leap of faith, quit her corporate job and followed her heart to unfold her spiritual awakening path.
Curito:
Was it difficult for you to leave behind the corporate world to switch career paths?
Delia:
Leaving corporate was a big change indeed, what is corporate what is all the same. It is still just a “job” you are not a “boss” so I didn’t think too much about making that change. At the time when I handed in my blackberry and my pass I wasn’t able to go back into the room, I didn’t need to wake up early in the morning to check the news on Bloomberg or the numbers. It felt like the numbers had nothing to do with me anymore. Physically and materially, the Blackberry the computer monitor, the standing desk on the trading floor, the Bloomberg terminal it seemed so far away from me. I started to think deeply about how I had been attached to all these news, the numbers, the Bloomberg terminal, to the monthly revenue the company generated on the desk to how fast my responses were to my boss. How quickly I responded would be an indicator and a perimeter to prove on how I performed and how much I gained on the desk or to put it another way to reflect on your performance throughout all these external factors.
Curito:
What was your biggest challenge at the time and what did you learn from it?
Delia:
I wouldn’t think this was the biggest challenge in life because there isn’t a term called the biggest challenge in life. I still wake up everyday early in the morning but I have nothing to do, I practice yoga, my pranayama which is the breath work, I do my meditation, I slow my time in the day, a lot of clients and colleagues called me and of course my parents called me to ask what happened. But that is also a period of time in my life where I transitioned after returning from NYC having met Sri Dharma Mittra.
“Dharma yoga wants you to find out about yourself and who you want to become. As we go deeper like peeling an onion, you become sweeter and moist. You become more conscious about what you feel and Dharma yoga from the physical practice, there are a lot of backbends and inversions, but through breathing inhale and exhale it assists and directs us on a meditative and spiritual path.”
Curito:
How did you encounter Dharma Yoga and what drew you to pursue deeper training with Sri Dharma Mittra to spread his teachings in HK and Greater China? How is Dharma Yoga different from other lineages we see in the market?
Delia:
When I went into the Dharma Yoga studio in NYC it was unplanned. I had been practicing Dharma yoga in Hong Kong for a while, I had not made the connection between Sri Dharma Mittra and Dharma Yoga studio, same word but never made the connection. I entered the studio thinking, wow this place is not posh at all, there is no shower, it looks like an ashram in India, I had to pay USD$1 to rent a mat. It was not like PURE Yoga or like the boutique studio Blue Door where we met. But everyone at the Dharma Yoga studio was so humble and kind, the energy in there really transformed me. When Sri Dharma Mittra walked into the studio, at that time there were about 60 of us in the room, he didn’t know me. I did not know him but he gave the classroom a dharma talk on dharma and reincarnation and my eyes were filled with tears. I felt like he was specifically talking to me but in fact he was speaking to the whole room. You could sense that he wanted to convey a message but it really hit me. That mindset was completely different from the mindset I had when practicing yoga at studios in Hong Kong.
I believe that the mindset played an important role in my adjusting period. I started looking at things and people around me with a different mindset. It was unplanned, when I started to look at the philosophical aspect of yoga I started to understand the importance of my time and to learn to do nothing. When I finished my training I taught a few friends and I returned to Hong Kong and quit my job. I went to NYC to check out Dharma Yoga studio. I didn't think I would meet Sri Dharma Mittra, I finished my trip and came back to NYC. I thought about it and considered doing the teacher training to pursue the deeper teachings of Sri Dharma Mittra, that was when I decided to quit my job and fly back to NYC to learn from Sri Dharma Mittra. You know sometimes when you plan too much, when we are in the box it is really hard for our mind to jump out to think from outside of the box. I followed my heart. I started to connect with Sri Dharma Mittra’s teaching more and more from 500, 700, to the 1000 training. When you are ready opportunities and individuals will appear. I truly believe in the concept of law of attraction. Things happen at this place at this time for a reason. Similarly for teaching in Hong Kong or me as a NIKE trainer and ambassador all the opportunities that came through. I travel around the world to teach as I listen to my heart; I sit and contemplate. I slowly have found myself in the path.
Dharma yoga talks a lot about the meditation and the philosophical part of yoga. Ultimately about enlightenment, to discover yourself within you, through yoga philosophy. As we go deeper like peeling an onion, you become sweeter and moist. You become more conscious about what you feel and Dharma yoga from the physical practice, there are a lot of backbends and inversions, but through breathing inhale and exhale it assists and directs us on a meditative and spiritual path.
Curito:
Since you've started teaching yoga, you have also gone into being a co-founder of MDFL MVMT, a platform promoting mindfulness practice in Hong Kong and most recently Light and Space HK, and NIKE HK ambassador, what led you to diversify your offerings by collaborating with others?
Delia:
As a Hong Kong based instructor, I don’t just happen to be born in Hong Kong randomly, with my background in banking my studies in psychology and buddhism as a masters now in The Hong Kong University, I realize everytime in I feel that everything is interconnected. One can help another. It’s like a domino effect, our existence through our energetic and physical level we affect each other. The collaboration, hoping that through my experiences, I treat myself like a means. There are friends of mine who without realizing through being my student went on to become yoga teachers themselves. They flew to NYC from Hong Kong to learn from Sri Dharma Mittra, it is so fulfilling to me. Everything I have been doing is unplanned.
My karma with the Mindful Movement organization also happened through a prenatal class I taught. The student, one of the founders of mindful movement liked me and suggested that we see if we could collaborate. Even with my relationship with the monasteries, studying buddhism, there are a lot of similarities between yoga and Buddhism. I give back to monasteries by teaching the monks and nuns yoga. I hope I can plant the seed in Hong Kong and ultimately in the world on what yoga truly is. It is beyond physical beauty, beyond physical health and strength. It can only benefit the mental and ultimately the mind and even the spiritual side of yourself when your physical body is healthy. So, for example for Nike, as a trainer, I really would love to use yoga postures to quiet their mind in a healthy and positive way not as stressed, so their mindset will change if it infuses their own training into their own discipline.
Curito:
What is the wellness landscape like in Hong Kong, have you seen a huge growth in this industry in the last decade? How does one find their own niche in a saturated market?
Delia:
In the last decade, the wellness industry has grown in Hong Kong. Individuals in Hong Kong are becoming more open minded and receptive to being healthy and learning about wellness. In the past people would give you weird looks when you say you are vegan or you only eat avocados! I would say for the wellness landscape it’s not about yoga. The growth rate is definitely steep, for how one can find their own niche in a saturated market. I think finding your true authentic self with the right mindset is more important than carving out your niche in a saturated market, without this you won’t be able to sustain yourself in the long run.
It is important to be aligned with what you truly feel and find who you truly are. People get carried away too easily. Instead of finding that niche in the saturated market, I would like everyone to meditate on the notion of who you truly are. Once you know who you are, and also keep surrendering and being humble, I feel more importantly you have to be really really humble, to serve, then the right discipline will arrive. You will find the energy and the mindset to wake up every morning to do what you need to do. If I am fasting, I have to fast, if I sleep at 12 I have to sleep at 12, if I have to do my sadhana the discipline, the self practice as a yoga teacher there is no excuse. Many people invite us to watch the news less, to connect with the body and the mind more especially in 2020 in this very special and funky year. Then we will know how to survive and ultimately be safe and successful in a saturated market like Hong Kong.
“Once you know who you are, and also keep surrendering and being humble, I feel more importantly you have to be really really humble, to serve, then the right discipline will arrive. You will find the energy and the mindset to wake up every morning to do what you need to do.”
Curito:
Who are your mentors and what inspires you to wake up every morning to do what you do?
Delia:
First, I would love to thank my mom. She was the first person who brought me to my first yoga class. Secondly, my teachers Samrit at Pure Hong Kong, Dharma, the monks that I have been studying with for the past few years and also the students that I come across are the individuals who are important in my life.
Curito:
What does a typical day look like for you in a bustling city like HK? How do you find your piece of nature and calm in HK?
Delia:
In a bustling city, I wake up to a different schedule everyday. Typically, I wake up early in the morning, I have this little ritual I do, I just lay on the floor when I wake up, I love being on the floor, I enjoy connecting to the floor and feel grounded first thing in the morning. Like connecting with the ground. It is important to feel the root and the grounded feeling first thing in the morning. I will light a incense, do my practice or meditate for 20-30min before I start my day. I love to carry my banana and raw almond in my bag, my tumbler with hot water, when I teach and talk so much. I also love my avocado, olive oil, hummus, green juice, and cup of coffee a day is what refuels me daily and of course my dharma beads that Dharma gifted me. I love hiking and going into nature, I especially love early hikes or night hikes. Night hikes have a strong aroma in the evening that I love. I also love going into monasteries just not to talk to people like a little retreat for a few days.
Curito:
How has covid affected the industry and your offerings to your students and community? Has it affected you personally as well?
Delia:
My offering to students and community did pivot a little because of covid. I used to fly a lot pre covid traveling around teaching or learning. Every year I would travel one or two times to NYC to continue my learning with Dharma. Retreats in Japan, hosting retreats and workshops and going online to teach are my consistent activities in my pre covid schedule. Through traveling I learn a lot. During the time when I am in Hong Kong this year, I am able to connect with the Hong Kong Community more. Technology also allows us to convey sharings online, which I did for media companies such as Harper's Bazaar, the Hong Kong University, Apple Daily and ELLE magazine.
Curito:
What do you hope to achieve or work on in this new decade?
Delia:
I'd like to continue to let go, be receptive, and learn as much as I can and to share. I am setting up a new website, so stay tuned for that space on my social media. I want to continue to work on myself, this is a lifelong goal and to share wholeheartedly. To plant wisdom, connect with myself more, physically, mentally and spiritually, I want to deepen and explore other means in the spiritual world that includes astrology, and ancient Chinese wisdom. Continuing to work with mindful movement, we have been cultivating relationships with for instance Hong Kong Land, Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Champion REIT, Green Monday and other large conglomerates.
Curito:
How can those of us who don't live in Hong Kong follow your offerings or collaborate with you in the future?
Delia:
Majority of my online offerings are yoga asanas and breathwork exercises. You can follow me on my social media through the following links, Delia Indrayoga on IG, Mindful Movement on IG, and Light and Space HK on IG. Below are some of my collaborations with NIKE and ELLE ACADEMY Hong Kong teaching yoga and meditation (pardon the Cantonese!).
Curito:
Delia, thank you so much for your insightful responses to your personal yoga journey path and your wise words on the industry, the lessons, the life long learning path we are all on and how you hope to share your teachings with others! I will leave our readers with your list of 3 books that have influenced you and we look forward to sharing your new website when it is launched in 2021 as well as hoping to collaborate with you in the near future! Namaste!
First published on December 21, 2020
