In a sunlit studio on a quiet Marblehead morning, Gurdeep Bhogal guides her students through a gentle flow—yet behind each pose, breath, and mantra lies a lifetime of spiritual exploration that spans continents and cultures.
More than a yoga teacher, Bhogal is a modern mystic, weaving ancient wisdom with contemporary compassion to help her students access something far deeper than flexibility: their true selves.
“I was born in Nairobi, Kenya,” Bhogal begins, her voice calm and melodic, “but raised in England by Indian parents who carried with them generations of sacred traditions.”
As a child, Bhogal was immersed in ritual. Her mother — a deeply spiritual woman — chanted mantras daily, and the Hindu grandmothers next door often gathered in her family’s home for Bhakti Yoga ceremonies. “We would witness a Hindu priestess manifest sandoor on her third eye just through chanting,” she recalls. “It was thrilling.”
Bhogal’s first encounters with asana came later, watching her older sister practice postures in the 1970s and ’80s England, long before yoga became the cultural phenomenon it is today.
“I’d take her yoga books and try to mimic the poses,” she says. That same sister would later take Bhogal to her first yoga class in her teens, planting seeds that would only fully bloom decades later.
It wasn’t until a beach yoga class in Malaysia in 2016, led by a Swiss teacher emphasizing alignment, that something shifted. “I came back changed,” Bhogal says. “I started practicing regularly at The Yoga Loft and couldn’t get enough.” Originally envisioning yoga as a retirement passion, Bhogal instead dove into teacher training that same year, and was never the same.
“I had awakening experiences,” she says. “Not just physically, but energetically, spiritually. Something opened in me.” She soon began teaching community classes at The Yoga Loft and formally joined their faculty in 2017. Today, Bhogal leads multiple weekly classes, including Restore & Reiki, Vinyasa, and Essentials.
But her path hasn’t been limited to the mat.
For years, Bhogal studied at the Swampscott Church of Spiritualism, where she is now a certified medium and ordained spiritualist minister.
“Yoga and spiritualism met in me,” she explains. “My trance mediumship experiences were deeply yogic — my hands would form spontaneous mudras, my heart would open with divine presence.” These lived encounters led her to explore Tantric Yoga and deepen her knowledge of subtle body energetics, chakras, mantra, and vibrational healing.
“I sit at the intersection of ancient yogic wisdom and modern spiritualism,” Bhogal said. “And that’s where my teaching comes from.”
Her classes are inspired by the lunar cycles, astrology, the seasons, and her Indian cultural heritage. Students often leave with more than a good stretch — they leave with insight, calm, and connection. Bhogal’s practice isn’t about performance. “It’s about presence,” she says. “Yoga is for everyone. Everybody, every background.”
Outside the studio, Bhogal’s passport is nearly as marked as her spiritual journey. She had worked for British Airways for over two decades, and her lifelong love of travel has taken her across the world. “I’m always curious,” she says. “Every culture I encounter reminds me — we are all connected. We share the same joys, the same struggles.”
That philosophy flows through every class she teaches. Whether she’s guiding a roomful of adults through breathwork or helping high school students learn to meditate, Bhogal’s mission remains the same: to help others find peace within themselves.
“It’s not about Warrior Two,” she smiles. “It’s about connection. To your body. To your soul. To each other.”
Practice with Gurdeep Bhogal at The Yoga Loft, Marblehead
Restore & Reiki | Tuesdays | 7:15 – 8:30 p.m.
Flow & Restore | Monday | 9:45 – 10:45 a.m.
Essentials | Saturdays | 10 – 11 a.m.
Her next seasonal outdoor full moon class is on August 8 from 7- to 8 p.m.
