Yoga, Courage and Queerness : Sala's Journey

Yoga teacher, healer, and artist Sala Watura shares how his classes are spaces to “meet yourself". Shaped by growing up queer and creative in a rigid middle-class Colombo family during Sri Lanka’s war, feeling pressured to follow a prescribed life and learning to hide behind a “safe” persona Sala has broken free from all these binds and spends his life helping others to meet themselves. After entering advertising in his late teens, managing major accounts, and then losing both parents, he numbed grief through alcohol, drugs, and nonstop work, later fleeing to the south to run a beach bar and restaurant while becoming a new father. A last-minute yoga teacher training with his friend’s teacher, followed by COVID shutdowns, supported sobriety and deeper practice, helping him shed old layers and reconnect with purpose. He discusses yoga as an eight-limbed system of breath, inquiry, and union beyond gender duality, notes more men entering yoga, and describes plans for retreats, queer community work, Ayurveda, and bridge-building through Sri Lanka’s wellness and tourism.CHAPTERS0:00 Introduction to Podcast & Sala3:28 Life on Sri Lanka's South Coast5:34 Growing Up in Colombo7:12 The Script and Being Queer11:20 War Years and Identity Masks16:12 Advertising Career and Loss19:31 Hitting Reset in the South22:33 Yoga Training and Covid Shift35:05 Men, Masculinity and The Mat39:26 Queerness and Union43:34 Teaching, Healing and Sri Lanka49:34 Retreats, Ayurveda and What's NextFind out more about Sala here:Website https://www.salasbananas.com/Sala on Youtube ShortsInstagram SalasBananasTitle: Sri Lanka: Modern Perspectives from an Ancient Melting PotHost: Dee Gibson — Sri Lankan-born, award winning designer based in London and founder of boutique hotel Kalukanda House in Sri Lanka. www.kalukandahouse.com | instagram @deegibson2017 & @kalukandahousePodcast Themes:Modern Sri Lankan identity and cultureArchitecture, art, and designSustainability and heritageDiaspora experiences and storytellingWhy Listen:This podcast offers deep, intelligent storytelling about Sri Lanka’s evolving identity — a blend of East and West, ancient and modern. It’s for listeners who love culture, travel, architecture, and thoughtful conversation.