Ashwini
A POLYMATH'S LIVING LABORATORY
A synthesis of systems engineering, classical realism, and traditional Vedic science structured through
the integrated frameworks of SomaShakti™ Science.
THE ASHWINI PHILOSOPHY
Born into a traditional Vedic family, I was lovingly named Ashwini after the first Nakshatra and the Ashwini Kumaras, the twin physician-healers of ancient India. What began as a name gradually became an organizing principle for my work, providing a symbolic lens through which engineering, fine art, Yoga, Ayurveda, Jyotish, and the natural world are examined in relationship.
The SomaShakti™ framework emerged from my continuing inquiry.
KNOWLEDGE BECOMES WISDOM
THROUGH EMBODIMENT.
THE FIVE EXPRESSIONS OF ASHWINI
01
THE
FIRST
DAWN LIGHT
Exploring perception, attention, and self-observation through the traditions of Yoga and Vedanta.
02
THE SWIFT
STELLAR CONSTELLATION
Examining cycles, timing, and celestial chronology through the mathematical sciences of Vedic Jyotish.
03
THE
CELESTIAL
HEALER
Restoring biological equilibrium through the principles of Ayurveda, nutrition, and embodied living.
04
THE FIRST NAKSHATRA
PERCEPTION
Investigating light, form, color, and perception through the disciplines of classical fine art.
05
THE VITALITY OF THE DIVINE HORSE
Integrating these disciplines through the SomaShakti™ framework of perception, practice, and lived experimentation.
THE INTERDISCIPLINARY FORMATION
Ashwini Pathak, M.A.Sc. — Born and raised in India within a traditional Yoga–Vedic lineage, Ashwini was immersed from childhood in Sanskrit, classical Asana, Surya Namaskar, Bharatanatyam, Indian classical music, and the living continuum of Vedic Jyotish transmitted through her grandfather's lineage practice. An Acharya, Jyotishi, and Dashagranthi Brahmin, he represented a classical model of integrated learning in which philosophy, ritual, astronomy, language, and daily life existed in relationship. This early formation cultivated a simultaneous sensitivity toward artistic perception and analytical systems thinking, a duality that would later shape her interdisciplinary work. In many ways, her present inquiry continues that same search for relationship across disciplines through the lenses of engineering, fine art, Yoga, Ayurveda, and the Vedic sciences.
Ashwini’s formal education in Electronics & Telecommunications Engineering in India evolved into advanced graduate research in Electrical & Computer Engineering at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, where she specialized in LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) wireless communication systems, adaptive antenna technologies, and interference coordination for next-generation mobile networks. This scientific and engineering foundation cultivated a rigorous systems-oriented methodology that continues to shape her work in biomechanics, somatic sequencing, temporal analysis, and interdisciplinary educational design.
Running parallel to her engineering and academic formation, Ashwini cultivated an extensive interdisciplinary foundation across traditional Yogic sciences, contemplative studies, somatic disciplines, and classical artistic training. Her educational path encompasses Himalayan Kundalini Kriya Yoga in Rishikesh, traditional Hatha Yoga in Mysore, Vedic Jyotish through Sattva Yoga Academy, Sanskrit chanting, somatic movement sciences, prenatal yoga education, and contemplative philosophy. Her Ayurvedic understanding was shaped through both familial transmission from her grandmother and advanced nutritional studies under Nidhi Pandya. Additional study in consciousness-based education at Maharishi International University and Inner Engineering through the Isha Foundation further expanded her inquiry into breath, awareness, physiology, and human refinement.
Within the visual arts, Ashwini developed an extensive atelier-based formation across Classical Realism, observational drawing, Impressionist color theory, and oil painting through advanced study under institutions and mentors including Gage Academy of Art, Disney master Steve Huston, and American Impressionist Camille Przewodek. Her work integrates European realist traditions with Indian aesthetic philosophy, systems-oriented precision, and atmospheric color structures shaped by both Renaissance draftsmanship and the light environments of the Pacific Northwest.
Over a seven-year period as Faculty Lead Trainer for the University of Washington Recreation 200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training program, Ashwini led curriculum design and instructional development through an interdisciplinary framework integrating Sanskrit, Yogic philosophy, biomechanics, sequencing, and somatic intelligence.
Emerging from a lifetime shaped through Vedic lineage traditions, systems engineering, classical atelier training, somatic disciplines, and contemplative study, SomaShakti™ Science and The Ashwini Aviary embody Ashwini’s interdisciplinary approach to human refinement — rooted in the classical Indian understanding of Chatushashti Kala (64 domains of knowledge) that art, science, movement, sound, mathematics, and consciousness exist as interconnected dimensions of human development.
THE INTEGRATED ARC
THE FACULTY APPOINTMENT
Founded and directed the 200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training at UW Recreation (2019–2025), training advanced instructors across successive cohorts and receiving the UW Rec MVP Award for teaching excellence.
THE LINEAGE THREAD
Grounded in native Sanskrit fluency and traditional Vedic scripture, transmitting Yoga-Vedanta through direct lineage continuity.
LINEAGE & EDUCATION
ATELIER ART &
AVIARY
THE ATELIER DISCIPLINE
Classically trained through the European atelier traditions, specializing in avian draftsmanship. Awarded by the New Masters Academy and interviewed by Disney master Steve Huston for her interdisciplinary approach.
THE AUDUBON COLLAB
Collaborated with Seward Park Audubon and BirdNote while guiding advanced avian observational studies through natural science inquiry and field observation.
ENGINEERING & SCIENCE
THE ACADEMIC LOGIC
Holds a Master’s Degree in Electronics and Computer Engineering from Carleton University, Canada, injecting deep systems thinking into creative arts.
THE TECHNICAL CONTRIBUTION
Published LTE/5G wireless research with the IEEE, contributing to advancements in next-generation global communication systems.
THE INSTITUTIONAL RECORD
THE FOUNDING OF A UNIVERSITY-HOUSED 200-HOUR TEACHER TRAINING
From 2017–2025, Ashwini served as curriculum architect, founder, and Lead Faculty of the University of Washington Recreation 200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training Program.
Over an eight-year period, she co-developed the program's foundational architecture, secured institutional approval, authored substantial portions of the curriculum, and directed the educational delivery of fifteen consecutive teacher training cohorts.
The program became one of the largest university-housed Yoga Alliance teacher training systems in the Pacific Northwest, serving more than 500 trainees through an interdisciplinary curriculum integrating Sanskrit, traditional philosophy, biomechanics, somatic education, and contemplative practice.
In recognition of her educational leadership, Ashwini received the University of Washington Recreation
MVP Award in 2024.
2017–2019
FOUNDATIONAL DESIGN
Co-developed and secured approval for the university-housed 200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training curriculum.
2019–2021
PROGRAM LEADERSHIP
Assumed full instructional and curricular leadership of the training.
2021–2025
EDUCATIONAL STEWARDSHIP
Directed fifteen consecutive cohorts, training more than 500 practitioners through an interdisciplinary Yoga-Vedanta framework.
MVP AWARD
UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON REC (2024)
8 YEARS • 700+ TRAINEES
Awarded in recognition of instructional leadership, curriculum development, and sustained contribution to advanced Yoga Teacher Training education.
Born within a Yoga–Vedic lineage, shaped by systems engineering, and refined through decades of artistic and somatic practice, Ashwini developed SomaShakti™ as an interdisciplinary living laboratory where structure, perception, embodiment, and lived experience are examined in relationship.
SOMASHAKTI™ SCIENCE
THE YOGAVEDA ACADEMY
THE ENGINEERING OF EMBODIMENT
Yoga • Ayurveda • Physiology • Biomechanics • Embodiment
|| योगः कर्मसु कौशलम् ||
YOGA IS EXCELLENCE IN ACTION
Ashwini Aviary
the alchemy of light
My work is grounded in classical realism and the study of chiaroscuro as a structured method for constructing visible form. Light, shadow, and color are treated as inseparable elements through which volume, atmosphere, and spatial depth are built on surface.
I am deeply committed to color. I paint planes of color like facets on a diamond, where chromatic intensity is structured through tonal foundations. My representational oil paintings embody a cultural fusion, combining the richness of Indian visual heritage with the rigor of Western European Renaissance painting. Within this framework, I study the physics of light as the poetry of avian forms.
My process is precise and sequential. I prepare each canvas with natural earth pigments such as Venetian Red and Indian Yellow to establish tonal warmth. Composition is mapped through measured drawing and geometric structure, ensuring accuracy in light and shadow relationships. Underpaintings are developed through a structured nine-value scale, forming the foundation for chiaroscuro construction. Color is then built through layered glazing, where chromatic depth is integrated with tonal architecture. Sfumato is used to unify edge transitions and maintain atmospheric continuity as an illuminated, seamless color veil with a uniform surface quality.
Painting is shaped through sustained observation of natural light, birds in motion, and botanical forms under changing atmospheric conditions. Each painting is a constructed field where classical realism, chiaroscuro, and chromatic intensity resolve into a single visual system of perception.
|| तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय ||
“Tamso ma jyotir gamaya”
Guide me to the light.
- Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.
“Light reveals shadow, shadow reveals light.
All becomes color.”
— Ashwini
To paint is to study light. To create is to remain in conversation with form, color, and the changing conditions of perception.
Within The Ashwini Aviary, the collection Legends of the Sky gives enduring form to the birds and blooms of the Pacific Northwest. Through classical realism, chiaroscuro, and layered color, each work emerges as a sovereign icon — a luminous emblem of the living intelligence expressed in nature.
Global Recognition.
Global Recognition.
I. THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON PRESS ARCHIVE
“An un-compromised synthesis of logic, fine art, and somatic science. Ashwini Sadekar stands as a definitive modern manifestation of the classical polymath axis.”
— The Whole U Institutional Profile
II. DISNEY VETERAN STEVE HUSTON DIALOGUES ARCHIVE
“An exclusive intellectual synthesis on the architecture of multi-faceted mastery, dissecting the structural intersections of engineering logic, classical oil realism, and somatic science.” — A Dialogic Brief with Disney Veteran & Master Realist Steve Huston
III. THE NEW MASTERS ACADEMY DISTINCTION ARCHIVE
“An institutional recognition of advanced observational precision, examining the structural intersection of biological anatomy, perceptual science, and classical atelier draftsmanship.” — The New Masters Academy Animal Drawing Recognition
IV. THE SEATTLE ART MAGAZINE ARCHIVE
“An empirical examination of color science and traditional pigment formulation. Ashwini Sadekar stands as a premier creative authority, fusing mathematical engineering systems with the technical mastery of classical fine art realism.” — The Prism Monograph Feature
V. THE BRUSHWORK PODCAST MASTER SERIES ARCHIVE
“An analytical dissection of cross-border professional migration, exploring the precise structural intersection where international electronics engineering logic meets the technical execution of classical American atelier brushwork.” — A Creative Brief with Stephanie Scott
VI. THE SEWARD PARK AUDUBON CENTER ARCHIVE
“An analytical, fifteen-year curatorial and educational tenancy executing high-density naturalist fine art realism and avian anatomy instruction under the direct institutional sponsorship of the Seward Park Audubon Center.” — The Curatorial & Faculty Milestone Brief
|| लोकाः समस्ताः सुखिनो भवन्तु ||
“May all beings be joyful.”
- Upanishad.
“Knowledge becomes wisdom through lived experience and shared understanding.”
— Ashwini
the living lab
Yoga transmissions, and educational broadcasts
the aviary
Legends of the Sky original oil monographs.