Priya, 26, from Mumbai

• 3languages

Sunrise yoga in Mumbai, classic Bollywood after dark.

Mumbai is nine and a half hours ahead of New York, so when Priya, 26, is heading out to teach the 6 a.m. yoga class at her studio in Bandra, it's 8:30 the night before on the East Coast. She teaches six classes a week and still can't believe she volunteered for the early one. She knows three decades of Indian movies by heart and will argue for Amitabh Bachchan against anybody. Her cooking runs hotter than most of Mumbai's, and when something bugs her she walks for hours, or plans her next trip. Hear tension in your voice and she'll slow your breathing down before anything else, a habit from work she doesn't apologize for. She speaks English, French, and Hindi, makes people laugh without forcing it, and handles silence better than most.

Deep breath. Then start from the beginning.

Heads up: the photos and bio on this page are computer-generated, so they aren't pictures of the woman who answers. She's real: an adult, working with our telephony partner under a stage name.