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My journey as a teacher started in 2009, after I finished the 200-hour Vinyasa Yoga Teacher Training in Berlin, Germany. Back then I was about to finish my PhD in climate research and I joined the training more out of personal interest than to teach and also to counter the effects of the extremely cognitive and sedentary lifestyle I had at that time. So initially, teaching wasn’t really on the agenda but it somehow just happened and the whole process just felt very organic. Since then I have participated in numerous workshops, trainings and courses and all of this is obviously an ongoing journey where I got to meet very inspirational people and teachers along the way.

In 2016 I completed the Prenatal Teacher Training led by Yogacampus London, a teacher training organisation accredited with Yoga Alliance International. I am a certified Thaimassage, Tulamassage and Tulayoga practioner and consider my education a continuous and ongoing process. I have a strong interest in yoga-therapy and I love immersing myself into studies about holistic and healing practices. A diploma in naturopathy is my next bigger goal… – that is besides working on doing a good job as a recent, first-time mom :)

Yoga accompanies all of this, which is what I love so much about the practice! It is always there for you and meets you right where you are, with a baby-bump or a broken leg in a cast. You don’t have to change or get anywhere before starting your practice. I often like to think of the practice as a river flowing through changing landscapes, sometimes wild and rough, sometimes quietly meandering. Throughout the years I changed focus and direction several times in response to changing circumstances in my own life (pregnancy, injuries ect). My own practice and style of teaching are pretty eclectic and experimental and I also owe a lot to my lovely students whose questions and topics continue keeping me inspired.

Very often the initial motivation to start Yoga is a bit one-sided, we want to become stronger, more flexible ect. All of this certainly happens along the way! Yoga improves the posture, balance, strength and coordination; it enhances joint mobility and flexibility. Similar to massage, the contraction and relaxation of muscles during all the twisting and bending stimulates the transport of blood and lymphatic fluid, which helps to flush out toxins and supports the immune system. But Yoga has the potential of going much deeper and to become a quite comprehensive system of self-care. In a playful manner we cultivate qualities like clarity and attentiveness, we learn how to pay attention and to focus. In doing so, Yoga increases our understanding and slowly, gradually, we begin to see our weaknesses and strengths. We see our habitual responses to difficulties, to our likes and dislikes and eventually we are able to identify our typical reactions that do us more harm than good. Through deeper insight and understanding Yoga empowers us to make better and more sustainable choices and as such the practice has an effect on all aspects of life and we become more like the architects of our own fortune.

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