∴ YOGA TEACHES US THROUGH EXPERIENCE ∴
and it can help us discover a safe place within ourselves, a place like a sanctuary. Which nobody can take away from us. First we need to learn how to get there and Yoga can teach us the way. Once we know the way, we can always come back to our sactuary.
I began practising yoga at a time when I felt very anxious in my life. I learned through experience that there is a safe space within me. In a silent, experiential way yoga taught me how to get there. My enthusiasm and love of teaching yoga comes out of my gratitude, of being deeply thankful. Yoga has been a lifesaver for me.
∴ CONSISTENCY ∴
in the beginning it is like creating a clearing, it is hard to find our way to that safe place within. We don’t know where we are going. And might not even realise that this place exists. But when we begin to practise yoga slowly we make a clearing, a passage that grows a little wider, and from here it becomes more like a track. And gradually a path.
Through consistency we begin to strengthen that path within ourselves. Once we know how to get to that safe place within, to the sanctuary, our sanctuary, we can always return. With continued practice we deeply nourish and nurture our inner self.
∴ I LOVE TO SHARE YOGA ∴
with other people because I feel that yoga changed my life, saved my life and increased the quality of my life endlessly. Out of that love and gratitude, I feel honoured to share with other people the tools I have learned from the vast repertoire of life skills that yoga provides us with. Subtle and yet powerful tools and practices that work for me, which I have been practicing with my students for over two decades.
Some of which have also suffered from anxiety, like me. Others who have experienced highly stressful situations, looking to find respite, or who simply want to stay fit, healthy, flexible and quieten their minds.
∴ PART OF MY PATH AS A YOGA TEACHER ∴
is sharing techniques and practices that have helped me and others deal with anxiety, calming our nervous system, bringing us into relaxation. Creating peace of mind and tapping into our inner resources.
Practices that help strengthen the body, build resilience for the nervous system and allow the mind to find peace. Calmly settling within. From my personal experience of living with anxiety, I know the importance of finding inner balance on all levels of my being and how challenging that can be at times.
∴ YOGA BECOMES OUR ONGOING SUPPORT ∴
the more we put into our yoga practice, the more it cares for us. It strengthen that part within us. It is as if we are in a safe room, a safe space within ourselves. And even if things happen around us, which they naturally do in life, which throw us off balance, make us feel stressed or uneasy. Once we know how we can always find our way back to our inner sanctuary, that place where we can take care of our inner self.
moving inwards – finding peace
∴ MY JOURNEY ∴
I have been practicing yoga for over 35 years. My journey of exploring moving with my body started when I was 14 years old in a little dance studio in the backstreets of Berlin, Germany, in the late 1970s. I began taking tap dancing classes.
In my late teens I continued “working” with my body when I enrolled in a three year full-time course at the DIE ETAGE, an acrobatics and dance school in Berlin. My focus was on tap-dance, acrobatics and tightrope walking. My search naturally developed into exploring the deeper aspect of the body-mind-spirit relationship, bringing me to yoga.
∴ TRAINING & CERTIFICATION ∴
– in the late 1980’s I started taking Yoga classes with Shanti Gowans learning Shanti Yoga, Melbourne, Australia
– then Iyengar Yoga with Frank Jesse and Murray Lazenby, Melbourne, Australia
– after practising yoga for many years I undertook three years of yogic study and teacher training in the Satyananda Yoga tradition at the Rocklyn Ashram, Victoria and at the Mangrove Mountain Ashram Yoga Academy in NSW, Australia
– completed 3 year Yoga Teacher Training Level 1 in 2007 and Level 2 in 2012
– completed the 200 hour Yin Yoga & Anatomy training with Yin Therapy with Markus Giessen and Karen Sang, (students of Paul Grilley and Sarah Powers)
– Yin Yoga training with Mindful Yoga Academy, 50 hours
– Mindfulness training with Dr Craig Hassad, author of “Mindfulness for Life”
– various intensives with Donna Farhi, the widely published yoga teacher
– Chinese Medicine for Yoga with Jennifer Raye, hours
– Somatic Awareness Training for Yoga, level 1, hours
– I am a registered level 2 teacher with Yoga Australia
∴ BELIEFS ∴
one of the most important aspects about yoga as a tool for better living is that we actually have to practise it if we want it to support our wellbeing. Yoga is an experiential practice. Developing a routine with our practice is very important. I have an established daily yoga practice and believe yoga is a way of life; applying yogic principles, making conscious decisions with integrity, creating a peaceful environment within and around oneself. To the classes I teach I bring my experience, passion and commitment to yoga. I have been running yoga courses in Melbourne, Malmsbury, Kyneton, Chewton and Castlemaine since early 2000 and am now also offering courses live-online. I have taught private yoga courses; classes in the Youth Justice System; meditation classes at the State Library of Victoria, individually tailored one-to-one sessions and I create personalised practice-plans for home practices for people who are new to yoga, looking for a tailored practice to support them on their unique yoga journey or are ready to delve deeper into their own yoga enquiry.
∴ DANCING ∴
having started dancing and moving my body in my early teenage years I am happy to say, that in my private time I still love dancing. I have taken up the practice of 5Rhythms, which is a movement meditation practice devised by Gabrielle Roth that draws from indigenous and world traditions using elements of shamanistic, mystical, ecstatic and eastern philosophies. It is described as a ‘soul journey’ drawing from Gestalt therapy, transpersonal psychology and the human potential movement. Fundamental to the practice is the idea that everything is energy, moving the body, releasing the heart, freeing the mind, so that one can connect to the essence of the soul, the source of inspiration. I have undertaken workshops with Jonathan Horan (NY), Tammy Burstein (NY) and Kate Sheela (LA), (Waves, Heartbeat, Trance, Cycles, Mirrors).
