Or – “Das Leben hat immer recht”
Devotion to life – real devotion – goes a little bit deeper than the one that you will hear every yoga teacher talk about in front of his or her class. Read More
Latest Posts
“A Shadow Cast On Yoga”
How long can you milk the cow? – The global conflict of creating “brands”, demands, and fakes around the ancient science of yoga
As yoga continues its’ legendary triumph with new yoga studios popping up at every corner, along with the increasing popularity for many of us teachers it apparently has become an issue to somehow stand out from the crowd. Read More
The day. I stopped. fighting.
Fighting what? Everything. Myself first. Then fighting against time. Aging. Diminishing. Dying. Fighting for approval. Monetary approval. Social approval. Marital approval. Even fighting against the idea of fighting. My whole life seemed to have been a long, on-going fight. I was simply tired of fighting. Read More
sub·ti̱ l.es yoga – New class
Yoga since the very beginning has always been an exploration on the subtle body, but along with its increasing popularity in the western world, it seems the focus has completely shifted. Most people nowadays believe that practicing yoga means practicing postures (asanas), but in its origin yoga has to offer so much more: Read More
Simplicity is the key
“Life is only Now”
– Reflecting on the week we spent in the mountains of northern Italy (Piemonte) in a little village called “Spoccia”, the word that comes into my mind spontaneously is “nothingness”. It describes an experience I have had last when I was still a child. It belongs to the era before cell phones, I-Pads, and even computers. Read More
Why Yoga-Therapy is different to Yoga
The question I most frequently come across when it comes to explain the difference between yoga and yoga therapy is: Why do we need yoga therapy if yoga in itself is said to be a healing practice?
This is actually an absolutely justified question, as there is even a word you might have heard before: yoga chikitsa (योग चिकित्सा, yoga cikitsā), which is based in the Astanga Yoga tradition, and is the sanksrit (संक्सृत्, saṁksr̥t) name for the primary series. It is often translated as yoga therapy, as this series is supposed to purify and heal the body. This first or primary series forms the basis for all subsequent series, and also for all yoga styles that have employed the concept of vinyasa, the fusing of movement and breath. The name “first” implies that this is where we begin our practice, and surely one would expect that starting at the beginning should keep every practitioner safe and healthy.
My own experience nevertheless shows a different reality. Read More
“Lusciously Clarifying” Workshop, Chrishall Village Hall
In this joint Weekend Workshop in cooperation with Rebecca Agouropoulos, together we will share some of our most valued discoveries from our practice, suitable for anybody who would like to bring real depth into his or her own yoga practice. Read More
Asking The Right Questions
I have just returned from a wonderful retreat with two very inspiring teachers Sonia Bach and Sadie Nardini in Santorini, Greece. Sadly I missed the introductory yoga class due to my flight schedule, but Sonia and Sadie had centred their teachings around what they called ‘Stoke your Fire’. As we were literally sitting on top of a volcano, this totally made sense, and I can tell you – the fire inside me was lit within the following seven days! Read More
My Farewell to Camyoga
My dear Camyogis,
dear Louise!
For months I have known this day would come. I don’t know how many letters, sentences and lines I have formed in my head, moving towards this moment.
What to say, how to express my innermost feelings in a clear, honest way? Probably the best way is just to dive in from where I am right here, right now. No place other than that, remember? As we have been practicing over the last few years – discovering power in the simplicity and honesty that arises out of the present moment!
I became a firm believer and practitioner of moving through our practice (life!) in a slow, mindful pace, especially in the face of challenge and change. One step at a time, one day at a time, one breath at a time, ….
My Chronic Pain Body
Every Man is a Builder of a Temple called His Body.
– Henry David Thoreau
Lower back pain has a long history in my life. Over the years I got used to a sensation of stinging pain at the back of my pelvis to one side when I came out of a standing forward bend, twist, or when standing up after a long period of sitting. Pretty quickly I figured out its origin could be traced back to the sacrum, this large triangular bone at the base of the spine, which provides the gravitational center of our body around which we move, twist and turn. Read More
Book Review | “It’s Buddha Time”
I came upon this book as I was researching a yoga story to implement into a couple of children’s yoga classes I was about to teach at my daughter’s school. I found the story, but on ordering and receiving the book, I found so much more:
We’re living in a fast-paced world where the underlying challenge modern families are constantly faced with is constant pressure – time pressure, monetary pressure, social pressure, work pressure, the pressure to achieve. Read More
Anti-Inflammatory Turmeric Tonic
Turmeric (Curcuma longa) is a tropical plant with stunning yellow flowers that originates from South or Southeast Asia, precisely from western India. Similar to the evolutionary related Ginger, only the “rhizome”, which is the underground stem that grows horizontally and often sends out roots and shoots from its nodes, is used. Only when cut open, the root reveals its deep orange inside. Read More