As my mother is a yoga teacher, I was exposed to yoga since young. When I was studying in Australia, I started practicing Hatha yoga to relieve back pain. Whenever I talked to my mom on the phone, she would teach me some asanas to practice. Before finishing my master’s degree, I went to India to do an internship. My mom recommended to visit certain places in India such as Auroville, Osho Ashram in Pune and Rishikesh. There I explored different types of yoga and meditation and met a couple of inspiring people. But then I was still not that into yoga practice.
After I moved to Belgium, my only physical activity was going to gym 2-3 times a week. In 2015 I changed my gym and there… I discovered Ashtanga and Vinyasa yoga and fell in love with them! In the beginning I liked those classes because 1) the teachers were super nice (which is very important), 2) I loved the synchronisation of the breath and movement (and sweating a lot), and 3) I liked practicing with people, surrounded by the sound of different breath and energy. 2015 was also ‘the dark period’ my life when I went through so many phases of depression and self-loathing. Back then, yoga was my escape haven where I just dedicated the time and attention only to ‘myself’. By practicing yoga, I realised it calmed my emotions, removed self-doubt and made me stronger both physically and mentally. At some point, going to yoga was the only joyful moment of my life. Though the yoga had such positive impacts on me, I didn’t have the 6 times a week routine. I was lazy and easily got tired after work. But I was still eager to deepen my Ashtanga practice and tried to practice with different teachers. Then my practice became very irregular due to fertility treatment.
After some on-and-off period, I decided to stop my treatment and took the Ashtanga Vinyasa teacher training course in 2018. And this has totally changed my yoga practice. I learned a lot and met so many beautiful people who motivated and taught (still) me a lot. After the training, I practice 5-6 times a week with the teachers from my TTC and at a shala (Ashtnaga Yoga Brussels) where I can learn Ashtanga in the traditional way. I love yoga practice for the same reason I had before. I love the teachers and their dedication; I like the way yoga brings people together and create space to share energy; and I love how yoga empowers me every time I practice and brings me to my whole self. By teaching yoga, I would love to share my experience and energy. To do so I won’t stop practicing, studying and living yoga.
Gold Coast, Australia around 2007-8