Let’s start at the very beginning of my Yoga Journey.
My very First Yoga Class in Canada
My very first yoga practice I ever had, was at Moksha Yoga Montreal, Canada in 2011. It must have been mid-winter and freezing out, at least minus 15, snow everywhere. My roommate suggested I’d join her for a hot Yoga class. The idea of a warm place, as if on vacation was very, very appealing to me. So there I went.
I remember finding it all a bit strange. The singing ohm, the others joining along, not being able to suppress my laugh kicks now and then. But overall I enjoyed it and in the warmth I was able to do postures and poses I wasn’t able to do under normal circumstances. There was this big mirror and the teacher was good. Though most of the class was in French, I was still able to follow.
Too much in my head…
Then it was quiet around Yoga for years. I did Pilates, but that is something different. I worked hard in my job with children with special needs, but the work got harder and harder. I forgot my body, was studying and went totally inside my head. My body started to show problems, injuries, pain points. My wrist and back mainly, until at some point I had to stop working and give my body some time to heal. I decided to take unpaid leave and move to Ireland. A peaceful country with wild nature and gentle people.
Yoga in Ireland
As I felt my body needed healing as well, I decided to take some trial classes Yoga at different schools. I had endured a lot of stress and it seemed to have built up in my body, becoming visible as pain. Time to give my body attention and nice pampering.
I have never felt so at peace and so at home at a place for my body as at Himalaya Yoga Valley Cork. Amazing teachers, packages, professionalism and so helpful!
I remember laying on one of the mats, while they were burning Nag Champa incense, thinking that this must be an amazing job! People that want to relax, want to work on their own bodies, willing to work with you and in such a calming environment. I was so intensely happy there on that mat! It was as if my ears and eyes opened after a very long time. My senses started to work again and the world opened up! This was what I wanted to do!
How was I going to pull this off? As impatient as I can be I decided to start going to Himalaya Yoga Valley 5 tot 6 times per week. Going from the beginners 1 to beginners 2 class in a month. My flexibility coming back, slowly and carefully each time. I felt good, alive and even started practicing the sequences alone or with my boyfriend after class at home. We laughed a lot. There came air in my life, space, gentleness.
Training at Arhanta Yoga
I subscribed to the Arhanta Yoga Training for the 200 YTT in June and there I went. I coursed myself through the training, which was tough, but tough enough to handle if you want something for real. With my newly gained friends I passed with good results and from here my Yoga practice could really set off. What a window of opportunities, a whole new way of living. Of course not everything suited me, but as I do with all the new visions and information I come across, I adapted it into my own eclectic lifestyle. Which I now practice daily alone or with my very nice students. I am blessed, grateful. Happy for all the knowledge I gained and all the things that made me into the person I am now.
Thank you Moksha Yoga Montreal for my positive introduction to Yoga. Thank you Himalaya Yoga Valley Cork for bringing me back to my senses and inspiring me to become even the best of me. Thank you Arhanta Yoga for preparing me for my Yoga journey as the teacher I am now.
I wouldn’t want it any other way!
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