When I first stepped onto a yoga mat many years ago, I immediately felt a spark lighting up my heart. This was the beginning of my yoga journey which led me to do the Sivananda Yoga teachers training in India, in the Himalayas in 2014. A deeply transformative experience which I am still very grateful for. Back in Amsterdam I started teaching Sivananda Yoga classes, a traditional form of hatha yoga as developed in India by Swami Sivananda and Swami Vishnu-devananda. These classes consist of pranayama, sun salutations and a set sequence of asanas. In between the postures we often come to (short) savasanas and classes always end with a deep long yoga nidra-like savasana.
Over the years I have also taught different styles of hatha yoga classes at different places, in which self-connection and deep relaxation have always been the focus. My classes tend to be quite meditative and inward, creating a space for us to connect with our true selves, our inner guidance and intuition. We slow down our tempo, so we are able to become aware of the more subtle sensations in our body, helping us to connect to this space of silence deep within.
Besides the practice of hatha yoga, I am a student on the path of Bhakti Yoga, the yogic path of devotion and the opening the heart. I spend a lot of time in Bhakti Yoga ashrams in the UK and in Holland and some years ago I started playing the Indian harmonium and sing kirtan, one of the practices of Bhakti Yoga. Playing music and singing mantras has been an amazing transformative journey, which I love to share with others. I currently share kirtan monthly in Amsterdam.