I’ve always been curious about the ”The Why”.

It’s been quite a trip!

I’ve practiced many styles of yoga, and for the first 5 years my approach to it was very superficial. From bikram to vinyasa to aerial, I was attracted to fast paced and physically demanding practices. What I see as the turning point was one of my many trips to Bali. I walked into a beautiful studio offering tantric hatha yoga, and asked if they perhaps have hot vinyasa classes. The teacher smiled at me from her heart and said: girl, there is no need to break a sweat in yoga…

At this point I still saw yoga as a rather physical practice or if I’m being completely honest, as a form of exercise. I had no real understanding of meditation nor the energetic influence of asana, not to even speak of the importance of practicing with the nervous system in mind. I was suspicious to say the least, but gave it a go, and 1,5 hours later I walked out of the studio with the type of contentment I had never experienced before.  

Ever since, I’ve been committed to practicing this way. Tantric hatha yoga is a complete system including all limbs of yoga, not only asana but also pranayama, bandha, mudra, mantra and most importantly: meditation.

Hatha yoga is a systematic, time tested branch of knowledge offering us a clear map to understand and uncover the totality of our being. The physical realm is part of the whole, but there is so much more than that.

All paths lead home

Personally I really needed to go through my bikram and power vinyasa phases to explore the outer layers of my being and to become friends with my body. This is why I think it is important to honour the organic unfolding of our own, unique paths. This is also why I avoid using the words good and bad or right and wrong in yoga. We are all exactly where we are supposed to be with our practices.

The gradual process of peeling off the layers is also recognised in yoga tradition. Yoga says we are made out of sheets, kind of like the Russian nesting dolls. The outermost layer, the physical body, is the densest. The further we go, the subtler the sheets become, and the closer we get to that which we truly are.

The deeper we dive the sweeter it gets: perhaps the most beautiful and important teaching of yoga is this: in the very core of each living being rests something that is pure, whole, complete, and eternal. In yoga it’s called Purusha; soul, spirit, or pure consciousness.

This is the portal through which we’ll begin to realise both the infinity of essence, the endlessness of our potential and also our connection the world around us.

In my humble understanding, this is the goal of all yoga: to re-discover the wholeness inside of us. To heal what holds us back from remembering who we came here to be and what we came here to do. Self-realisation, or remembrance doesn’t only connect us to our light - our gifts and purpose of existence - it also connects us to our inner wisdom, through which we may start to make more aligned choices and take more aligned action and eventually live our lives with more courage, more joy, and more freedom.

Needless to say, but this is not only the most beautiful gift from you to you. Your courageous, open heart will be an absolute delight to be around, and the rise in individual consciousness contributes to rise in collective consciousness. Like the beautiful poet Yung Pueblo said, by healing yourself, you heal the world.

It takes courage, strength and stamina to choose this path. Like life, yoga is an ever-continuing process. The growing pains and discomfort that we are asked to face once we commit to ourselves is part of the journey. Becoming familiar with our darkness too, facing our fears and pain is simply necessary - we can not transform and heal what we are not aware of, right?

However, once you have had a taste of that sweet nectar of divinity dwelling in the core of your being, there is no question whether it was worth of it or not.