Andrea

Andrea

It`s been a long and worthwhile journey, really…
I love to stretch, band, balance and spin since I could walk. For my fifths birthday I got a pair of white leather skates and got enrolled to a figure skating course. It was a love at first sight. I wanted to become a figure skater, but because of moving around the world in my childhood, professional skating had to remain a dream. What remained however, is my obsession towards the liberating feeling of flawlessly gliding around and listening to the blades grinding on the ice.

As an adult I used to jog a lot: Before or after work, on business trips, on vacations… Unconsciously however, I had always been looking for a type of exercise which would give me the skating feeling back. Especially during the leisure times of my professional career in the corporate world. Travelling between countries and offices, living in hotel rooms or taking late night flights back home, I was not only longing for releasing and stretching exercises but also moments of calm and peace.

I used to consider yoga as something weird and not really my cup of tea, but one day just out of the blue I decided to give it a try. I clearly had no clue what to expect but, was open for the unexpected.

Next thing I knew, there I was sitting in the back of an Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga class (whatever that was supposed to mean) trying to chant along to the opening mantra, which to me sounded only familiar from Madonna`s ‘Ray of Light’ album at the time. During the class my wrists, my shoulders and all the muscles in my core kept telling me to quit this crazy idea, but the constant dynamic flow made me stay. The wonderful stillness in movements, achieved by breathing deeply into the asanas, had a fascinating pristine beauty within. Quitting was not an option. I wanted to stay to the end to see what comes next. Trying to sort my thoughts while rolling up my mat after the class, it kicked in… The same kind of elevating feeling – as stepping on an untouched opaque ice and just letting my moves be guided from the inside of my body – returned to me. I kept coming back to yoga classes, after which I always felt free in my body, liberated in my soul and being more and more open and attentive to the outside World. I loved this transformation and it got me hooked.

Besides Ashtanga, I`ve tried and practiced various styles of yoga – chosen randomly. I feel lucky to have stumbled upon my first teachers from whom I received countless memorable cues, inevitable adjustments, and guidance to pranayama (breathing techniques). I wanted to know more, to look behind the curtains of the asana practice and immerse myself in the philosophy. The best way to do it seemed to enroll myself in a teacher training course, which I did in Budapest in 2012. But first, and foremost, I wanted to see the “Cradle of Yoga” and bought myself the best birthday gift ever, a trip to India.

Life happens

I had no intention to teach yoga, but it seems that the universe had other plans though. As part of my one-year teacher training, I needed to obtain certain number of hours of experience in teaching: leading a class, keeping the dynamics, hands-on adjustments, cuing and delivering the necessary philosophy bits on pranayama, etc. Again, in order to know more and to learn more, in addition to the requirements, I gave free classes on the weekends to a group of friends, colleagues, acquaintances and their friends. The memories of these times are full of gratitude. I learned so much from my first students and I am truly thankful to this group, especially for those friends who had not intended to engage in yoga but still visited my classes for me (At least in the beginning only for me…): for being open to receiving from me, for asking questions to which I had to dig deep to find the answer to, as well as for the constructive and encouraging feedbacks after each class.
All of this helped me to find and establish my own way of teaching.

I also realized something new. Teaching gives me just as much as my own practice and that is how my teaching journey began. I understood that most people are very confused; which style of yoga they should start practice and how often. Many people also think that they need to be flexible to be able to practice, or they are not patient enough for yoga, or that yoga is physically not challenging their bodies…etc. The good news is, that yoga makes and keeps us flexible, patient, and depending on the level of the class it can be extremely challenging physically. Everyone can start right where they are, and it will always be the right time.

I believe, that if you take one step forward to making a change in your life, the nature will support you with handing you the opportunities to see the change arrive. Exactly because “what you seek, is seeking you”. How and what? Faith will provide.

Heaven OM Earth

I also keep returning to India, because the greatest inspirations come to me in my beloved Shalas: When I close my eyes in Shavasana, feel the dense heat – familiar from my childhood – on my skin and listen to the sounds of the jungle and the crushing waves melting into each other in the space around me. This is my Heaven OM Earth.