The Beginning
When I was nineteen, my mother took me to my first yin yoga class. At the time, I was struggling with chronic migraine and stressful school periods, but through yoga, I discovered how to truly relax and let go of tension.

Six years later, at the age of 25, I had been working in an office in the Utrecht area for several years. During that time, I had explored mindset and the power of thoughts. The holistic approach of yoga fascinated me, so I decided to enroll in a 200-hour yoga teacher training on the Greek island of Karpathos.

A Challenging Time
Shortly after signing up, my migraine worsened dramatically. Conventional medical treatments had failed, and alternative therapies didn’t help either. I felt completely lost and couldn’t work anymore.

As the months passed and the training approached, I began to doubt whether I could go through with it. How could I manage this while still struggling with migraine every day?

Yet I went — and honestly, it turned out to be the best decision of my life.

The Training in Greece
The first days were intense: six days a week from 7:30 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., a completely new diet, and my phone untouched the entire day. But soon, I felt a shift inside me.

• I learned that mindset is incredibly powerful, and at least as important as physical health.

• Yoga is for everyone — you don’t need to be flexible, and you do it for yourself.

• Your intuition whispers, while your ego often shouts.

• Gratitude and manifestation create space for new possibilities.

• Breathing techniques bring balance to body and mind.

• You are already whole within yourself, and yoga helps you feel it.

I also realized that many inspiring people apply similar principles. Eckhart Tolle, Wayne Dyer, Michael Pilarczyk — and even Gandhi, Mother Teresa, and Einstein — all emphasized, in their own way, the importance of inner peace, awareness, and self-reflection.

New Discoveries
Every day, my mind grew calmer. After just a few days, my chronic migraine completely disappeared (sometimes I still can’t believe it!). The negative voice in my head, telling me I wasn’t “good enough,” faded into the background. I felt closer to my true self and reconnected with my inner child — the joyful girl who always approached life with confidence and curiosity.

In the final week of the training, I taught my very first yoga class. I felt completely at home and deeply happy; it was as if all the pieces of the puzzle finally fell into place.

The Greatest Gift to Myself
This training has been the greatest gift I’ve ever given myself. A few months later, I’m sitting outside at my new home in the small village where I grew up, close to my family. I’m still free of migraine since the start of the training and feel incredibly grateful for everything I’ve experienced.

I’ve left my office job behind and can’t wait to inspire and guide others through yoga, mindset, meditation, breathing techniques, singing bowls, and all aspects of yoga — in my own yoga studio that will open its doors in a few weeks.

Exploring the Yamas and Niyamas: A Guide to Ethical Living

In the vast tapestry of yogic philosophy, the Yamas and Niyamas stand as foundational pillars guiding ethical conduct and personal observances. Rooted in ancient wisdom, these principles offer a blueprint for harmonious living in alignment with the universe, not only on the mat but in daily life. Let’s embark on a brief journey to understand these tenets and their significance.

The Yamas: The Yamas, often likened to moral injunctions, serve as ethical guidelines for how we interact with the world around us.

1. Ahimsa (Non-violence): Ahimsa advocates for compassion and non-violence towards all living beings, both outwardly and inwardly. It encourages us to cultivate empathy and kindness in our thoughts, words, and actions.

2. Satya (Truthfulness): Satya urges us to be truthful in our speech and honest in our intentions. It entails aligning our words with the reality of our experiences and fostering authenticity in our communication.

3. Asteya (Non-stealing): Asteya emphasizes the importance of integrity and respect for others’ possessions, time, and energy. It prompts us to refrain from taking what is not rightfully ours and to honor commitments and agreements.

4. Brahmacharya (Moderation): Brahmacharya invites us to practice moderation and balance in all aspects of life, including our desires, consumption, and interactions. It encourages us to channel our energies mindfully towards higher pursuits.

5. Aparigraha (Non-possessiveness): Aparigraha teaches us to let go of greed and attachment to material possessions, recognizing the transient nature of life. It encourages simplicity, contentment, and detachment from the pursuit of excessive wealth or possessions.

The Niyamas: The Niyamas, on the other hand, are personal observances that guide our inner transformation and spiritual growth.

1. Saucha (Purity): Saucha encourages cleanliness and purification of both the body and mind. It involves maintaining a clean physical environment, nourishing the body with healthy food, and cultivating mental clarity through practices like meditation.

2. Santosha (Contentment): Santosha invites us to find contentment and gratitude in the present moment, regardless of external circumstances. It teaches us to appreciate what we have rather than constantly striving for more, fostering inner peace and fulfillment.

3. Tapas (Discipline): Tapas refers to the disciplined effort and perseverance required to pursue our goals and aspirations. It involves cultivating self-discipline, resilience, and determination to overcome obstacles on the path to self-realization.

4. Svadhyaya (Self-study): Svadhyaya encourages self-reflection, introspection, and the study of sacred texts to deepen our understanding of ourselves and the universe. It involves exploring our inner landscape, confronting our limitations, and striving for continuous self-improvement.

5. Ishvara Pranidhana (Surrender to the Divine): Ishvara Pranidhana invites us to surrender our ego and individual will to the divine intelligence or higher power. It entails trusting in the unfolding of life’s events, accepting things as they are, and aligning our actions with a greater purpose beyond ourselves.

The Yamas and Niyamas serve as guiding principles for ethical living and spiritual evolution, offering a roadmap for cultivating mindfulness, compassion, and inner harmony. By integrating these principles into our daily lives, we can navigate the complexities of existence with grace, integrity, and purpose. As we embody these virtues, we not only transform ourselves but also contribute to the creation of a more compassionate and harmonious world.

Most people don’t realise that the whole universe is made from vibrating energy. Yoga is also about energy and how it flows in our 72,000 nadis (energy channels) as per the Hatha Yoga Pradipika. Patanjali offered a map of how the human being can find what they are looking, namely lasting fulfilment and union (wholeness). Simply put the foundation for Yoga to fulfil its promise is the purification of our energy through our alignment with the universe and the Yamas and Niyamas. 

There are currently more than one hundred (100) benefits recorded with numerous scientific studies to record them from improvements to the nervous system, in sleep, in heart conditions to name but a few.
From the Yogic perspective this is not surprising at all but it is always nice to see western science catching up with the yogic science. From a Yogic perspective and in reference to Patanjali’s 8 limbs of Yoga, the subtler four parts of the yogi’s path are meditative. The asanas part was always meant to prepare the body for the sited posture and to maintain a straight spine. A state of meditation is a catalyst for self realisation to happen. In a peaceful environment, body and mind the human being has the opportunity to experience its true and subtle nature. Any health issues that might arise is largely due to our ignorance of our nature and as this is restored health, inner peace and joy are also naturally restored.
The evidence is overwhelming and below are only some of the positive side effects of meditation and the studies to support them.

You might have noticed that changes often take effort and some changes take a bit more effort than others but once habits are formed then everything is easier. This is because there are parts of us that don’t feel comfortable with change and growth. If it was up to them we would sit in front of a TV, having pizza all day long because the couch is comfortable and pizza is comfort food. But a comfortable life does not equate to a happy or a meaningful life.

As a matter of fact the Bhagavad Gita, one of the most important spiritual texts of the east is an allegory of just that, this struggle within the human being. We talk more about this in the Conscious Yoga Academy courses. We notice these parts in us, we embrace these parts, we understand them, we negotiate with them and we ill raise them to a new vibration. This takes consistent work and some time. Most importantly it takes willpower and the human being does not have infinite will-power. How do we see this in our life?

In our daily life we do so many things that take away from our store house of willpower. We wake up in the morning. If we feel rested then we have a lot of willpower and we can use to get through the tasks of the day. If we don’t feel rested then we have less willpower and we don’t get as much done. Then there are people who have exercised their muscle of willpower and others that haven’t and so this is why some tasks look very big, nearly impossible for some but not for others. Towards the end of the day when most of the willpower is spent it is easier to make choices that are not aligned with the kind of discipline we would like for example have another scoop of ice-cream or a slice of pizza. It is much harder to exercise you will-power successfully in an environment that tempts you consistently. However when we have habits formed then it is much easier to follow along with these patters.

So how are you using your willpower? How much of it goes towards noble and meaningful causes?
How is your environment affecting you? Inspiring you to reach higher or tempting you to go lower?
What kind of habits are you building? The building of habits is a continuous process and it is often more effective to work internally for changes to manifest externally rather than the other way around.

In Yogic science suffering is the result of ignorance. The human being is not in touch with reality. Reality is veiled by the senses, habitual patterns, energy blockages, belief systems that no longer work for the being. As a result human beings acting from a place of ignorance make mistakes thus creating karma and suffering happens.
More specifically in our times many yogis argue that the whole planet is undergoing massive changes by leaving Kali Yuga and entering Dwapara Yuga, a dark era to enter in a more enlightened area. This creates polarisations inside and outside of us. In the same way that the systems outside of us such as global and local economies, banks, society structures are being stressed, tested and transformed it is in the same way that this happens inside of us. We also need to leave behind the old, the heavy and the least useful and bring about more of our qualities. It is more important than ever for more of us to undergo trainings and prepare for these changes in the least painful way.
Another perspective helps us to rationalise suffering as the mechanism of life to help the human being make adjustments and align itself with a higher more accurate reality.