I attended my first yoga class almost 20 years ago. At that time, yoga was largely unknown to most people on my city, and those who had heard of it thought it was an aloof mixture of body contorsions, incense-burning and OM-chanting. “Are you converting to buddhism now?” was a question people asked me many times when I told them I had taken up a yoga practice. Back then, yoga was one of the most exotic types of physical workout (at least it was seen as that) you could do. People preferred going to “abs-thighs-buns” classes, aerobics, or spinning, and some very few brave ones went to judo (which was about the only Asian sports that was somewhat common back then).
The class I went to was the only yoga course in town, and the woman who taught it was the only certified yoga teacher there was in Salzburg. Born in Canada and trained in classical Hatha, Iyengar and Sivananda yoga, Janaki Arnet was an immensely gifted teacher, who had already been teaching classes for more than 30 years when I first met her. She didn’t just teach asana, she could tell us exactly what type of yoga it was that she practised with us, which philosophy it was based on, and what the differences to other styles were. She had us practice pranayama – lots of pranayama! – including ujjayi, nadi shodana, and kapalabhati. She always put an emphasis on giving us variations for poses that were hard on the knees, shoulders or back. And she had an unerring eye for the bodies of her students and their unique individual needs.
Nowadays, finding a teacher with such a wealth of knowledge and experience in Salzburg is nothing short of a miracle, and thinking back to these early days of my own yoga journey I can’t believe how lucky I was to have crossed paths with such a wonderful teacher.
In the almost 2 decades since then I had the chance to practice with many different teachers and try many different styles, like Hatha, Ashtanga, or Yin Yoga. My favorite way to move my body is creative & mindful vinyasa flow, which is why I found my perfect home in Prana Flow yoga. So I finally did my 200h yoga teacher training with the wonderful Christine May, senior Prana Flow teacher in the line of the great Shiva Rea, in 2017, and am now teaching in the sweetest little studio south of Salzburg.
My yoga biography
Yoga practice since 1999 with experience in classical Hatha, Vinyasa Flow and Ashtanga yoga
Teacher training: Prana Flow® Vinyasa 200-hour Affiliate Yoga Teacher Training with Christine May (based on the teachings of Prana Flow founder Shiva Rea)
Workshops and masterclasses: Liquid Flow Retreat with Simon Park, Coco Catalina Borsche and Florian Palzinsky, Flightschool with Roland Jensch & Liz Huntly, Magic in Motion with Rachel Brathen, Anusara masterclass with Barbra Noh, Masterclass with James Higgins, and many more …
Classes
I am a certified Prana Flow® teacher (RYT200) and teach Prana Flow and Vinyasa Flow yoga. My teaching is focused on healthy and sensible alignment, creative sequencing and mindful flows. I believe that yoga should be accessible for everyone, regardless of their body type, age, gender, or physical constitution. Instead of separating beginner and advanced classes I always offer ways to make the practice accessible for every student, regardless of their experience or practice level.
If you want to practice with me, please write me a message!