Sandra
How did I get into yoga?
It was very random: around 25 years ago I was living in Bahrain and saw a notice in the local supermarket from someone offering Iyengar yoga classes. I went along and loved it. The teacher was very experienced and could guide me in my practice, including during my three pregnancies. Then I started Iyengar teacher training with her, but shortly afterwards she left the island. Bahrain being a small country without other Iyengar teachers meant that I then practised other styles of yoga (mainly hatha, yin and pranayama) and trained in pilates too.
However my love of the precision of Iyengar continued and I spent 2 weeks at the Iyengar Institute in Pune, India (2020) and have attended many Iyengar retreats and workshops.
I only ‘discovered’ Bikram yoga in Luxembourg, thanks to the hot yoga community here. I remember struggling through my first class, but soon grew to love the practice. I find it a yoga style with good alignment cues and the consistent sequence of the 26&2 Bikram class means that you can really see how your body is changing each time you practise, with the added bonus of the heat and the healthy sweat which that induces. I have arthritis in my fingers and if I practise yoga in the hot room regularly then I’m completely pain-free. I find that the heat definitely adds something to the practice. Having classes like intermediate and multiple sets is a great additional challenge too.
Favourite postures
There are so many that it is impossible to choose one; ‘it depends’ is the most honest answer. Sometimes there is a feeling of comfort in practising a familiar pose from the Bikram sequence. On a day when I, or another practitioner, gets a breakthrough in a pose, then that might be the favourite. I love the sense of flying in any arm balancing pose – or maybe it is just delight to have lift off! Headstand can feel very calming, despite the effort. And shavasana is always wonderful. Viparita karani (legs up the wall pose) or supta baddhakonasana (reclined bound angle pose) are perhaps my go-to restorative ones.
Why I love teaching
Using movement to help people feel better is the short answer. Sometimes that help might be to aid in relieving someone’s pain (lower back is not uncommon), perhaps by strengthening the relevant muscles and creating space in the appropriate body part(s) through stretching. For someone else, that help might be to aid them through a tough time by providing them with the opportunity to mentally switch off and focus on their body through movement. This might be in a Bikram class, particularly the balancing postures which require utter focus, or encouraging them to give it their all in a pilates workout, equally it could be to relax in yin. Other people come for physical reasons: they are looking to improve strength or flexibility, they want to strengthen their core, or maybe they take class to aid in weight loss or recover after surgery. It is lovely to help support people with all this. I love being able to adapt postures to each person as appropriate, helping them use the intended muscles and body parts. Through encouragement, compassion, and often a bit of humour, it is a joy to help practitioners in their yoga and pilates practice and see how good they feel after class. It may sound a cliché, but it is genuinely an honour to be part of people’s journey in yoga and pilates and help them deepen their practice.
Finally, it is lovely to contribute to the community at the studio: it is a friendly and encouraging place to practice. Even at 06:30am!
Teacher Trainings done:
Attended STOTT Pilates: reformer, mat and barrels (beginner, intermediate and advanced),Bahrain and The Hague, Netherlands (2005-2007)
Yin yoga: with Bernie Clarke, Vancouver, Canada (2018)
Inferno Hot Pilates: with Gabi Walters, Vienna, Austria (2022)
Original Hot Yoga Academy: Las Vegas, USA (online), 26&2 with Ida Ripley and Aaron
Thomas: (2021-2023); Intermediate with Ida Ripley (2023)
Various Jedi Fight Club weeks with Jasmine Nash