About myself
Hi there, nice to meet you! I’m Monika, yoga therapist and yoga teacher, with passion for way more things than can be fit into a single day. Eager to continuously learn and grow.
As a child I wanted to be a doctor – this was so obvious for me from a very young age. Then I became a teenager, had to make study choices, and I diverted from what used to seem such a natural direction, ending up with a master in economics. I worked for many years in large multinationals as manager of strategic marketing and market research, responsible for large geographies. I did enjoy what I was doing, particularly when it came to insights. Insights about the human being, patterns of thinking, and how this could be translated to something that makes a difference.
I was an expat in South Africa, driving to work one morning, when a young guy handed a leaflet over to me at a traffic light. I didn’t usually open my window (this was in Johannesburg), but for some reason I did do so then. It was about The Haum of Yoga studio. I’d never done yoga before, but the studio was near my home, so I decided to try.
I had a wow feeling from the very first moment. Yoga helped me to feel better at a time of major work-related stress. In a few months time I did my first teacher training module. I was pregnant at the time, but I just wanted to gain a deeper knowledge.
Then we moved back to Europe, and when my second child was old enough, I completed my teachers training. I was teaching evening yoga classes next to my job for a couple of years, when I finally made my choice to make the big change. I was always happy on the mat, while less and less so in my golden cage. At the end of 2020 I quit my job to become a relaxation therapist, and simultaneously started to study yoga therapy. It didn’t feel realistic at the time that I could complete everything for the yoga therapist diploma – it was a major piece of work, with over 2 years of heavy time investment. But what I studied was so fascinating, I just needed to keep learning.
It’s been an amazing journey, and now I’m here. Now I can help people feel better – in one of the most rewarding ways I can imagine, giving the time and attention which clients need and deserve. When people are thankful for having helped them to reduce their pain, to feel calmer, to have more energy, to sleep better, this gives a fabulous sense of fulfilment. This is not altruism: every time I’m with a client, I feel grounded myself. I’m in the flow, completely focused and present – experiencing what I teach.
