Author: Kathrin

Yes!

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I’ve got news! The journey goes on and on…. I’m so grateful to be certified to teach the MINDFRESH approach in Switzerland!

As I’m working myself all day long in the office, sitting in front of a computer, in a stressful surrounding, driven by deadlines, I know very well what effects this has on our health. And I’m talking about body and mind. Bad posture, neck and back pain, multitasking, shallow breathing… to name just a few. Having a fitness program is great, eating healthy awesome, but not enough. We need to work on body and mind to better destress and recharge. The good news is, that very simple tools can do that job.

Read more here, and if you think this could be a good idea for your office, let me know!

 

Photocredit Nadja Kappeler

Time doesn’t exist

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A pic just reminded me of an experience 5 years ago. But it wasn‘t just about a beautiful memory, it made me think of everything that happend the last 5 years. All that happened to me, with me, through me.

BOOM.

5 years feel like a lifetime. 5 years feel like a single moment. What is time? We only have the present moment, this is our reality. How we feel about time tells us a lot about time as such. It was yesterday. It was 5 years ago. Years packed with actions that would fit an entire life. Anyhow, it’s the same. Time to set us free from time, it just doesn’t matter.

I’m so grateful for this experience somewhen in my life, as it changed everything. I found my path. Hallelujah.

The impact of the season

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The summer is definitely gone when the coconut oil isn’t liquid anymore! The summer here was a very hot and dry one, which made most of my students getting exhausted quite quickly. I love to practice in the heat. It’s so much easier for the joints, the muscles…. well, the whole body is softer, much more flexible. I felt strong, filled with energy. Furthermore, I’m under the impression my body forgives easier in the heat when I push too much. 

Season is changing right now, the temperature went down, the long desired rain is there. While the plants outside might feel a relief, my body started complaining. Some pain here, less stamina there… I know I need to practice with a stronger focus and fully aware to avoid injury. My Ashtanga practice was difficult today, the change is in my body. Got the message and put yin yoga on my schedule for tomorrow. Also using different essential oils to minimize the impact of the season change. 

How about you? Do you feel the seasons in your body? Is there any that supports your practice?

Do you pray?

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I never used this term, as I related it to religion and I thought, people pray in a church, mosque, temple or on their own to their god. I even had issues with the term god, as I don’t belong to a religion and don’t believe in god. 

Even if this is still the same, my attitude made a full turn-around when I went to India for my teacher training first time and saw how open and easy people deal with their gods (yes they have more) and how they pray. I learned about the Hindu gods, and I love all the stories around them, colorful and beautiful analogies. And I like that they have a name, a family, a face, a body, certain things around them and everything is representing something important in life. Everything and everyone has a story to tell. They seem real. Even with a lot of arms and other magical attributes.

India took away the strictness and tightness I saw in religion as such and showed me a world full of openness, laughter, ease and same time seriousness. I learned to put my hands in prayer in front of my heart center during my yoga practice and nothing felt wrong with it. It wasn’t religious, it felt and still feels as a ritual.

However I still replace the term god with universe when reading a spiritual text and I still don’t pray, but strongly believe, it’s just a matter of definition. I recite mantras, I talk to the universe, I challenge the law of attraction, I ask and give thanks to my angles.

Well, guess some would call it praying. 

The next workshop is on!

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Play with us! It’s getting quiet, we listen, we slow down, we get soft and we look within instead of around. We tune in.

Let’s do it together.

The workshop is all about the central theme of COMPASSION and together we will meditate, practicing fascia release with Yin Yoga and finally you will experience a Chakra Healing.

8th September, 4-6pm, @Stadtyoga (Zürich)

Let me know if you are in by clicking here.

Freedom 

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The older I get, the more does my yoga practice change. No, I’m not talking about anything I can’t do anymore, on the contrary, I’m taking about freedom.

The freedom to decide what it means to dedicate myself to a daily practice. Yes, it means to show up. No, it doesn’t mean to practice the full primary series 6 days a week. Well there are weeks when I do exactly this, but the difference is, my dedication is to practice yoga in a way that suits my body needs that particular day. 

This means letting go of bondage. I do practice on my mat daily. Without feeling guilty to listen to my body and do exactly what I need that moment. Mindful practice without forcing myself. Some days this might mean practicing yin yoga. Others I might do some sun salutations and a simple flow to get my body long and stretched. It can also mean to just sit in stillness and meditate. Challenging enough! And still most days, I do the full primary series. Some days I think, let’s do a slow flow following some matching music, while some time later I recognize that I’m in the midst of my Ashtanga practice. And it feels great to just move without thinking, led by my body, doing what I love.

I also let go of the need to master advanced postures. I know they will come anyhow when I’m ready. Working on them without pressure and the need to follow the crowd. This too is yoga.

This is what I call freedom. It’s my practice and I stopped judging me. No labels needed, it’s just that, yoga. This is my way to create space in body and mind.

 

Photo by Nadja Kappeler

Give your self-healing capabilities a major boost!

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Enjoy a calming and relaxing Reiki session, to fully unwind while the energy is working for you. I’m free now for new appointments – face to face or distance, up to you!

Read more about the benefits here and let me know when you’re ready for an energy boost!

New class

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Yogis!

We will start a new class from next Wednesday – join us and make your lunch count!

We practice Vinyasa Flow, however no worries re the steaming heat, we adjust 🙂

Give it a try, first class is on me for all new joiners.

Same time as Mondays (12:15 – 13:15), same location (Stadtyoga, Zürich Binz).

Let’s dive into the yoga frequency together! Monday or Wednesday or both – let me know if you’re in 🙂

Mindful Practice

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“Remember, the main thing that shapes our body is how we feel, so don’t waste your sacred moments in senseless distraction.“ (Samadi, Bali)

When I start a class, I usually ask my students to allow themselves for the next 60/90 minutes to be present, in the room, on their mat, and most important with themselves. I ask them to practice mindful as a commitment to being here and now. I know this isn’t easy, particularly when practicing over lunch, when students arrive stressed and might have challenging stuff to do or lots of appointments in the afternoon. The more important it is to grant our monkey minds a break. The morning is past, nothing to do about it and the afternoon not yet there. Integrating the attention of presence in action, this is what it’s all about. Sounds simple, anyhow, not always easy to realize.

There are a couple of things that might help:

  • Stop comparing yourself to others
  • Direct your energy and your full attention to yourself
  • Keep your focus on your breath (and simply bring it back each time you lost connection!)
  • Be gentle with yourself
  • Feel what you are doing
  • Relax and enjoy the process

Next time when you hit the mat, give yourself permission for the time of your practice to just do that, nothing else, physically AND mentally. Any thoughts that pop up, let them come and let them pass, knowing they will get the required attention after your practice. I promise this will change your practice significantly!

Reiki

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I am guided, and sometimes it seems there’s even more… I know, it sounds strange and I can tell you, it felt just totally unreal. Let me start at the beginning. Some time ago, I was thinking on what might be my next step, my next learning along my yoga path. I found myself in front of my computer, searching for – hold on. What? I searched for a Reiki training. Hell what? Reiki is great, don’t get me wrong, but my Reiki experience – which wasn’t that much to be honest, but at least I received Reiki a couple of times – wasn’t any kind of game changing to dig into it much deeper. So why was I looking for a Reiki training? I didn’t had a clue.

However doing this search and my surprise when I recognized what I was searching for, made me curious. I really felt like a puppet on a string! Strange! However, this moment, it got my full attention. I stopped questioning and continued kind of observing myself. Soon I found a teacher who ‘spoke to me’ and believe it or not, I did the training. I was flashed. I practiced and my world was shaking; it was unbelievable. What happened during my self-practice, but the experience when I gave Reiki was even more exciting. I had to learn how to differentiate between the client and me to understand what’s a message for my client and what are just my thoughts or physical reactions. New doors opened up for me.

It didn’t take long for the 2nd training to follow, which made me even more sensitive to the more subtle layers of the aura. Energy work is just amazing and the more I learn the more I understand, that we don’t know much about it. Anyhow, it works.

I will be forever grateful, whoever or whatever influenced my fingers that day to type ‘Reiki’ into the search. I also thank myself for the courage to just do it without knowing why and to simply believe that this is what I have to do. It feels like my path. No matter if Reiki or Yoga is the vehicle, supporting people to help themselves is the most rewarding work I can think of.

Do you want to get an idea of what this safe and gentle form of hands-on healing can do for you? Wherever you are in this world, let’s get in contact!