Team

I have been fascinated by the human body for as long as I can remember. At a young age I spent countless hours hanging upside down, imitating gymnasts on tv, dancing around in the garden and doing yoga with my mother. I was born in Ohio (USA) and moved to Belgium at a young age where I studied at de! Kunsthumaniora Hedendaagse Dans (BE), focusing on contemporary dance. Afterwards, in ArtEZ Hogeschool voor de Kunsten (NL), I decided to develop my knowledge as a choreographer. I created several pieces and performed in various festivals. Upon graduating, I worked for Cristina Planas Leitão and Cinzia Scoglionero, amongst others, and within Strange Strangers, as the co-founder, choreographer, and dancer of the organization.

Throughout the years of being immersed in the performing arts I noticed a need to explore the body in different ways than I had been educated. I had various exposures to yoga, specifically Anusara Yoga through my mother and her yoga studio. This curiosity led me to wanting to understand more about the notion of awareness and how we think. I have been self-studying neuroscience, psychology, and human behavior for the past two years and started to feel an urge to share my insights with others, which led me to teaching.  As a teacher, my aim is to remain curious and open to different opinions and perspectives in the hope that I can continue learning and pass this knowledge on to others.

I discovered yoga in 2004, when searching for a technic that would not only keep my body strong and flexible, but that would also quiet my jumpy mind. In Yoga I found it all and more.

My initial motivation to take up the teacher training was purely to deepen my own practice. But then I discovered the joy of sharing my own experience with others, and my whole life took a turn. I gave up my desk job and started teaching at numerous Iyengar Yoga studios throughout the Netherlands. I followed as many workshops I could afford, I visited India several times to study with the Iyengar family in Pune, I followed more teacher trainings and passed the exams, and I’m planning to continue all of this, as long as my own body and mind allow me to do.

My teaching is energetic, playful and experimental. I love to discover ways to guide and challenge my students towards confidence and deep understanding.
My aim is to bring as many as possible people on the mat, to experience the benefits of yoga, because it works and it’s simply the best one can do to become and stay healthy and sound.

I have worked as a professional choreographer and dancer, teaching in different dance styles. Later I started a catering company and today I cook for theatre and music companies. Because cooking can be physically demanding, I looked for a way to stay in good physical condition and ended up with yoga, now about 15 years ago. That yoga is more than just asanas (yoga postures), aroused the interest to dive more into the background and philosophy of yoga and so I did the teacher training. In the meantime I followed as many workshops and trainings of different teachers as possible, also in different places during travelling.

My choice for Iyengar Yoga is a logical consequence of the fact that technique is important to lay a solid foundation for exploring your own anatomy. The use of props allows you to perform the different postures in a more intensive way. Through correct and conscious alignment of the body, the mind can be brought to balance. Through teaching I can share that yoga enriches your life, pushes your own boundaries and at the same time teaches you to look inside.

Het leuke van Iyengar Yoga is dat je nooit uitgeleerd raakt en dat je het tot op hoge leeftijd kan doen. Ik beoefen yoga naast hardlopen. Ik vind dat een perfecte combinatie. Het hardlopen maakt me sterk, de yoga maakt me soepel en voorkomt dat ik blessures krijg. Ik voel me in balans als ik beide beoefen.

Mijn eerste Iyengar les deed ik bij Charles Hond in Rotterdam, dertig jaar geleden. Ik vond het super, maar ben gestopt omdat het rooster niet aansloot bij mijn werkschema en reistijden. Ik ben toen overgestapt op Bodybalance op de sportschool, een mix van tai chi, pilates en yoga. Goed om soepel te blijven, maar niet vergelijkbaar met de diepgang van Iyengar yoga. Acht jaar geleden ben ik serieus begonnen met Iyengar en ik ben heel blij met die stap. In eerste instantie benaderde ik yoga heel fysiek, als een sport zeg maar, maar nu ik het langer en serieuzer beoefen, ervaar ik dat het goed is voor mijn algehele welbevinden. Ik heb een gevoelig zenuwstelsel en ben snel overprikkeld. Yoga helpt me om terug te schakelen als ik in de overdrive zit. Prettig ook, vind ik, dat ik yoga elke dag kan doen.

Mijn ideale les is er één die techniek bevat, maar ook krachttraining. En daarnaast ontspanning en plezier. Ook dat laatste vind ik belangrijk, want yoga hoeft niet altijd super serieus te zijn wat mij betreft, het is ook een manier om te voelen wat een prachtig instrument ons lichaam is, waarmee we vrijheid, ontspanning en vreugde kunnen ervaren.

About 20 years ago I took my first Iyengar Yoga class. I was immediately hooked. At that time, I had a pretty stressful job as a designer at an architectural firm with a lot of extra hours. The effect of that yoga class was exactly what I needed. It brought me into my body and gave me mental rest and I knew I wanted to taste more and more often.

It's not only the precision that appeals to me in Iyengar Yoga, it's also   the inquisitiveness, the invitation to experiment, feel and experience, what I appreciate so much. In my own teaching I hope to inspire my students to see the practice of the postures (asanas) as a process of reflection and self-knowledge. In my classes I look for a balance between action, play and rest. I have a passion for teaching adolescents.

Yoga is a lifelong learning. I practice with different Iyengar teachers, weekly and in intensive trainings. In 2019 I passed the Iyengar teacher training exam. In 2021 I passed the 100 hour teacher training course 'Teen Yoga' from Charlotta Marinus SYT. I am also a level 3 sports coach.

I started practicing Iyengar Yoga 18 years ago. At the time I was doing a lot of freediving: diving on a single breath of air. Yoga was supposed to help with improving the breath and to calm the mind. Quite handy when you are 30 meters under water…

The combination of working with the body and the mental effect of yoga really appealed to me and soon yoga became my first point of interest. After following the teacher training with Clé Souren and Charles Hond I have been teaching yoga from 2012. In my classes I help students to explore the relationship between the physical and the mental. I use asana and pranayama to develop stability and flexibility and balance action and letting go. My classes are detailed and challenging but accessible for literally every body. 

By teaching yoga I hope I can contribute to an active, calm and balanced life of my students.

I started practicing yoga in 1996. After half a year of regular practice, I was surprised to find myself rid of the digestive problems which had been persistent for some years. I also became more aware of the stress and fatigue that I accumulate, which lead me to the importance of taking care of myself.

Since then, practice of yoga has been where I come in dialogue with my body and focus on who I am. For a number of times it has enabled me to face challenging moments with optimism and effortlessness. The alignment work of Iyengar yoga not only brings about a sense of stability and balance, but it gives insight into one’s personal limits and challenges. I teach since 2006. I am a certified (Level II) Iyengar yoga teacher and am a regular assistant in therapy classes. I look for a way to assist my students to surpass the boundary with a sense of lightness. The harmony and intelligence that abides in the yoga asanas inspires me to discover the potentials that each person’s body uniquely has.

To further my education, I regularly receive advanced training from senior teachers in the Netherlands and abroad.