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How I Discovered Yoga—and How It Changed My Life Forever
I have no idea what suddenly happened at the office of the North German Broadcasting, but it felt like all my female colleagues were caught up in yoga—even my boss!
I clearly remember sitting next to my colleague Heike, trying to focus on my research while she was loudly breathing like a bellows.
“Why are you breathing like that?” I asked her.
“To calm my ‘monkey mind,’” she laughed. “I’m currently training to become a Jivamukti yoga teacher.”
Confused, I looked for my colleague Susann’s reaction. She just grinned and pulled out her yoga mat from under her desk.
“What studio are you going to?” she asked Heike.
“I go to yoga every evening in Schanze.”
Melli, who sat in the office next door and heard us through the open door, said to Heike, “Wow, are you already teaching? I always have neck problems—I’d love to come to one of your classes.”
Heike beamed, “Yes, every Wednesday evening at the sports club in Eimsbüttel. Lena, Melli, Susann, why don’t you join us next Wednesday?”
The Boss Shows Off His Yoga Skills
At that moment, the boss rushed in and topped it all off:
“Yoga? Who here does yoga? My wife and I have been signed up at a yoga studio for two months.”
And bam—he stood in the doorway and proudly demonstrated a headstand. Heike gently helped him get into the right position.
My First Yoga Class—Totally Lost but Curious
I had no idea what I was getting into, but Melli and I actually sat on some worn-out yoga mats at the sports club the next Wednesday evening for Heike’s class.
The room was beautifully set up with candles, smelling like gym mats mixed with incense.
Heike was deeply focused on her bellows breathing while Melli and I exchanged uncertain looks. We had no idea what we were doing—or even if we wanted to do this at all.
The other participants flowed effortlessly from one movement to the next while Heike’s steady (Ojai) breathing filled the room.
I just made something up as I went along, not knowing what I was doing. I actually liked the final relaxation best—lying on the mat with eyes closed as Heike walked around massaging oil into our necks and singing.
The group “Om” at the end made no sense to me—it just didn’t feel like me.
Pain and Doubts After Yoga
The next day, my lower back hurt.
What the heck? I thought yoga was supposed to be healthy!
I didn’t dare ask Heike what was going on; I didn’t want her to think I didn’t enjoy her class. Plus, she had just flown directly to a yoga retreat in the USA with her gurus.
So, only self-research remained.
The First Step on My Yoga Journey
This was 2011; AI wasn’t part of my world yet, but Google helped.
I found a weekend taster course for yoga teacher training in Hamburg and signed up secretly.
At the course, I was surprised to meet Anna, a fitness instructor from my hometown who once led “abs, legs, and butt” classes.
I was happy to see her again; she was so warm, relaxed, and approachable—so different from her formerly tough style.
“Yoga,” she said, when I asked what transformed her.
“What exactly is yoga?” I wanted to know.
“In Vinyasa, the style I teach, it is the union of body, breath, and soul,” she laughed.
Although I didn’t understand the phrase then, it stayed with me deeply.
In my life, there was no union with my body and soul—if anything, my soul disliked my body. Breathing just happened automatically; I never gave it much thought.
The Decision—Yoga Became More Than a Hobby
After that weekend, I couldn’t sleep and instead researched yoga styles and training late into the night. There were so many styles and training options—like a whole mess!
Still, my mind was made up: I wanted to become a yoga teacher—not to teach, but to grow; to learn how body, breath, and soul connect.
I realized I couldn’t keep living like before—working too much, having no self-love, and feeling rejection toward myself.
Yoga seemed like a door to a world completely foreign to me but just as magnetic as my impulse to travel to distant countries.
From Curious Beginner to Passionate Yoga Teacher
I enrolled. From occasional yoga participant, my journey over the following years led me to a yoga bachelor’s degree, then on to a master’s-level yoga teacher training, all under Anna’s guidance.
Where this choice would take me—I could never have imagined then.
Yoga: More Than Just Movement and Breath
Today, 14 years later, yoga is my life—and not just through movement and breathing.
Meditation, mindfulness, nutrition, and spirituality (a word that once made my toes curl!) have become some of my greatest life values.
Yoga was only the beginning—it opened the door to Reiki, kinesiology, Vipassana, Nonviolent Communication, Eckhart Tolle, and sound healing therapy.
Yoga becomes a part of you. It has always been part of all of us. The question is whether we allow ourselves to turn inward again from the outside world.
