(Nederlands? Klik hier). Yoga is an efficient way to balance your energy. You can use it to calm down or boost your energy. It helps you break free from the limitations of your mind, as it reduces stress, anxiety, depression, and pain. It also strengthens your immune system and it just makes you feel super duper chill.

Did you know that the breathing exercises and meditations in yoga are also widely used by therapists and psychologists? That’s how effective mindfulness/yoga is. It helps you to live in the present moment, allowing you to let go of worries about the past or the future.

I’ve heard of beer yoga. Do you teach that?

No, but I promise you, even without beer, yoga can get you into higher spheres. My classes are a super nice ‘slow-flow’: a combination of hatha and vinyasa flow. This means that there’s a fluent transition between poses, but there’s enough time to feel what effect each pose has on your body.

This way, you get to know your own limits and you can gradually expand those limits, without hurting yourself. The focus is always on the breath. You use your breath to connect to your body, to protect yourself, to concentrate, and to be completely in the present moment.

I’m as stiff as a board. I probably can’t do yoga, can I?

Of course you can! Otherwise, I couldn’t be a yoga teacher either; I have the stiffest hips of any teacher I know. Three years ago, I almost tore my hip ligaments because I really wanted to be able to put my foot behind my neck.

Wanna do yoga? Say fuck it to flexibility. Yoga is not about touching your toes with your nose. Instead, it’s about relaxing with the fact that you can’t (yet). Surprisingly, the more you accept and relax, the more flexible you become.

To experience what yoga is, you can try this practice for beginners: