I started this year with a wellness weekend together with a close friend of mine… and I was really looking forward to it. For reasons I can’t name myself, 24 has always been my absolute favorite number, so I was convinced that 2024 would be great. And it was – but with some teething troubles.

Slow start

Although I started the new year with a lot of motivation, I didn’t really get out of the starting blocks. The projects I was working on didn’t really take off as I would have liked. I realized that I was missing something crucial. Towards the end of the year, an opportunity arose to find this missing piece of the puzzle, but more on that later.

In February, I booked myself into the Yoga Vidya Ashram Bad Meinberg for the first time in several years to attend a Vipassana seminar. This place holds some not-so-fond memories for me, so it was an emotional but also liberating stay. The ashram used to be a sanctuary for me and I am one step closer to regaining that status.

Another favorite memory of this year is my carnival trip to Griesheim. Together with a colleague, we cheered on another colleague who performed several times in a session with her dance group and also gave a carnival speech. Anyone who knows me knows that carnival is completely out of my comfort zone, but I had so much fun – which was certainly also due to the sensational company. It’s a wonderful thing for me when colleagues become friends.

To make sure there was still something going on, I decided to fulfill my dream of an Ayurveda retreat in Sri Lanka and booked a two-week stay for May.

Upswing in spring

In spring, the long-awaited movement suddenly came into my life.

I first got in touch with Asana at Home, an online yoga provider that was looking for yoga teachers to teach on the platform, especially classes for other yoga teachers. I applied and soon had a Zoom call in which I presented two concepts. One of them was accepted on the spot, with the prospect of also implementing the second. This sense of achievement gave me a very welcome boost, which I used to develop the final concept for my course and present Asana at Home.

Another great experience in spring was a visit to Hanover to see my long-time friend Kadda. We spent a wonderful day at a lake and a fun girls’ evening on her balcony. It was also there that we decided to set each other up via an app after both of us had struggled with heartbreak in recent years. That’s right: a dating app where you don’t search yourself, but your closest friends make suggestions. Exactly the right thing for us, as we wanted to get to know someone but didn’t feel like going on a search ourselves.

Heart opener

In yoga, we talk about “heart-opening” positions, for example backbends in which the chest is stretched. This category includes some of my favorite asanas. Now I decided to open my heart again off the mat too.

My dear “frolleague” (friend + colleague) Caro had suggested Daniel to me via said app, with whom I met for brunch on a Sunday morning in Frankfurt. God, I was nervous! Meeting a complete stranger with whom I’d only written for a few days before? What was I actually doing here?

To make a long story short: Today, on New Year’s Eve, we will not only toast to the New Year, but also to the fact that we have now been together for half a year.

Thanks to him, I was finally able to put the painful experiences of the last few years behind me and finally experience again why the sometimes-frustrating search for a partner can be rewarding after all. I could hardly believe my luck to find such a loving, smart, funny man with whom I could have the most profound conversations, but also be incredibly silly. Even now, six months later, I can hardly believe my luck and will be eternally grateful to Caro for setting us up. Not just because it means I’m in the happiest relationship I’ve ever been in, but also because I love that our friendship goes deep enough to be able to appreciate me so well. Thank you, Caro!

Ayurvedic adventure

Before Daniel and I became a couple, I had another adventure ahead of me: my long-awaited trip to Sri Lanka!

I spent the most incredible two weeks at the “Plantation Villa” resort in the middle of the jungle, where I meditated every day, practiced yoga, enjoyed Ayurvedic food and Ayurvedic treatments and met wonderful people. There were also plenty of excursions.

I finally saw my favorite animals, elephants, in the wild; I released baby turtles into the wild, I visited a tea plantation, I visited the village temple together with the local staff of the resort on the occasion of the Buddhist holiday Vesak.

Another highlight was that I was finally able to experience authentic Ayurveda at first hand – through treatments, nutrition and the care provided by the wonderful Ayurveda doctors on site.

In the new year, I will dedicate an entire blog article to this profound journey so that I can tell you more about it.

Turbulent second half of the year

A lot happened in the second half of 2024. I spent my entire summer vacation finishing the online course for Asana at Home, which was incredibly fun. The course is now online and I would be delighted if any of you yoga teachers are interested!

In addition to this positive development, there was also a development in my office job that wasn’t quite so positive. As a result, I decided to leave this job and apply for a job at where Daniel lives so that we can move in together and see each other more often than just at the weekend. This means that not only a new job, but also a new place to live is waiting in the wings for me in the new year. I’m really looking forward to living with my better half and everything the new start has in store for me.

There was also a less pleasant development in my private life, namely the end of a long-standing friendship that had been going badly for some time. This was an important lesson for me: it is always important to work on friendships and not throw in the towel at the slightest inconvenience. But it’s just as important to recognize when it’s no longer worth it. To recognize when you’ve had enough. To recognize when you have grown too far apart.

So it was even nicer to spend a weekend with my favorite girls from my studies. We all live in different cities, so it’s always a highlight when we all get together. We explored Cologne together, laughed a lot, enjoyed delicious tapas and brought each other up to date. Weekends like this recharge my batteries enough to keep me going for longer.

Looking forward to 2025

Now that the year with my favorite number is coming to an end, I’m looking forward to 2025. I have lots of ideas, wishes and goals for the new year. As I mentioned at the beginning, I was missing an important piece of the puzzle that I am currently working on: a crystal-clear positioning as a yoga teacher. I am currently doing a coaching session for this, which is giving me incredible pleasure. It’s a great feeling to invest in myself and I can hardly wait to see what the result will be and what I will make of it.

I also want to continue working on my blog in 2025, which had to take a back seat this year due to the very time-consuming work on the online course.

I will also be ringing in the year 2025 with a yoga and journaling workshop at Yoga Vidya Frankfurt. If you live in Frankfurt, please come along! And if you live somewhere else, feel free to participate online! I would be very happy to welcome the new year with many great people. Together we will look back on the old year and look forward to the new one. No matter what 2025 will bring – this is how you start it in the best possible, most mindful way.

Now all that remains is for me to wish all my wonderful readers a happy and healthy new year. I look forward to everything that is to come!

We all know them: those days when nothing goes as planned. The train is late or you’re stuck in a traffic jam; everyone at work is just upsetting you and the weather isn’t great either.

But just because the day was bad doesn’t mean the evening has to be bad, too. Here are a few tips to make a bad day better.

Movement

Exercise always lifts your mood, no matter what type of exercise you choose. Choose according to your current mood. Do you feel more like working out, letting off steam? Or do you need gentle, conscious movement that grounds you? Whether it’s a walk, a jog or a yoga session – you’re sure to feel better afterwards.

Get your frustration off your chest

Confide in your journal what’s on your mind! It will feel good to let it all out. If you want to go one step further and make a little ritual of letting go, you can do that too. You can crumple up the paper and throw it away or burn it in a fireproof bowl.

Focus on the positive aspects

Even a bad day has good aspects – always! You’re just so absorbed by the negative ones that you don’t even notice what was good. Take time to consciously shift your focus.

Do a guided meditation with the theme of positivity, or write down a list of things you are grateful for. Quite often you feel like everything is black when the day hasn’t gone according to plan, but it can help to realize how lucky you are despite everything.

Use uplifting fragrances

A fragrance can lift your mood? Yes, it really can! Fragrances can have an effect on our autonomic nervous system; they can activate or calm us down and balance the doshas.

If you are in a mental slump, you should reach for citrus scents, which are generally considered to lift the mood. Orange, lemon, lime, grapefruit – choose an essential oil to vaporize in a diffuser, light an incense stick or use body care or cosmetics with this scent. You may not be able to leave the frustration of a whole day behind you straight away, but if your surroundings smell like summer, it will certainly take the edge off.

Spoil yourself

A day when you’ve been angry a lot, perhaps sad and disappointed is not the right day to diet or discipline yourself in any other way. A day like this is for self-care! Treat yourself to whatever you feel like if you think it might make you feel better.

Take a lavish bubble bath, apply a face mask, book yourself a massage, cook or order a good meal – nothing is too decadent if it feels good!

You know those difficult days that just feel like you’re swimming against the tide? What do you do in such cases? Share it with me and the other readers!

It is considered one of the seven deadly sins and has a correspondingly bad reputation: envy is not a welcome feeling.

When we are envious, we often feel bad. Not only because we envy someone, but also because we feel guilty for being envious in the first place. As a child, we may even have heard “don’t be envious” more than once.

From an evolutionary biology perspective, envy actually makes a lot of sense.  In earlier times, it was often a matter of life and death if you had less than others.

Yogis and yoginis also know that all feelings have a right to exist and are allowed to exist. Even envy! Because it can teach us important lessons. But which ones? And how can you deal with envy mindfully?

Social media minefield of envy

In the Instagram age, everyone seems to have a great life, high-end furnishings and is constantly on exotic trips around the world. Everyone is slimmer, more beautiful, has more money, more friends, more fun. These false assumptions trigger feelings of envy in many of us.

It is very important to realize how fake the content on social media platforms is. Only very few of us present ourselves overworked, sad or after a defeat. Instead, we share photos in which we look particularly good and talk about our successes. And why not? When consuming social media, just keep reminding yourself that all the beautiful pictures are just snapshots and might be carefully staged.

Positive vs. negative envy

Have you done your best to set yourself apart, but still feel envious? It happens to all of us. But there are two sides to envy.

The dark side of envy makes us resentful. The person we are envious of triggers a strong resentment or anger in us. Being happy for the person and enjoying their success, new car or dream job? No way! This type of envy keeps you trapped in your negative thoughts.

Positive envy, on the other hand, can reveal our true needs. The successes and achievements of others can make us realize “I want that too!” and motivate us to take steps that bring us closer to our goals. If your ambition is fueled by the success of others, this is a positive development, because you are spurred on to take action yourself.

Handling envy in a mindful way

If you have been gripped by envy, you can follow a few guidelines to deal with it mindfully.

1. Don’t suppress it! As I said, every feeling is allowed. Nobody likes to admit to a feeling like envy, as it signals a lack. But come to terms with your feelings and don’t be ashamed of them.

2. Don’t compare! Yes, it is often unavoidable. So often we unconsciously compare ourselves with others, but it doesn’t do us any good at all. So try not to make comparisons if someone around you makes you feel envious.

3. Appreciate what you have! Practice gratitude and constantly remind yourself of what is positive in your life. This will strengthen your satisfaction and self-worth and make you less susceptible to envy.

4. Know your goals! Visualize exactly what your goals are. Then ask yourself: Do I really want this thing or experience? Is it aligned with my goals? Would it help me to have what this person has? If so, how could I achieve it?

5. Question! Why am I envious of this person in particular? Would I want to swap places with this person? Is there perhaps even someone who could be envious of me? If so, of what exactly?

Yoga practice as an anti-envy exercise

Your yoga mat is a good place to learn how to deal with envy in a healthy way. All too often we envy our fellow yogis and yoginis for their strength, their flexibility, their figure, their chic outfit.

If you catch yourself doing this, remind yourself of the previous five points to give your feelings of envy space.

But please only do this after your yoga class – this is your time for yourself. This is a wonderful way to practice turning your focus inwards instead of outwards. If envy is still bothering you after the class, deal with it as described. But who knows? Maybe it will already have disappeared during Savasana 😊

We’ve all been there: the next train is late, the queue at the supermarket is seemingly endless or you simply don’t get called in the waiting room. These are all typical situations in which we reach for our cell phones and look around on social media.

There’s nothing wrong with that in general. Many of us use Instagram & Co. to combat boredom. However, in addition to entertaining cat videos, there is also a lot of content that can make us feel envious and, in the worst case, even make us feel inadequate.

So how can you use social media in a yogic way? I have put together three tips for you.

Choose wisely which accounts you follow

Not all accounts with the word “yoga” in their name are spreading real yogic content. Many are simply self-promotional and full of perfectly edited pictures of beautiful people in acrobatic asanas. Still others claim to lead a yoga-influenced lifestyle while simply practicing asanas as a sport and otherwise knowing nothing about yoga.

Think carefully about what you want from the content that appears in your feed. Do you want to learn something? Do you teach yoga and want to use Instagram as inspiration for your classes? Or do you just want to be entertained? In the latter case, simply aesthetic visual content will do. With the other two options, you shouldn’t be indiscriminate and only follow people whose content really helps you – see point 3.

Avoid comparisons

Someone is more advanced in terms of asanas or has a “better” figure? Remind yourself that you are not worth less because of this!

As mentioned at the beginning, some images can cause you to compare yourself and not do well in your own eyes in this comparison. If you feel inadequate or simply not good when looking at certain content, remove it – see point 1.

In any case, try not to compare yourself to others. Acceptance, a principle that often accompanies us on the yoga mat, should also accompany you in your yogic use of social media. Just because someone is stronger or more flexible than you doesn’t mean they are ‘better’ than you. Always remember that even these supposedly perfect people have their insecurities.

Be inspired and learn

Used correctly – or yogically – social media can provide you with lots of instructive input. You can also get a wealth of great, creative ideas from the right accounts.

Once you have put together a good selection of meaningful accounts, you will be able to learn and take a lot with you. Some share valuable knowledge about anatomy, others share their ideas for creative sequencing, others make yoga philosophy accessible to everyone.

Draw knowledge and inspiration for your own practice and teaching from the content of the accounts you follow.

What’s your experience? Do you use Instagram & Co. Who do you follow? Who would you recommend? Share it with us in the comments!

Just like envy, boredom is a feeling that is not very popular. When we feel bored, we want to get rid of it as quickly as possible. Nowadays, this usually means reaching for our cell phones, surfing around pointlessly and not even realizing how we are wasting our time. We often can’t believe how long we’ve been immersed in Instagram & Co. when we finally put the phone away again.

Many of us feel even more frustrated afterwards than before, knowing that we have simply wasted precious moments.

Boredom is also a reason why lockdowns during the coronavirus pandemic were so unpleasant for many people. As soon as they were unable to carry out their usual activities, they no longer knew what to do with themselves.

But is boredom really just an inconvenience? Or can it also be an opportunity?

What actually is boredom?

A well-known definition of boredom comes from Dr. John Eastwood, Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at York University in Toronto: “Boredom is the unpleasant feeling of wanting to do a satisfying activity but not being able to do so.”

This definition reveals a lot. First of all, it is striking that the label “unpleasant” is used directly here. So boredom is not a feeling that we enjoy. We resist it and look for ways to end it.

On the other hand, according to the definition, there is not just a need for any activity, but for a “satisfying” one. So it doesn’t even have to be the case that there are no activities available to us at all when we are bored. It may also be that we perceive the options we have as unsatisfactory. Therefore, scrolling blindly on our cell phones is not a good way to combat boredom either.

Boredom – a question of perspective

When we are bored, we are often even embarrassed. If you are asked about plans and don’t have any, it is often rather unpleasant. You feel as if you are uninteresting and don’t know what to do with yourself. Those who organize their free time as efficiently as possible are respected.

In Italy, on the other hand, there is an expression called “Dolce Far Niente” – the sweet idleness.

The adjective “sweet” alone shows that the lack of plans is viewed completely differently here. It is positive, even pleasurable – a conscious switching off from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, something you treat yourself to rather than something you endure.

Friedrich Nietzsche coined the quote “Boredom is the calm of the soul”. Doesn’t that sound nice? Letting the inner turmoil calm down for once?

Boredom as an opportunity

The next time you feel bored, try to look at the feeling from a new perspective. Take it as an opportunity to give your thoughts time to sort themselves out. A moment of pause can be very beneficial.

At the same time, this is also the ideal moment to view boredom as motivation to look around for fulfilling activities. How often do we even get the opportunity to do this? All too often we are so busy and sometimes even overloaded with the duties of everyday life that we have neither the time nor the energy to question what we really enjoy doing and what we find fulfilling.

Personally, I have found it a gift to ask myself exactly that during the pandemic, to try out different activities without any pressure. It’s a luxury to be able to ask yourself “what do I want to do with my time now?” instead of thinking “what else do I have to do now?”.

Mindfulness is now a very overused word, but it is also useful when you are bored. It can help you find a healthy way of dealing with the feeling. The next time you’re bored, don’t immediately reach for your cell phone. Allow yourself the opportunity to consciously notice and question the feeling of boredom. Why are you bored right now? What would you find fulfilling at this very moment? Or perhaps a moment of complete peace and quiet would suit you just fine?

An Ayurvedic perspective on boredom

Not all boredom is the same. Here too, there are various forms in which the feeling can manifest itself.

On the one hand, there is the classic “hanging around”: You feel lethargic, listless, have no idea what you might feel like doing.

On the other hand, there’s restlessness: you’re fidgety, restless, with countless thoughts running through your head, but you can’t really hold on to any of them.

In Ayurvedic terms, the ‘hanging around’ variant has Kapha properties. This dosha, which is characterized by the element earth, stands for stability and calm when it’s balanced. If it is out of balance, you feel lethargic and completely unmotivated. If you find yourself in this state, activating movement is a good solution. Practice a few sun salutations and let the heaviness fall away. Then make yourself a hot Kapha tea and use essential oils such as eucalyptus or mint.

In balance, Vata gives us enthusiasm and creativity. Restlessness and flurry, on the other hand, are classic symptoms of excessive Vata dosha. Meditation can help here. If sitting still seems daunting to you, try gentle, flowing movement in harmony with your breath. Dedicate yourself to a meditative activity, such as painting or coloring. There is also an appropriate tea for Vata. Oils for balancing Vata include rose and lavender.

The next time you feel bored, grab a pen and paper and do a little journaling session. Describe the feeling you are experiencing at that moment. Ask yourself: Are there moments when you even wish you were bored?  If you could do anything right now, what would you choose and why? Is there an activity you can do right now that would have a similar effect on you?

Just the process of reflecting and writing it down can bring you out of your lethargy and awaken new motivation or bring some calm to your inner turmoil.

When was the last time you were bored? How did you deal with it? Share it with me in the comments!

As the year draws to a close, we are in the middle of the mystical Rough Nights – the perfect time for reflection.

I like to take time “between the years” to look back on the current year. What was nice, what was difficult, what was unforgettable? Such a review is also ideal for determining what you would like to take with you into the new year and what you can leave behind. Once again, I have looked back on my year and would like to share the results with you.

A difficult start

After 2022 was an incredibly difficult year for me, I was more than excited about 2023. The start was a little bumpy: shortly before Christmas 2022, I broke my left arm, which unfortunately meant that the New Year’s Eve plans I had been looking forward to fell through. The start of the new year was also difficult due to the injury. With my arm in a cast from shoulder to hand and in severe pain, I was very limited in my everyday life. Chopping vegetables? No chance. Making the bed myself? Forget it! Putting on socks? Awkward.

I coped well with all of this. What worried me was that I could do little or nothing of the two things that are most beneficial to my mental health: Yoga and swimming.

The beauty of yoga is that you can adapt it to your own needs. I googled “yoga with a broken arm”, tried out appropriate flows and focused more on meditation.

Swimming, on the other hand, was canceled for the time being. Last year (2022), I picked up my old hobby again after a long break, during a phase in which I was in a very bad place due to panic attacks. Of course, yoga also helped, but swimming was the real breakthrough. As soon as I was back in the water more often, I felt steadily better. I was therefore incredibly happy that my mood didn’t drop when I couldn’t go swimming. Of course I missed it, but I was still fine. 

Things are looking up

A yoga teacher get-together in mid-February at the studio where I teach was the starting signal for me to do more again after my “hibernation”. It was a wonderful feeling! I met up with people I hadn’t seen for a while, exchanged ideas with other yoga teachers and recharged my batteries with inspiration and positive energy. The fact that Maryia, the studio manager and my instructor, “outed” herself as a big fan of my blog gave me an extra dose of endorphins and motivation.

I threw myself into my plans with enthusiasm and entered a prize draw on Instagram to win a place on a coaching program for yoga teachers, which involves creating an online course to generate passive income. I had never won anything before, so I went into it with no expectations – and actually won!

In this program, I learned great, helpful things that helped me enormously and exchanged ideas with like-minded people. It was a wonderful experience that gave me a clear plan for how I want to proceed. This is an integral part of my resolutions for 2024, which you will be hearing and reading about 😊

The evil C-word

I had been spared all the years of the pandemic, but after Easter it caught up with me. I was completely laid up for a while: Aching limbs, cough, cold, fever, zero energy. I was knocked out and it took me a long time to get back on my feet. The exhaustion stayed with me for quite a while after the symptoms had subsided.

Having already been both injured and ill that year, I had an even greater appreciation for my health than before. The first few times on the mat or in the water after I was off? Priceless!

A new venture

Although I’ve loved writing my whole life, starting a blog was still something completely new for me. This year, I ventured out of my comfort zone once again and was a guest on a podcast for the first time. I spoke to Jule, the “yoga detective”, about the topic of “yoga and journaling”, a combination that I always enjoy teaching. Thank you, dear Jule, for having me!

Yoga classes

Yes, I still have my job in the hotel industry, but teaching yoga is still an important part of my everyday life. I love the way both activities complement each other.

This year, I had the opportunity to give great courses and workshops. The “Journey through the Ayurvedic elements” course took place twice, in which AyurYoga was taught under the theme of the elements. The topics of the workshops were varied: cycle yoga and Ayurveda, breathing, journaling and reflection. I am so grateful to all the participants and Yoga Vidya Frankfurt for these enriching experiences!

On January 11, I will be giving the workshop “Hello, 2024!” at Yoga Vidya Frankfurt, in which we will combine yoga and journaling together to look back on the old year and get in the mood for the new one. I would be very happy if you would like to join me!

My baby, the blog

At the start of a new year, I always get a surge of motivation. It makes me want to get started on projects close to my heart or push them further. This year, I resolved to continue focusing on my passion project, the blog, and to publish a new article every week.

I am very proud that I kept this resolution and only took a summer and a birthday break. In total, there were 48 new articles on the blog this year. I will continue to provide you with new content every week next year.

The most popular articles this year were “Old but Gold”, “New beginnings are fun” and “7 tips for new yoga teachers”.

Last year’s articles were also very popular with you, namely “Magical mornings” and “A short introduction to Ayurveda”.

This means that both information for beginners and yoga teachers is very popular with you. What would you like to read in the new year? Post your wishes in the comments!

The “Interesting people” section was new this year, and the name says it all. Since the start of the new section in February, a new interview has been posted every month, making a total of eleven. I am so grateful for everyone I have been able to talk to and for the enriching new acquaintances I have been able to make as a result.

There was one interview in particular that really caught your attention, the one with Vimala about yoga teacher training. Thank you for sharing your insights with us, Vimala!

Outlook for 2024

As already mentioned, there will be lots of new articles and encounters with interesting people in 2024. There will also be two new sections: Spirituality and Playlist of the Month.

Under Spirituality, you will regularly find interesting facts about healing stones, oracle cards and much more.

Each month, I also put together a playlist on a specific yogic or Ayurvedic theme.

After spending a vacation that was enriching in every respect this year, I would like to experience an equally relaxing and inspiring break next year. I don’t know where I’m going yet, but there are a few destinations on my wish list.

In addition to my time on the mat, I would also like to spend a lot of time in the water again in 2024. It is my healing and well-being element and is good for me on a level that I can hardly describe. After rediscovering this for myself last year, I’m going to the “boot” water sports trade fair in Düsseldorf right at the start of the new year to get new inspiration in this field too. It will be my first visit in years, so I’m really looking forward to it.

Now, I wish you all a good start to a happy and healthy new year. Have a safe arrival in 2024!

When we are enthusiastic about something, we want to share that – that’s probably the case for all of us. When we’re really passionate about a topic, we hardly know what’s more fun: actually doing it or talking about it.

We enjoy the new things we learn; the new people we meet through the hobby and the insights we gain.

With yoga in particular, these often have a very deep impact. After practicing for a while, we feel the many benefits of a regular practice: we become stronger, more flexible, more relaxed, better able to deal with stress. And maybe we even change some of our lifestyle habits.

As yoga can improve your wellbeing so much, it’s only natural to want to share this. Because of course we want our loved ones to feel as good as we do, right? It can be difficult if those closest to you don’t share your interests.

So what can you do if you have different interests or even different lifestyles but are very close?

Mutual understanding

There should be a willingness to put yourself in the other person’s shoes, on both sides.

If a person is important to you, you usually also care about what interests them, what drives them, what they spend their time doing – even if these things don’t necessarily match your own. If the latter is the case, still make an effort to show interest, ask questions and initiate conversations. But also make sure that you are met with the same level of interest.

Find common ground

If both parties have really tried to talk about the other person’s topics and it’s just exhausting and annoying, then you need to find common ground.

What connected you in the past? If that foundation is no longer there, why not look for a new one? It could be fun to look for something you both like: evenings at the theater together, learning a new language or instrument together, joining a book club… the possibilities are endless! Perhaps an old or new commonality will bring you together again. 

Living by example instead of persuasion

It is not uncommon for yoga enthusiasts to want to convince those around them of their passion. Many find their way to yoga through ailments that are alleviated or even disappear through regular practice. It is therefore only natural to want to get friends and family on board, as we want them to also benefit from the positive aspects of yoga.

The fact is that everyone can benefit from yoga in one way or another, whether it’s by relieving back pain or reducing stress.

But it is also a fact that not everyone is aware of this or open to it.

If this is the case in your environment, you are more likely to push people away if you try to persuade them. However, you can try to inspire. Show your loved ones the positive effects yoga can have. Emphasize the impact of your practice when people talk to you about how relaxed you look, how healthy you are, etc.

Offering small insights

Unfortunately, many people still have prejudices against yoga. If you have people like this around you, it can of course be frustrating. Nevertheless, try not to dismiss these prejudices as “nonsense”. Explain in a friendly but firm manner that the respective assumption is wrong and offer to provide an insight into “real yoga”.

This can be done in many ways. Simply offer to have a conversation with the person about it, in which all questions to you are allowed. As a next step, you can offer to come to a class with them to see for themselves. If you teach yourself, you can also offer a private lesson.

People who are open-minded will be keen to set aside preconceptions and replace dangerous half-knowledge with genuine insights.

Set boundaries

Let’s hope it never comes to that, but you may come across people who hold on to prejudices and wrong views rather than being open to learning something new. In this case, you should ask yourself whether such narrow-minded people are good for you.

As a yogi or yogini, you are probably very tolerant and open-minded, so you probably don’t really get along with narrow-minded people. Make it clear to them that it offends you if they prefer to cling to false facts rather than talk to you about them. If you have someone in your life who can clear up your prejudices – like you – it’s so easy to broaden your horizons. If someone is not willing to do this, it speaks volumes about that person.

Have you experienced different interests among your friends and family? How did you deal with it? Share it with me in the comments!