It´s true what they say: Yoga will turn your life upside down. If you want to stay the same, stay away. When I stepped into my first yoga class ever, it was just a search for another sports class to move my body and become fitter and stronger. All this time i learned, never knowing I would start my own business and change my mindset completely. A lot happened during my time in the classes, bending and stretching my body. But the real shift for me happened when I went to my first Yoga Teacher Training. I got new tools in my hands to change my life for good. They are called meditation, philosophy and Ayurveda.

Let´s be clear: to change your life you have to go further than just moving your body on a mat. But if you´re willing to dig a little deeper under the surface, there might be some glorious adventures waiting for you.

Before I had my first Ayurveda class ever, I had never even heard the word before, nor did I knew anything about the ancient wisdom behind it. I had a prakruti questionnaire in front of me, asking about my desires, dreams, body type and what´s happening in the toilet. I was, let´s be honest, a bit taken aback. After filling out the questionnaire completely, it felt as if something had figured me out from the inside out. I gained a ton of resolutions to a ton of problems I had in my life. I learned that it´s not normal to feel anxiety often or to be exhausted most of the time. This old therapeutic wisdom of life showed me that a) I was not alone with this and b) there was a possibility to change through food, movement and lifestyle adjustments. So I changed. Slowly. Step by step, with a million steps back and forth. From being anxious and completely numbing myself out by partying with alcohol i became strong, clear, open minded and sober. I learned to be true to myself, even if it’s a hard lesson to take from time to time. I learnt how to listen to my body and not listen to my ego. Ayurveda and yoga even gave me the chance to see more clearly what my relationships with others were based on, and how to be more soft to those around me.

Shedding those layers of negative aspects from the so called doshas in Ayurveda, one by one made my light came through to the surface of my being. I lost most of my fear by simply by changing the food i ate and how I moved on a mat and throughout the day. Who would have thought that food had such an powerful impact on your mind? I didn’t! I traded coffee for sleep, chilli for rest, and meat for love. When I fall back into old patterns, I get direct response from my body and mind and I now know how to treat myself better. If I feel restless I don’t move in a strong vinyasa class. Instead, i choose to take a long bath with a calming face mask and sit with my restless legs under the water until i use my breath to calm myself down. If I feel tired, I listen to my body and decide if I really have to wake myself up. A heavy and dull body needs time to restore and recover. I listen to the relationship between my body and skin and in relation to the cycle of the moon, the year, the age. I surround myself with people, habits and materials, that lift myself higher instead of pulling me down. I treat my body as a temple, nourishing myself on every level.

Now that I am stronger and my light shines brighter, I have the strength to fulfill my own dreams and desires. I became a yoga teacher, I will open my own store Vöran in the coming weeks, and most importantly I am a free woman who has the confidence to change the world for better. Let´s ditch our fear, rage and dullness and grow into our true selves. Let´s use our full potential to achieve the life we always wanted to live. How? Get to know yourself completely. Yes, even what´s happening in the toilet. Don´t be look back.

To borrow some words from Joseph Campbell: “The goal is to live with God like composure on the full rush of energy, like Dionysus riding the leopard, without being torn to pieces.”

Namaste

Bente Singelmann (follow her on Instagram)