How I Started My Yoga Journey in Barcelona
I still remember the very first yoga class I ever attended. During an internship in Berlin, a couple of friends and I decided to become more responsible, healthier individuals. After those months in Berlin, we really needed it. So, we signed up for a yoga class at university in Salzburg. Thinking back on it now, I’m not sure if it was an especially good yoga class, but it got me hooked immediately. Especially because there were so many things I just couldn't do. Everything felt super hard, and I started sweating right at the beginning of the class.
I continued practicing yoga, signing up for a few more courses at university and even trying some things at home, but it was difficult to stay consistent. At the same time, I was watching online content of other yogis with their beautiful yoga bodies and perfect postures, and I felt like I would never be able to get anywhere near that level.
Then I moved to Barcelona, and suddenly so much was going on in my life that I almost quit yoga completely. I did some drop-in classes here and there, but now I felt even more uncomfortable because I knew that certain postures I was able to do in the past were now out of reach. Being 26 at that time, I wondered if I was simply too old for some of the yoga asanas.
During that period, I took up swimming, which helped me feel strong and balanced. I felt good in my body. But then the pandemic happened, and for the first time in my life, I experienced something new: lower back pain. Not doing any sports and working eight to ten hours a day on my laptop at the kitchen table was not something my body approved of. It was at that moment I ordered a yoga mat on Amazon and began practicing yoga at home. At first, it felt really good, and I remember doing a one-hour flow the first day. The next day, however, I felt all stiff and sore. I got on the mat, but after 15 minutes, I decided that was enough for one day. My practice times got even shorter after that.
Shortly after the first lockdown, I moved to another area of Barcelona. When we were allowed to go back to the office, I happened to walk past a yoga studio. I can’t recall how many times I walked by that place, curiously looking through the windows, wondering if maybe I should take another class. One day, I just called up the studio and said I’d like to sign up for a membership. Looking back, this was the day I fully committed to yoga. I started with one or two weekly classes, but then I wanted more. I wanted to try all the teachers, all the different styles, and gain as much experience as possible.
It was at that studio where I finally did my Yoga Teacher Training with the formidable Lucy Beckwith, who is still one of my most treasured teachers. By the time I was doing the training, I was going to the studio daily. A few months earlier, I had discovered Ashtanga Yoga, and parallel to the teacher training, I invested a lot of time in practicing Ashtanga. Towards the end of my teacher training, before even graduating, the studio asked me if I wanted to teach a class there. I felt incredibly blessed and hugely excited. It had always been my dream to teach, and to teach at the studio where I practiced so much felt like a dream come true.
Now, yoga has become an integral part of my life. I’m still amazed by how much I’ve changed as a person, how much my body has transformed, and how much more calm and balanced I’ve become.
How did you start your yoga (or meditation or any other wellness) journey? I’d love to hear from you!
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