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Connecting to Nature Recently I have been asked if I ever went to India to see the roots of Yoga. Those who know me have already heard that I went for five months to India, not only but also with the idea to connect with the roots of Yoga. Interestingly I attended just a couple of classes in these months. And none of them really filled me with those highs I love to experience during my yoga practice. On the contrary I often found it harsh, not safe and unwelcoming. So I dive...d into my travels, read a lot and met awesome people along the road. After returning home I wrote the following lines summarizing my non- experience with Yoga in India and high lightening my newly found deeper access to nature. "I also intended to practice yoga during my stay in India. After a few hours of internet research, I realized that the offer is too confusing to find something reasonable without concrete tips. But what I have found is a renewed and deeper access to Nature . In some places (especially Hampi and Kodaikanal in the Western Gats), I felt a very deep connection with nature. I formally merged in it, admired the richness and incredible details. And not to forget sunrises and sunsets, full moons in incredible colors or just deep dark nights, in an unprecedented intensity. I took this back home - during my walks here, I realize that I experience the surrounding nature in a different way, with an ability to enjoy weather, the greenery and the upcoming spring in a more mind- and joyful way." Almost 10 years have passed since, and I am still exploring my relationship with nature - inner and outer nature. And I found, what has often been said, but what has to be understood on a non-rational level. That nature is our biggest teacher. It might be listening to your body; it might be watching your pets enjoying life or it might be on a different level - for example by watching landscapes, the moon or the stars and realizing how small we all are. There are so many ways to connect with nature and therefore with ourselves. As Yoga gets more and more popular, there are self-proclaimed Yoga Gurus at every corner of the world and the internet. But Yoga is not about following someone blindly on the contrary it is about finding your own truth, your own Yoga. And connecting with nature (whatever this means for you) might be the best way to access this. So today I invite you to connect with your inner nature by exploring the natural movement patterns of children, integrated in this fun little flow: https://youtu.be/_jgoV0tKBlM How do you connect with Nature? What does it give you? And how did the practice go? I would love to hear!

The other day I have been teaching a new class. Find home in yourself. And instead of filming an one hour video, I decided to try something different to bring you to your yogamat in this second Corona Winter. So find your homepractice while doing your own practice, connecting to your inner teacher and your inner wisdom. Roll out your mat, light a candle and maybe put on some nice music. For example, some modern music here. https://youtu.be/lGGKRehH3GA... Have a look at the class plan and see if you can read it ;-). Starting in child pose, making some movements on all fours (with a backbend in between), moving on to downward dog and lizard pose. A bit of core strenght and some warriors before moving to turtle pose (Kurmasana) and finishing with a closing sequence on the floor. Practicing at your own pace requires maybe more determination than "just" following a class, but there are loads of other benefits: You can find your own pace, do as many repetitions as it feels good for you, add poses in between or skip some. As you like and as you feel it. However, if you have never practiced turtle pose before I strongly recommend to either find another nice hip opener of your choice or to practice this video peaking in turtle pose, joining those who just want to follow a nice little flow today ;-) I filmed it 2 years ago high up in the mountain: journey to turtle pose. Here is the link: https://youtu.be/Q5cPYJphCBg And finally, if you made it until here please let me know, how it goes. How did you like it? Could you read the sheet? Any recommendations how to improve the setup? What else would you need to start your own practice? Thanks so much for your help and don't forget: a day with Yoga is a better day!

The other day there was a storm with a massive rain. I went to have a look at the sea right after it finished and found water everywhere. The river was double sized, the waves quite impressive and over the whole beach a foggy layer. And then there is place where the river comes into the sea. I always like it there, observing the water running by and "melting" into the sea. This time it was even more special as the waves of the sea crawled over the beach to mix with the river....(have a look!) And then this beautiful Mantra "Yemaya Assessu" comes into my mind. In its origins from the Yoruba (Western Africa), popularized by Deva Premal it praises this joining of the river and the sea. Yemaya is the mother of all Godesses and the Godess of the Ocean. The Great Mother, the source where all come from and everything goes to. Just like water finding its way back to this source under all circumstances. Can we imagine for ourselves, that as the water seeks the sea, we are searching for the place we came from, that we have our own inner river finding its way to the source. Please find the version known in the Yoga World with Deva Premal here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QseZZuanK_M Outside of spiritual circles it seems that the song is known as afro Cubano song. Try out this jazzy version here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qzf4XhecFoE Enjoy!

After a cloudy day yesterday the sky cleared up, just to be ready for a beautiful full moon in Cancer. Happy new year to everyone! May we find peace, light and beauty!

Merry Christmas to all those who celebrate it! And a reminder for all of us: Let's try to be instruments of peace! Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me bring love. Where there is offence, let me bring pardon.... Where there is discord, let me bring union. Where there is error, let me bring truth. Where there is doubt, let me bring faith. Where there is despair, let me bring hope. Where there is darkness, let me bring your light. Where there is sadness, let me bring joy. O Master, let me not seek as much to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love, for it is in giving that one receives, it is in self-forgetting that one finds, it is in pardoning that one is pardoned, it is in dying that one is raised to eternal life. (Prayer of St. Francis) See more

Yesterday morning, in the middle of my meditation there was a powercut. Well powercuts are like late coming trains: there is absolutely nothing you can do. It is just a question how you react and/ or adapt to the situation. So suddenly I sat there in the dark, which does not really make a difference as my eyes are closed anyway in meditation ;-). But still I could observe how my thoughts are suddenly changing, how I start to be more concerned about the storm to come and how t...o continue with the day. And there I felt gratitude for the mediation practice I am trying out since a couple of weeks. It is a really nice technique revolving around five stages where you observe your breath in four different variations ending with a stage of open awareness. I really like how time flies with this one and how the different stages make it easy to return to your breath and stay concentrated. So if you want to know more have a look at this introduction to mindfulness based stress reduction: https://positivepsychology.com/mindfulness-based-stress-re/ In this video the meditation I practice is explained in detail https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4AmBd2YCbE&t=144s And if you want to give it a go, you can try this you tube video which gives you 5 intervals within 20 minutes to smoothely move from one stage to the other. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ABdRvLSruA Have fun and if you try it out, please let me know how it goes!