As a teenager, I attended a sports academy to pursue my passion and train intensively. I was ambitious and loved the extensive training, competitions, and performances. However, breaks and rest were less interesting to me – both a blessing and a curse when you’re young, fit, and believe you don’t need breaks.

As a result, I often skipped them. Despite our coaches and supervisors emphasizing their importance and including them in our training schedules, my ambition sometimes drove me beyond my limits, often without realizing it until it was too late.

Our support team consisted of fantastic coaches, sports scientists, and physiotherapists. Additionally, there were the less appreciated teachers for other subjects, whose classes were often used for power naps. There were also assistants, mostly sports students, who managed balance training and relaxation sessions, including Autogenic Training, Progressive Muscle Relaxation, and Yoga. Yoga, in particular, was met with rejection – we considered it „housewife exercise“ or „childbirth preparation“ and dismissed it.

Ten years later, as a young athlete, new mother, and newcomer to Germany, I found myself in a physical and mental crisis. My sports physician made it clear that I was on the brink of ruining myself. I was overtrained, undernourished, and utterly exhausted. His recommendation: among other things, Yoga.

At first, I refused. But after a few weeks, I desperately reached for the note with the phone number of a yoga instructor and made an appointment. My 63-year-old yoga instructor impressed me so much in the first session that I knew: This is what I want! After three months of weekly classes, I felt so much better that I could train hard again and realized what Yoga can do when taught and practiced correctly.

I took lessons from my fabulous yoga instructor* for several years and learned a lot about breath regulation, strengthening and mobilizing, proper rest, and achieving physical and mental balance. These experiences have sustainably improved my health. Today, I use Hatha Yoga and Yoga Nidra for myself and in my work. From personal experience, I know: practice surpasses theory, and even if it can sometimes be laughed at, it doesn’t change what Yoga can do for you.

*Dear Jutta, if you are reading this, you are my hero!

Enjoy mindfulness!

Kristin