This story begins from my desire to “save the world” that I had in college. I was (and still am) very passionate about the environment and wanted to work with policy to help bring change. I went through a phase where I was deeply troubled by the events in the world; from war, to industrialised agriculture, pharmaceutical healthcare, centralised finance and a general disregard for our Earth. Some deep soul searching brought me to the conclusion that the root cause of all of this is lack of connection; to others and to the Self. A deep sense of lack pervades the human collective leading to a culture of greed and accumulation. At the time, I realized that I also felt an emptiness that something in my life was lacking. I decided that I had to work on myself before I could point fingers at others. So began my journey into yoga through meditation. A couple of years later I began practicing Asana regularly as well.
I don’t believe the practice has changed me. It has put me in touch with a part of myself that is beyond change. It has made me associate less with my beliefs, habits, roles, which are ever changing. What is changing or can be changed is not me. I’m devoted to this practice as a lifelong path because I understand it’s potential to stimulate individual awakening, which in turn creates a possibility for collective healing. We need yoga teachers to pass on this practice, but we also need yogis that are changemakers, politicians, enviromentalists, etc.