You hear about people who take the risk and walk away from stable, successful lives. They leave secure income and safe career paths to head into the unknown. Why do they do it? How do they do it?
Well, I'm finding out in this podcast with Kirsten Berry, co-founder of Akasha Yoga Academy which offers onsite and online 200 hour and 300 hour Hatha Yoga Teacher Training. Years ago in Berlin, she was on the path of a successful architect with all that that implies. But going to a yoga class lead to a couple of trips to India which then changed everything. Kirsten discovered that her "heart was on fire" only when immersed in yoga. So she left her life in the West and moved to India, then later to Thailand, teaching yoga full time.
We chat about how that felt, to take such a leap, and how she coped with challenges such as a 49-day isolation retreat in the jungle. Kirsten has discovered that yoga's greatest offering is the gift of stillness which is why her focus is now Yin Yoga and meditation. This is at the centre of the recently launched 300 hour online Teacher Training course. We also talk about:
- How Yin Yoga releases somatic feelings held in the body's tissues, having a purifying and cleansing effect
- Why Yin energy is not equally valued as Yang energy in Western society
- Why the source of suffering - burnout, stress, sleep problems - is from the dominance of, and preference for, constant striving (Yang).
- How we can rebalance the energy equation by cultivating an attitude of acceptance, softening and nourishment (for body, mind and spirit).
Does she ever miss the life she left behind? Never! Kirsten has followed her heart.
Find Kirsten:
Instagram @akashayogaacademy
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