How my yoga training became my path to myself

The move to Berlin from London was a drastic event for me. After 10 years in which I felt very comfortable in London and had many friends, my new life in Berlin was very difficult for me. At the beginning, the language was a huge barrier for me, which I had difficulty overcoming despite language courses. I never really felt at home during the 10 months we lived in Berlin. In fact, I felt like a tourist in my own city the whole time. More and more I hid away, felt lonely and missed my family and friends. Although we spent a lot of time with my husband's family, my own family and my old life in London were still missing. I felt myself changing more and more.

How our move changed me emotionally and physically

Looking back today, I can see the move from London as a turning point in my life. In London, I regularly visited a sports club, did a lot of fitness, Pilates and spinning. In Berlin, however, sport no longer appealed to me at all. I wasn't a couch potato, but compared to our life in London, everything was suddenly different. After a few months, I felt physical changes, like hair loss and skin problems, which clearly showed: something has to be changed!

A yoga DVD was my impetus

One of my friends kept trying to convince me to watch her yoga DVDs. But yoga was just too boring for me. When you do sports you have to sweat and that, I thought at that time, is exactly the opposite of yoga. Today I have to smile about that, because gym yoga has nothing to do with real yoga...

After many attempts at persuasion, my friend had finally convinced to try me and we started the first hour with a DVD. Completely sweaty and knocked out, I was incredibly surprised by the effects on my body. The fast exercises that challenged me did me good and this feeling of having achieved something inspired me the whole day. I quickly ordered the DVD set and enjoyed the easy access.

In the beginning, yoga was a decision for me to sweat and finally do sports again. Over time, a new attitude to life also developed.

The many hours with the DVDs and listening finally gave me the feeling of accepting myself again. I could appreciate again what I had and who I am. Yoga helped me a lot to accept the difficult start in Berlin and to get myself out of this hole again. Even after we moved to Munich, I continued to train at home with my DVDs. In Munich, the start went better, I quickly felt safe again and developed a real sense of home.

Turning passion into profession - my yoga training

In 2015 I thought about becoming a yoga teacher for the first time. My job was exhausting, but also very safe. The idea of doing a yoga training came up again and again, but I couldn't really commit to it. I started my Instagram channel, took part in yoga challenges and had completely arrived in the yoga world. The dreams in my head remained.

How an end became my new beginning

After the birth of my child, I wanted to go back to my job. But my company was not really happy about it. Would this perhaps now be the perfect moment to start the yoga training? My husband encouraged me and with my severance pay I booked the first yoga course section directly. Here I learned everything about the philosophy of yoga and the incredible energy that is released through the connection of body and mind. To this day, this knowledge doesn't let me go.

In the meantime I have also successfully completed the advanced courses, thanks to an online course from the USA. The training was very special for me because it helped me to understand myself more and more. I now know exactly what I need as a person and who I am. And I know that I want to teach yoga to pass on this feeling and this philosophy of life. Even though being a yoga instructor as my main job is not always easy and the search for clients is very exhausting, I don't regret this step on any day.

I have found myself. As a person and as a yoga teacher. I am myself and do what I feel. I can trust myself and take care of myself. Yoga has helped me on this path.

Olesya is one of our AchievePrime Ambassadors