Yoga with Doris Iding

Starting Sunday, we’ll be hosting Amiena Zylla. During this retreat, she’ll focus on the fascia and share her expertise with the participants. For those who decide at the last minute: There are still spots available.

AMIENA, YOU’RE ONE OF GERMANY’S MOST WELL-KNOWN YOGA TEACHERS. YOGA HAS BECOME PART OF MAINSTREAM CULTURE. HOW DO YOU DEFINE YOGA?
I see yoga as a favorite song—one where we don’t wait for the end, but instead fully savor every single note, every phrase, and every moment of pure joy right here and now. The song stirs emotions within us and, when life calls for it, motivation as well. It often pulls us out of our everyday routine and into another world. It accompanies us throughout our lives, through the highs and the lows. It helps us press the reset button and start over again without looking back. And that’s exactly what can happen to you with yoga. Once you open yourself up to it, this unique practice can open a gateway to your inner master on both mental and physical levels—and become your new favorite song. Yoga will show you when the time has come to press pause, when it’s time to move forward, but above all, how to be fully present in the moment. You’ll learn to feel your body and love it with all its limitations. You’ll experience how the mind can find peace and how the constant chatter in your head becomes a little quieter. We spend far too much time focusing on the future instead of enjoying the present, and as a result, we miss out on life’s most beautiful moments because we didn’t have time for them.

HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN THE TREND OF MORE AND MORE PEOPLE PRACTICING YOGA?
More and more is being demanded of us. The world is spinning faster and faster, and we barely have time to just take a deep breath. In the process, we forget to be kind to ourselves. Through yoga, we give ourselves a big dose of self-care and discover how wonderful it is to step out of our little dark corners and reconnect with others.

CAN YOU BRIEFLY DESCRIBE WHY YOGA IS SO PHYSICALLY RELAXING AND HOW EXACTLY IT MAKES ITSELF FELT?
You step onto your yoga mat and begin to feel your body and your breath. For that moment, the outside world comes to a standstill, and the door to your inner world opens. In yoga, you detach yourself from your daily routines and free yourself from all the influences swirling around you that cloud your mind. It’s like standing in a crowd—you can still hear the other people and the ambient sounds clearly. But with every yoga pose you assume, this environment grows quieter, and eventually it becomes a background hum that no longer disturbs you.

STRESS IN SOCIETY IS CONTINUING TO RISE. DO YOU THINK YOGA CAN HELP US COPE BETTER WITH STRESS MENTALLY?
I can answer that with a simple “yes.” But only if we understand how to use yoga properly for ourselves, so that it works for us and we don’t get sucked back into the vicious cycle of ambition. It’s not about striving for the next asana level, but about finding our very own yoga path and enjoying the journey.

WHAT CAN PARTICIPANTS IN YOUR CLASS ESPECIALLY LOOK FORWARD TO, OR WHAT DOES YOUR CLASS COVER?
The joy of yoga is important to me. In my classes, I want participants to experience the lightness of being. Free from pressure and the burdens of everyday life, we use yoga to recharge our energy for life.