Sonja Werkman, Hatha Yoga teacher

When I started practising Yoga, I could not have guessed that it would have such a profound impact on my life. At the age of 35, I had the famous wake-up call by means of a huge burn out. This resulted in exploring a whole new path.

I have experienced that practising yoga is a journey of healing towards freedom, guided by the breath through the body. Undigested and non-expressed emotions get stuck in the cells of our bodies and if we neglect these, they will ask for your attention one way or another. Maybe in the form of a returning injury, backpain, digestion problems, depression or a general feeling of insecurity.

Yoga is about liberating ourselves of things that are no longer of service, so we can start living in freedom instead surviving. I have found that freedom in myself.

The breath plays an important role in my classes. An āsana is just an āsana. But when combined with the breath it comes to life. The perfect asana is not the form, but what it has to tell you and helps you to experience. That for me is Yoga. The Sanskrit word Satya also means 'that what is'. And this is how I approach yoga in my classes.

For 6 years I had the privilege of attending the loving classes Universal Yoga at Yogacentrum Maria Hartog and this foundation, among others, has formed me as a teacher. In 2008 I started a 500 hour teacher training at Saswitha Opleiding voor Yoga en Wijsbegeerte and qualified as a Saswitha Yoga teacher. But on a regular basis I go back as a student for further specialization, like recently for Breath Therapy, Chakra Psychology and Breath and Pranayama.

My life is dedicated to yoga and I am happy to share the experiences and insights coming from my own intensive practise. That for me is the only way to convey the essence of yoga.

I am looking forward to meeting you in my classes or workshops!

With love, Sonja