The Genesis of Yogart

Yogart is one of those things you didn’t know you were missing until you started doing it.

I promised to explain more about it – so here it comes…

So, it all happened step by step. I practised Yoga for a while. Tried different traditions and styles. At one point I was even part of a Kundalini Yoga Class in a gym, where only men took part. And it was fun. The whole Yoga Path was fun, interesting and challenging, but at that point just never like a massive part in my life.

Until I opened another completely unrelated door in my life…

It is almost 3 years ago now that I ended up taking up a calling on enrolling in a Master Course about Expressive Art Therapy. As a self-announced Artist and trained School Art Teacher I felt like I needed this in my life, and I was right.

The course was fabulous especially in helping to listen to myself again. We faced a lot of challenges during the training – a lot of digging-deep-activities and letting-go-tasks. Which by the way I can only recommend doing if you feel like this might be something for you? But we also learned to face our strengths and weaknesses and make the best out of it.

I remember one of the tasks was that we had to challenge ourselves with something new – something we have never done before for a project and that’s when I went for a meditation the first time.

I went to a catholic mediation in a monastery, which included remaining in a sitting position for about 40 minutes and walking in circles for another 20 minutes. And it was a nightmare! Needless to say, that due to the religious background and its location I was by far the youngest attendee there. And I was 30 by then. Anyway, it opened my mind to a whole new world for me – the world of spirituality and the knowledge that spirituality is not based on a religious choice.

With that in mind and the feeling that I just opened a new door in my life I ended up with the decision to dig deeper and learn more about these things.

And so, I decided to go to India and learn mediation and the Spiritual aspect of Yoga from its roots.

It was only a few months later that I found myself in Rishikesh, India on a yoga mat and sweating like there is no tomorrow. I learned that I can move my leg in ways I didn’t know before. I learned that I can feel pain, where I didn’t even know I had muscles. I learned that I couldn’t trust my mind, no matter how much I thought my mind is me.

I learned to drop the ego and pick up the real essence of the me. But it was a rocky journey, I faced a bunch of demons from my past. I cried. I couldn’t sleep. I was lost at times. And eventually I learned to love myself. In a way I never did before. In a very compassionate way. Forgiving way.

I discovered India and its spirituality, and I discovered me and had a hard time saying goodbye to all this beauty.

But eventually I had to, and I returned to Vienna. I started teaching Yoga almost straight away. I joined Sivananda Yoga in Vienna and did my Children Teacher Training in the mountains of Tyrol with them. And again, a completely new world opened itself up to me. And yet I felt like something was still missing.

And then it finally happened - the birth of Yogart.

It was during one of my seminars at university. A lead mediation. And the symbol of Yogart revealed itself upon me. I know this might sound a bit creepy or funny, but I guess that’s ok. And I started wondering what it was trying to tell me. I started drawing and scribbling down random words. Until I knew what I wanted to do. It was time to integrate those tools of Art Therapy into my lessons of Yoga.

I planned several lessons. Tried them myself. Discovered the pleasure and the benefits of this magical combination. And after a while it was time to share this with others.

I booked a Yoga Studio for a Slot, sent out invitations and scheduled my first Yogart Lesson.

I invited my friends, colleges and anyone who was interested. But it wasn’t just a Yoga class. It was something coming right from my heart. It was a class, a time-framed space to practise Yoga together, not aiming for perfection, but for love and together we created space to finalise those Yoga sessions with a creative part. And it was beautiful.

So now it’s time for the next step – it’s time to share this with everyone who wants to experience Yogart. With everyone who wants to get some quality time back into their busy days. Time for themselves, time with themselves. And for Yogart you don’t have to be a Rock´n Roll Yogi or a Van Gogh – all you have to be is yourself and drop your own expectations. Sounds doable? Then perfect, let’s do this :D

"Only when the mind becomes silent, the Soul starts to speak,

and Yogart helped her to be heard." -Zissi

Yogart is supposed to help you find this field, enter the field and make this field your world.

Trust the process and allow yourself to indulge this magical journey to your inner self.

Drop the ego and let the art speak for itself.

Come and join me on this magical and colourful journey.

Let us walk this creative path together.

Namaste.