My name is Victoria and I am originally from Sweden, but I lived abroad most of my life. In London, then the United States, and later, in Berlin. Currently I am based on the island of Mallorca, Spain.

Aside from teaching yoga and meditation, or rather yoga AS IN MEDITATION. I am also a writer and a hobby gardener. One of my biggest assets is my curiousity. Especially about people: about the heart, mind and body.  I am also incredibly skeptic. I like to ask the why, why. I am interested in psychology, sociology. Literature. Pop culture. Politics. Mystical experiences.

I am a feminist, a Sagittarius, a Vata/Pitta, a friend, sister, daughter and animal lover. 

 

I stumbled into my first yoga class in 1995 or 1996. I explored different styles, teachers and studios in New York City, where I was living then. But it wasn’t until year 2000 when Go Yoga opened in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, that I got truly hooked. In the coming years yoga helped me through 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, stormy break-ups and the general chaos and unsettledness that was my life. The mat was my safe haven. I realized quickly that yoga would become a big part of my life. In the spring/summer of 2007, after consulting with my teacher Michelle Baker, I completed a 200-hour Yoga Alliance-certified teacher training via Sivananda in upstate New York. Upon completion of the course, I moved to Stockholm and started teaching there. In 2009 I relocated to Berlin and in 2010 I did a Yin Yoga teacher training with Ulrica Norberg.

 

I have taken numerous immersion workshops, and studied with many of the most well-known modern yoga teachers, and most of them were pretty disappointing. A few inspired me, and taught me things that truly made a difference for me as a teacher and as a student/seeker. To name a few: Eddie Stern, Octavio Salvado, J. Brown and the aforementioned Michelle Baker. 

 

I have also stayed at ashrams for extended periods of time. And spent significant time on silent Vipassana retreat. I have dabbled in Ayurveda, Thai massage and Reiki. Since 2012 I have led nearly forty yoga retreats across Europe. And I have also taught in South Africa and India. 

 

In reading one of the most famous texts on yoga, Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, it's clear that yoga is about the mind, not about the body as a quick scroll through instagram would have us believe. Movement and exercise are super- important, especially now that our lives has become so much more sedentary than just a generation ago. To me the effects that yoga has on our mental and spiritual well-being are way more interesting than the physical ones. Of course it’s great to become stronger and more supple, and to be able to heal chronic pains and aches. And exploring the body is a lot of fun! But ultimately, THIS path, this practice is about diminishing suffering and experiencing more joy. It's about removing the veil of ignorance and seeing, for real, how everything and everyone are inter-connected in a beautiful, luminous web of space. This practice is about improving the overall quality of your life, and of the lives you come in contact with. It's not about getting a 'hot body' as defined by late capitalism beauty standards, nor is it about mastering fancy asanas.  Of course, profound change doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time. It takes dedication. I've never believed in shortcuts.

 

As far as my classes go, expect an experience, a highly curated event. As music is one of the most powerful and mystical forms of art, and a life-long passion of mine, I take pride in crafting interesting soundtracks, although every now and then I may choose silence as the backdrop for a class. Expect a challenging yet non-competitive vibe, lots of hands-on assists (if you want them) and a framework for BEING. HERE. NOW. Expect yin and yang. Darkness and light.