This post has lived on the About page for long, until it felt like it's time to move it into a post. An old friend told me years ago when he was already in his business for a while, that these are milestones when you gradually keep less and less about yourself, and talk more and more about your clients. They are the main characters here. I'm here to support you on your journey and stay with you as long as you internalize your inner coach. You got this.
While reading it, listen to this playlist.
From as early as I can remember I wanted to know about the purpose of life. As a child I loved creating surveys and interviewing my family members and friends. Whether it's cooking dinner or a falling leaf in the autumn, I seek depth and meaning even in the most ordinary things. I observe, examine and contemplate. I appreciate deep conversations and like listening to unconventional stories.
Pursuing depth, inner and outer freedom became my personal mission.
Led by a strong intention to break unhealthy cycles and thanks to my incredibly strong natural curiosity, I embarked on a journey to create a life that is of my own making.
My personal history made me a perfectionist and a high achiever. It served me well in professional life and I gained two master's degrees in business. I've been transforming corporates and startups since 2011. I also became skilled as a professional coach, a cook, yoga and meditation teacher and as a mindful eating coach.
I found meditation and mindfulness while searching for a way to make better decisions, be happier and calm my mind after the 14-hour workdays. Consciousness expanded in my life and it transformed how I think, live, eat, and work. After practicing ashtanga yoga early morning 6x a week for eight years, I had a recurring knee injury and I got more interested in the subtle aspects of yoga and meditation. I had a strong inner calling to visit Mother India and I found my spiritual home in the Himalayan Yoga Meditation tradition and studied in their Northern Himalayan ashram multiple times.
Self-inquiry was and is my greatest agent for initiating change. Remembering the simple fact that I am neither my body, nor my mind and recalling the pure awareness of 'I am' and cultivating self-compassion are my lifelong practice. This is the reason I chose the quote that you can read on the bottom, as the motto of my work.
I learned to cook in my great-grandmother's kitchen. I started to write a gastro blog in 2009 while studying in Portugal. I setup my first business by baking cookies for my ex-colleagues after I had a burnout and quit management consulting. I learned about the energy of the ingredients while standing barefoot in a Swami's tiny kitchen corner in a Himalayan ashram. I guided cooking meditation while being a co-chef in a Buddhist restaurant in Thailand. In 2016 I talked about mindfulness around food as a tool for emotional nourishment on the TEDx-stage.
Our relationship with food and eating is vital. It reflects our relationship with life itself. Through learning how to find meaning in such an ordinary activity, we get skilled at listening to our body's needs, nourishing our heart and dealing with our hungry mind. By practicing mindful eating, we practice to live skilfully. I guide cooking classes, mindful eating workshops and meditative dinners since 2017.
In 2019 I was climbing at Mount Cook, in New Zealand. It became windy and started to rain heavily. Many returned but I felt the urge to keep on. I fought both the weather and my distorting thoughts. I reached the top and I had the insight that both literally and symbolically I have to return to the crazy valley and serve its people, but from now on with a different state of mind. During that time I was backpacking in Asia and figuring out my life. I interpreted it that I can't escape my daily duties and I need to take responsibility for my life. A few weeks later I decided to finish my trip early, moved to Berlin and soon started my studies at the Mindfulness Coaching School to get certified as a coach. I was supporting people in 1-1 processes for years by then and I felt the need to back it up with a professional qualification. The framework of coaching helped me put awareness into action and turn authentic inner desires into real-life transformations.
When I embraced all the different parts of me, I felt that I've arrived home to myself. They all belong to me: the contemplating introvert tending her garden, the driven consultant dressed in a pink suit confidently presenting on a business meeting, the coach helping incredible human beings navigate life transformations, the yogi see(k)ing God on the mat and beyond, the cook creating nourishing meals for mind, body and soul, and the mindful eating teacher guiding delicious experiences around food and eating.
My mission is to help you on your journey toward wholeness. I meet you where you are. I help you awaken your true self, nourish deeply what matters to you and take bold moves to live fully. I hold you the space to explore what is present in you and to turn it into a source of strength. I invite you to dive into your core being, envision the impossible, act with courage and live your most authentic life.
Starting from within.
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