How do you define advanced?
Ja wir wissen, der Hochsommer ist da, aber unsere Vorfreude auf den Yogaherbst ist bereits groß und mit Katy Scherer haben wir eine weitere großartige Yogalehrerin gefunden, die stets aus den Vollen schöpft, wenn es ums Unterrichten und generell das Leben geht. Für ihre Ausbildung ist die gebürtige Schottin schon um die halbe Welt gereist und hat, zu unserem Glück, in Bonn eine Heimat gefunden.
Unser Retreat “How You Do Anything Is How You Do Everything”, welches vom 16. bis zum 18. Oktober in der entschleunigten Eifel stattfindet, wird sich unter anderem neben den klassischen Pfeilern der Yoga- und Meditationspraxis auch dem Journaling und gemeinsamen Erfahrungsaustausch widmen. Das ganze selbstverständlich mit viel Humor und Lockerheit, denn wie du die kleinen Dinge des Lebens anpackst bestimmt meist, wie du mit den großen umgehst!
Katys Retreat ist das erste, das wir vollständig auf englisch anbieten, um auch nicht-deutschsprachigen Yogis eine entspannte Teilnahme zu ermöglichen. Und weil wir uns so sehr darüber freuen, gibt es hier das Interview mit Katy. Viel Spaß beim Lesen! How did you first discover yoga and what made you want to become a teacher?
Like many people, I practiced yoga on and off for years. I would go to a class, love it and then forget all about it for months until I repeated the process all over again. Years later, during my pregnancy with my son, I turned to yoga again, joining an incredible group of older women (average age somewhere in their sixties) three times a week. I was so inspired by their mobility, flexibility and overall well-being that I began to take yoga a little more seriously.
I never really intended on being a yoga teacher. The studio where I practiced was offering a teacher training program and I became interested in learning more than just what I was doing on my mat. Around the time I was finishing my training, I moved to Germany. I found myself in a new country, a new city and without any friends so I decided to run free classes from my living room for anyone interested in trying and making human connections. It seemed to work. The group in my living room grew pretty rapidly and this is how I started my teaching career.
What does your perfect yoga session look like?
Perfectly imperfect. I don’t think I’ve ever come across the perfect yoga session. And to be honest I’m not sure I want to. Some of the most incredible yoga sessions I’ve had I’ve come out of failure, struggle, discomfort and challenge. The imperfect nature of the sessions was the perfect setting for true growth.
Yoga is often praised as a panacea. What do you believe yoga can do?
I don’t believe people change. Controversial maybe but I believe we come into this world in a truest form and over time we begin to pile on the layers which make it difficult for us to connect with our true selves. I see yoga as a tool to strip back what’s unnecessary in order to be able to see, understand and accept who we really are.
Do you think the words “yoga” and “ambition” belong in one sentence?
Context is key. Ambition doesn’t always have to be negative but it all sits with the intention behind the ambition. If one is ambitious with Asana practice then the ambition is intertwined with ego. If one Strives to do all they do with effort and attention then ambition can be the fire to achieve this. Without sounding like a cliché, it’s all about balance. Too much ambition can be self-destructive, too little and you lack the drive needed to achieve your goals. The struggle is finding the middle ground.
What is your source of power and motivation?
My feeling of gratitude and responsibility toward the practice and sharing what I know as honestly and respectfully as possible. I feel truly blessed to do what I do and this motivates me to travel back to India as often as I can and continuously seek out knowledge.
What is your favourite asana and why?
It changes all the time but it’s usually the posture I am currently working on. In Ashtanga yoga we do not proceed to the next Asana until we can practice the previous. Been working on my last Asana for two years now. These postures are my favorite as they usually have the most lessons to teach.
Which one is the hardest for you and why?
Anything that means I have to be upside down! I practice inversions but they push me way outside of my comfort zone which is where I need to be!
Complete the sentence: Life is too short not to have at least once…
adopted fur baby.
“How you do anything is how you do everything” is the guiding principle at your upcoming retreat with us. How do you translate this to movement and meditation?
In English we have a saying: you have to be in it to win it. Although winning and losing hold no place within Yoga, effort and dedication does. We can’t just show up to the practice and expect miracles to happen. There is effort, dedication and commitment needed when we want to go deeper into our practice be that physically, meditatively, scholastically or spiritually. When we start noticing the small things and place equal importance and effort into these moments we begin to cultivate a different mind set which can be used when bigger challenges arise.
This retreat is advertised for advanced students. How do you define advanced?
To me being advanced has nothing to do with the Asana practice. Being advanced is knowing your limits, it’s knowing when to push and when to step back. It’s also the ability to approach practice with an open mind and open heart. When we go a little deeper into the practice we need to be prepared for what comes up. Those new to the practice don’t always have the tools to be able to welcome the good, the bad and the ugly.
What can your students expect during this weekend?
Come without expectations but come with the intention to be open to the experience. For example we will do long practices each morning which include dynamic Vinyasa flows, deep breath work, meditation, journaling and sharing. These sessions really allow us to go deep. We take the time to systematically move the breath, the body and hopefully clear the mind to create space for the experience. After each practice we will journal what came up for each of us personally and then we share (optional) what came up for us on our journey.