Recorded at Hyve outside (so you guessed it: just a bit of noise this time but no wind I promise!)
Anika Hausdorff aka yaa holistic lifedesign
- Her fav Café in Basel : Indigo Elephant in St Johann
- Her fav coffee : Café con leche
On this podcast we started on a deep topic: mental health, because we were talking about it pre-podcast and I really wanted to keep the discussion rolling!
Anika’s thoughts about the problem:
- People are still scared about judgement (and that’s why they don’t dare to talk about it more)
- We don’t live in a society where it’s cool to be weak. You gotta be able to do it all!
- It became normal to work too much
- People define themselves with their jobs
- The more you do, the more important you are
Anika used to work as an Engineer in Landscape Architecture for the past 10 years.
At some point, she was so exhausted that she got a depression. In the meantime she rediscovered Yoga but she was working so much that she didn’t have time to take classes so she decided to go to Yoga Teacher Training to be able to practice on her own.
Then she went traveling for a year and noticed how nice it was to travel and teach yoga!
After her year of travels, she came back to Basel, to the same job. She went right back into the hamster wheel! That’s when she thought: ‘there must be another way, there must be a healthy way to work and live’. That’s when she met Dr. Janna Scharfenberg and took the Ayurveda lifestyle coaching course so she could stay healthy while working and work efficiently!
A couple examples of adjustments she made in her daily life thanks to what she was learning:
She had her morning rituals, she stopped drinking coffee in the morning and replaced it with tones of water which resulted in a much smoother morning. She would plan a realistic structure for the day ahead. She would schedule different times of the day for different tasks like meetings in the morning and creative work in the afternoon. She was clear about her commitment. For example if she’d had an idea during the evening she would write it down but not work on it and keep it for the next day. Vice-versa at the office, she would take breaks whenever she needed to come back to herself. It helped her to free her mind and to not feel pushed. Her schedule was completely clear. Her health was her priority and there was no compromising! And it worked! She was able to find balance!
Yet she was still longing for a change so she decided to quit and is now a full-time Yoga Teacher and an Ayurveda Lifestyle Coach!
She starts her day with Self-Care and Ayurveda. She walks her dogs for minimum 1 hour every morning, it helps her clear her mind prior to the full day ahead.
She also has a routine before she goes to bed with some Restorative Yoga and Yoga Nidra.
She brought the normal alarm clock back into the bedroom so she doesn’t check her phone first thing in the morning nor last thing in the evening!
3 exercises for creatives who want to be healthier (works for everyone):
- Breathing practices: they are the best way to forget about past and future, they give you something to focus on.
- Surrender and accept what is if you can’t change it.
- Yoga asana practices cause they bring you calm but also strength and focus that you will need in your everyday life.
What would you do with more time?
Go surfing on the west coast of France (Hendaye is her favorite spot!)
What would you do with more money?
- Create more free online courses
- Create a retreat center at the ocean in France
Tips for future entrepreneur:
Be smart & Do it!
If she would write a book about her life the title would be: TRUST
If she would give an advice to her younger self it would also be: TRUST
And if she’d give an advice to young entrepreneurs: TRUST & BREATHE!
Her 2 fav breathing exercices:
- Nadhi shodhana
- Sheetali pranayama: she uses it in the Summer or when she feels too much pitta = anger. The dogs are her mirror, if she is balanced, they are balanced too but if she is not, they don’t listen and run all over and that’s when she knows she needs to do something about the pitta imbalance.
Her definition of work:
Being focused and getting paid for what you do. It’s an exchange of energy.
Her future projects:
The podcast being recorded in September she had a few things that came up in October and November like The detox week at Volta Yoga / some Yoga Nidra workshops (my fav) and for next year she has retreats in the making but where and when are still a secret!
Where you can find her online:
IG: @yaa_lifedesign
The Gems:
Creativity is free flow and comes from within. The more time you have to explore your own source, the more creativity will come
I am the only one who is able to make myself healthy
You need to care for yourself first
You need to know what gives you energy and then do more things that give you energy and you’ll actually spend your whole life learning what does and what doesn’t
Neti neti = Not this, not that > to explore source you need to be still
Slow & Blissful Living 