Recorded at Klara in my fav interview corner!
- Her fav Café in Basel : Klara
- Her fav coffee there : a Schale or Sencha Green Tea with Milk
Sarah, a traveling yoga teacher in her own country, passionate about design and self-love, has been living in Basel for about 6 years. She teaches in different cities of Switzerland and looooves to travel (and soon teach) far away too, preferably feet in the sand! Her daily meditation & movement practices are inspired by teachers like Michael James Wong, Jonni Polard, Young-Ho Kim and Abraham Hicks.
We met when we were both working at La Manufacture, a hipster burger restaurant in Gundeli (and 2 other locations now) and a couple years later, together with Jasmin and Bianca, we created the Dreiland Yoga Festival. Date for the Fall will be announced very soon! Stay tuned…
How it all started :
She originally came to Basel to study Interior Design. After graduating, as she didn’t want to start working right away, she went traveling to Cambodgia instead, where she rediscovered Yoga & Meditation.
When she came back from her travels, she started working at a café and went to Yoga classes everyday. Yoga was filling her with joy. She liked that after-class-feeling so much that she wanted to start sharing it with others. She decided to go to Costa Rica to take her first Yoga Teacher Training where she learned a lot about herself and life.
When she came back to town, she had a very precise teaching environment in mind: she wanted to recreate what she had experienced at the retreat in Costa Rica – practicing outside in Nature. That idea lead her to start classes at the Hafen in Basel (Klybeck) because it’s a place for EVERYONE, people from all kind of backgrounds, families, different projects, art, food, parties and now Yoga as well. From there, Yogara was born.
Today she starts her days with Tea, Meditation and Journaling. In the A.M. she either teaches, goes for a run or to a Yoga class herself. She also works on marketing for her classes or on other projects like Dreiland Yoga. She is currently writing a book with her amazing Mum, a spiritual life coach who brought Sarah to meditation many years ago. She also taught her things like Self-Love and the Law of Attraction.
Sarah teaches at different locations in Basel but also in Thun (where she is from) and Bern.
She used to dream about having a Coffee shop and selling interior design stuff + having a room at the back to teach Yoga. Today it is exactly the kind of setting she teaches at (Klara & Ahoi Ahoi for example). She realized that she didn’t need to do it all by herself. Community and happy incidents brought her to where she is today. It’s about asking people (and vizualizing) !
She loves to discover new yoga studios as well as different kind of styles and teachers ‘to keep the fire burning’. She needs places to be nice. Furniture and objects arrangements are also super important (#interiordesignbackground) and it pays off on her beautiful pix!
Her teaching style :
Flow yoga and especially Inside Flow from Young-Ho Kim, moving to the beat of the music, being one with music, movement and breath. She needs a strong practise to be able to relax more. Her savasana is deeper afterwards. To counter balance her energetic nature, she meditates a lot and is actually in Meditation Teacher Training right now.
Her meditation tips :
If meditation is hard for you, don’t worry, you are not the only one ! Make it an apointment. Put it in your calendar. It should be as important as all the other things you have to do during the day. A priority. Every day. Morning or evening, it doesn’t matter. Make it a habit like brushing your teeth. Don’t force yourself to do anything that feels weird like sitting cross-legged or thinking of a mantra. Make yourself a really safe and comfortable space, alone. Be aware of your breath. Go to her classes for more !
Her self-care :
Goes to yoga classes but doesn’t talk before or after class 😉 / SLEEP / Good food / Chocolate is also self-care ! / Movement / Take a Bath / Read / Journal / Meditate
What would you do with more time ?
BE more. Enjoy more. Be more calm.
What would you do with more money ?
Still teach yoga + projects/ sharing her passion / Travel more / Have a bigger apartment
What did you learn on your journey to entrepreneurship ?
Nurture your dream
Nothing has to happen right now. Things take time and it’s okay.
CHILL OUT
You don’t have to be perfect.
Learn to value yourself and your work.
Stop comparing yourself to others. You are unique, it’s your superpower.
Take breaks.
Do what’s fun for you and not what you think you have to do.
When it’s fun it’s just way more fun !
2 words to your younger self :
Don’t worry
Chill out
What is work for you ?
Hard for her to say cause she is working constantly but she doesn’t really call it work since it’s fun and she loves to do it. She loves taking pictures and creating flows.
Her future plans :
She doesn’t really make plans but she sees herself teaching yoga retreats and traveling.
She is doing her first retreat this year in Sri Lanka in November and starting to offer Kids Yoga Workshops
Where you might meet her :
Working on her computer at a café or walking along the Rhine. In one of her Yoga class at Klara, Ahoi Ahoi and the Hafen (Klybeck) again in the Summer. In Thun at Yoga Bude and in Bern, at the Dreiland Yoga Fest or in Sri Lanka at her retreat in November!
And online :
on Facebook @yogara
www yogaralea.com
on IG @yogaralea
Slow & Blissful Living 