About Me
1997 Graduated in Communication Sciences
Escuela de Comunicación Mónica Herrera - Santiago, Chile
2004 Certified Yoga Teacher in Iyengar Tradition
Yogashala - Santiago, Chile
2007 Certified Yoga Teacher in the Krishnamacharya Tradition
KHYF - Chennai, India
2013 Certified Vedic Chanting Teacher
Krishnamacharya Tradition - Chennai, India
2020 Trainer for Mindfulness in Organisations
Mindful Leadership Institut, MLI - Salzburg, Austria
Teaching one-on-one and group yoga classes since 2005
My yogic path
Before getting interested in yoga, I trained and worked as a professional ballet dancer. Later, after graduating in Communication Sciences, I went on to work as a Field Producer in a Natural History TV program on National TV in Chile. After that, for a few years I focused on creating children's books, while also working on the management of a private school.
In 2004 I completed my first teacher training in the Iyengar tradition and immediately started teaching yoga in Santiago, Chile.
In January 2005 I travelled to Chennai, in South India, for the first time to continue my training at the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram (KYM). This trip changed my perspective on yoga and life. In 2007 I received my certification as a yoga teacher in the Krishnamacharya tradition. In 2013 I received my certification as a Vedic Chanting teacher in the same tradition.
From 2013 until December 2020, alongside teaching yoga, I worked first as International Sales Manager and later as Global Head of Sales in a medical software company in Munich. This sparked a desire to bring the tools of yoga to organisations to promote wellbeing and to create better working environments. For this reason, in 2015 I took a Mindful Leadership workshop with MLI in Salzburg and in 2020 completed my training as Trainer for Mindfulness in Organisations.
Until 2018 I travelled twice a year to Chennai to attend different courses and workshops to dive deeper into the philosophical and practical aspects of yoga. I continue to learn with my teachers there by attending online programmes.
Since 2005 I have accumulated more than 3000 hours in yogic studies, most of them in Chennai. These hours of study encompass a wide spectrum, from class planning and one-on-one yoga therapy, to deep philosophical learning of the foundational texts used in the Krishnamacharya tradition, like the Yogasūtra-s of Patañjali, the Upanishads, or the Bhagavad Gita, to mention a few.
I have been teaching one-on-one as well as group classes since 2005. When teaching I bring forth all this wealth of knowledge and also the more than 5000 hours of personal practice and teaching accumulated during all these years.
My favourite teachings
Both at the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram (KYM) and at Yogavahini — two schools I visit regularly in Chennai — I have learned with excellent teachers who really embody the core of this tradition. They have not only taught me the philosophical texts, the Vedic chants and the many practices, but also how important the connection with our own selves and with others is.
The teachings I cherish most are perhaps that the connection with our students is the most precious resource we have, and that humility is required to be of service and to be present for them. As a teacher I need to be fully present, since this is the only way to offer what is appropriate for the student at any given time, and I need my own practice to cultivate that presence.
Patañjali's Yogasūtra-s are a cornerstone in my path of growth and transformation, and keep offering a wealth of knowledge, even after having studied them with my teachers in India for more than 20 years. Although that sounds like a very long time, every time I review them, new perspectives and innumerable 'aha moments' emerge. Patañjali offers practical tools to understand who we are, how our minds and bodies function, how to work with the obstacles that arise in our mind-heart, how to calm our minds to be able to focus and to ultimately reach enlightenment. And although most of us probably won't reach enlightenment, by putting these teachings into practice we will be able to live a more fulfilling and compassionate life.
Compassion is a central value in my life and it is a lamp illuminating the way ahead. That is why among the many teachings in the yogasūtra-s, the Brahmaviharas, which are four innate attitudes: loving kindness (maitri), compassion (karuna), sympathetic joy (mudita) and equanimity (upeksham), are so dear to me.
Finally, to help my students discover lightness in the teachings — despite the discipline required — is central to my approach. I know that if they enjoy the practice, they will stick to it, delight in the experience and cultivate peaceful awareness.
May the teachings help us see our own light and the light in others, and connect with the river of loving kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity that flows from our hearts to the hearts of others.
“maitrī karuṇā muditopekṣāṇāṁ sukha duḥkhapuṇya apuṇya viṣayāṇāṁ bhāvanātaḥ cittaprasādanam”
-Yogasutra 1.33
By cultivating an attitude of friendship towards those who are joyful, compassion towards those in distress, joy toward those who are virtuous, and equanimity toward those who we consider non-virtuous, peaceful awareness arises in the mind.