Joge sa venujem od roku 2009, začala som na hodinách aštanga jogy v tradícii Sri K. Pattabhiho Joisa, ktoré viedol Jaro Pávek a v tej dobre mal najmä vedené hodiny a s hodinami typu mysore iba začínal. Po polroku som sa odsťahovala s partnerom do Belgicka, kde som ostala na jogu sama. Musela som sa zorientovať v novom prostredí a nájsť si učiteľa, od ktorého by som sa mohla učiť. Zároveň som začala pracovať pre inštitúcie EÚ ako konferenčná tlmočníčka. Tlmočenie sa považuje za jedno z najstresovejších povolaní na svete a môžem len súhlasiť. Zistila som však, že joga mi nesmierne pomáha zvládať stres lepšie a byť odolnejšia voči stresu a pracovnej záťaži a nepríjemným kolegom :) V neposlednom rade mi pomáhala cítiť sa fit a vedieť zvládnuť fyzicky sedieť na stoličke celý deň bez vážnych bolestí chrbta. 
Začala som sa o jogu zaujímať oveľa viac. Okolie Belgicka ponúkalo veľa možností na ďalšie vzdelávanie s kvalitnými učiteľmi v celosvetovom meradle. Najviac ma oslovil Petri Raisanen so svojím terapeutickým prístupom a energetickým liečiteľstvom podľa fínskeho ľudového liečiteľstva "Jäsenkorjaus" čo v preklade znamená naprávanie kostí, ale je to oveľa viac než to :)
Po 4 rokoch štúdia s Petrim mi ponúkol mu asistovať na jeho hodinách a aj na jeho mesačných jogových pobytoch v Thajsku.  Nikdy som vedome neplánovala učiť, jednoducho sa to tak časom prirodzene vyvinulo. 

V Belgicku som učievala v svojej obývačke, tak vznikol aj názov mojej stránky na FB: M's living Yoga

Na Slovensku som začala asistovať aj Jarovi Pávekovi na jeho učiteľských tréningoch akreditovaným Yoga Alliance. Absolvovala som ich 7, dokopy 700 hodín. 
Nemôžem nespomenúť Petra Sansona z Nového Zélandu, s ktorým študujem každý rok, keď príde na jar do Európy. 
Je pre mňa veľkou inšpiráciou v hľadaní ľahkosti, vedomého vnímania vnútornej aktivity počas jogovej praxe a práce s dychom. Od Petra nenájdete ani jedno video alebo fotky v predvádzaní asán. A to je dnes čo povedať.
Ďalším dôležitým učiteľom je pre mňa Eddie Stern z New Yorku. Eddie Stern má neskutočný dar reči a prednesu, dokáže vysvetlovať východnú filozofiu a jogu aj z pohľadu zapadnej medicíny a filozofie. Je praktizujúci hinduista, na svojich seminároch je recitácia védskych mantier, základy sanskritu a rituály (pudže) pevnou súčasťou jeho programu. Tu je krátka ukážka z dokumentu Joga: architektúra pokoja.

Ďaľšími učiteľmi, ktorých rada pravidelne stretávam je Manju Jois a Nancy Gilgoff. 

ENGLISH:

I have been practicing ashtanga yoga since Dec 2009. I like to share my knowledge and experience in 1 on 1 classes or in a group setting. The  type of class may vary from person to person. It can be about ashtanga yoga or pregnancy yoga or how-to-get-pregnant-yoga or how to heal a particular pain etc. The class will always be tailor-made to fit the individual person, moreover it has to be therapeutic and balanced. My job is to help people discover what yoga means for them.  

Short CV

Martina started practicing Ashtanga Yoga in the tradition of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois in December 2009 with her first teacher Jaro Pavek in Bratislava, Slovakia. Soon after that she moved to Belgium where she was suddenly left alone to practice. Every time, however, when she was back in Slovakia, she not only continued to study with Jaro, but also started assisting him in his shala. Moreover, she started teaching in her living room in Brussels, hence the name of her FB page. 

Moving to Belgium opened other possibilities for her. She met the world renowned Petri Räisanen in Rotterdam in 2011 and Petri became her main teacher. 

Martina never intended to teach. It just happened. It's been an incredible journey so far.

The long story:

I was introduced to Ashtanga in December 2009. Irritated by the whole pre-Christmas consumption I welcomed my friend’s offer to join her in a yoga class. It was a full led primary :D taught by Jaro Pavek, my first teacher who started me off on my yoga path. That first class was truly transformative, something clicked and after the first mind-blowing shavasana I knew this yoga is something I want to keep doing for the rest of my life. So, I started attending all Jaro’s classes in different gyms at that time. Sometimes twice a day on different locations. Yes, crazy.

Jaro was teaching led classes back then and slowly started introducing mysore classes to much dismay of his students. It took quite some time for people to get accustomed to mysore style classes. Thanks to Jaro’s kind but persistent nature, he succeeded.

In September 2010, I moved to Belgium, to a town called Leuven in the Dutch-speaking Flanders. There was no Ashtanga. Faced by the overwhelming challennge of getting accustomed to a life in another country with everything it entails, then commuting to the French-speaking Brussels to start a new job as a conference interpreter for the European Institutions and on top of that, facing a practice on my own in a tiny apartment on cold, damp and dark mornings was too much for me.

I simply couldn’t get up early enough to do anything and by the time I got back from work I was too tired and hungry to even think about unrolling my mat. Weekends, no comment. The pangs of guilt were enourmos. I thought I was not good enough and I was angry with myself for not practicing but I simply could not get on the mat. I did not think of doing only sun salutations and finish, I don’t know why but I thought I need to do the whole primary every day and I was not performing.

The hell you and your mind can create for yourself is the greatest of all.

Then I found yoga classes in Brussels, by Anne Pinnette, an authorized Ashtanga teacher originally from the US. Anne taught mysore classes early in the mornings, so I could go only on those days that I did not go to work. It meant leaving the house at 6am and then driving to Brussels through traffic to be there at 7am. Guess how many times I managed :D With time I grew more consistent and I also managed to do some practice at home. 

I was very lucky to meet quite early in my yoga practice renowned teachers like Nancy Gilgoff, Manju Jois, Peter Sanson and Petri Raisanen, who introduced me also to the Finnish folk healing and his therapeutic adjustments. Petri's vast knowledge and  humbleness have been a strong inspiration for me to keep learning from him and try to create a similarly peaceful atmosphere in my classes with his theraputic adjustments and overall approach. I felt very honoured when Petri asked me to assist him in his classes in 2015 and I've been assisting him on his monthly yoga retreats in Thailand ever since. What I learned from him is, that yoga should feel good, despite being challenging or difficult and the teacher is there to inspire, motivate and guide people on their yoga path. Without judgement, the teacher should be able to see and do what is best for the student. It should always be about the student, not about the teacher and his ego. 

Petri also introduced me to Eddie Stern, whose workshops I always try to attend when he is in Europe. His vast knowledge of yoga & related sciences is jaw-dropping and I always come back with many new inputs. 

I am grateful to my teachers who continue to inspire me, I am grateful to my students who motivate to study more and last but not least, I am grateful to my family who has been very supportive in all possible aspects.