Status update: First weeks in Berlin
Aktualisiert: 26. Apr. 2021
Between struggling to overcome old habits and connecting with fellow yogis.
The – by various people from my small home town – predicted dog-eat-dog yoga teacher market of Berlin has not proven true – actually quite the opposite has been the case: all the fellow yogis and yoga teachers (the one´s I´ve known for a while and also the one´s I have just recently met), have been more than just helpful.
For example: I went to a studio near my flat to ask for a teaching opportunity. The studio owner couldn’t give me one at her space as their schedule is pretty full already, but she gave me the contact for another studio – where I applied and will start teaching a regular class from January onwards.
There has been more than one ‘lucky coincidence’ (and if you are like me, you know that there are no coincidences), where meeting one person lead to meeting a bunch more, which lead to more teaching opportunities. But I will also admit that the first week back in Berlin was tough. I was putting a lot of pressure on myself to find at least one teaching job straight away. The deeply engrained mindset of “you are only worthy when you are working/earning money/being successful in the materialistic world” kicked in and was pushing me to research studios and teaching jobs, go around to different studios, take a lot of classes and reach out to people. I wasn´t socializing with friends or taking much needed rest and me time (at least I still managed to keep up my own practice). When I after just over a week of being back in Berlin scored my first teaching gig at a studio in Prenzlauer Berg, I finally started to relax.
How fucked up is it, that even after now more than five years of a constant yoga practice and going deeper into what is actually important in life, this belief of ‘self-worth = productivity/achievement’ is still so strong and really taking over in times like these??!!
Let me know if this is something you are experiencing as well?!
(Also check out my blog post on this topic here)
On a much happier note:
What I was missing the most while I was living at my parents’ place was the exchange with fellow yogis. I am still overwhelmed and so grateful for all the beautiful yogis I have met so far – these new connections have nothing to do with superficial and/or fake friendliness but are characterised by genuine kindness and caring. And even though Berlin is such a big and busy city (maybe actually because of that), the yogi community seems to really look out and care for one another.
I am so happy to be back and can´t wait to see what happens next. I´m here to connect, share and spread my love for yoga. Let´s make Berlin and the world a happier place full of people living their lifes with meaning and authenticity.
By the way, the weather in Berlin this time of the year sucks – like for real – anyone who is saying that you need to experience shitty weather (winter) to appreciate the nice weather (summer), is a liar. I´m grateful for every day where I can see blue sky and the sun is shining – making it a ‘healthy’ habit to go out for walks. At the same time, I am trying to learn to appreciate the rainy, cold and stormy weather – and just taking it for what it is. One of the lessons learned through yoga: accept what you can not change 😉