Camilla, our charming Taíba Surf & Yoga Ambassador, is a lawyer and yoga teacher based in Switzerland. She completed her Vinyasa Yoga Teacher Training with Golden Buddha Yoga (RYT 200) in Mexico early 2015 and is continuously pursuing her education with various trainings, notably in Vinyasa and Yin Yoga. She teaches on a regular basis at Yoga Tribe Studio in Zurich and leads international yoga retreats.
We are beyond excited that she will be part of our inaugural Yoga and Surf retreat in October.
I try to be mindful, truthful and to use my energy in a worthwhile way.
How do you integrate yoga in your daily life?
Next to practicing asana (yoga poses) I try to find at least 5 min a day to sit still in meditation. It sounds simple but unfortunately it isn’t always easy to find or rather make time for it as I work over 8 hours a day as a lawyer and spend several hours on the train, commuting to the office, several times a week. It doesn’t always work but I do my best to keep it up. Otherwise, I try to be mindful, truthful and to use my energy in a worthwile way.
Why are yoga & surf a good match?
I have personally only surfed few times so far but my husband has been trying to get me more into it lately. It’s funny to hear him talk about his love for surfing and his experience on the board, because you could say the exact same thing about yoga. Gerry Lopez expressed it beautifully as he said that surfing and yoga teach us how to go with the flow smoothly and to be in the moment spontaneously. Harmony in life comes like waves and yoga sessions, not always perfect but as an ongoing process, moment to moment, following the instructions we set for ourselves and taking what we get.
Surfing and yoga teach us how to go with the flow smoothly
and to be in the moment spontaneously.
What influences the yoga that you teach?
I mostly teach Vinyasa Flow, a more dynamic style of yoga in which students coordinate movement and breath to flow from one pose to the next. As I used to dance a lot as a child (and secretly dreamt about being a background dancer of some famous music artist!), I love moving my body and creating fun sequences. I always teach with music and my classes contain elements of various styles such as Hatha, Ashtanga, Forrest and Universal Yoga.
What is yoga for you?
Yoga to me is a way to connect. To myself. To the world. I have never felt more in tune and present then when I am on my mat. There is a quote I read once that sums it up pretty well to me: Enlightenment is when a wave realizes it is the ocean. I guess this is what I feel when I breathe and practice. I start to see myself as a part of a bigger picture.
If you only got the chance to practice yoga for 10 min a day, what poses would you choose to practice?
In the morning I would probably go with the good old classic, sun salutations! A few rounds only will wake up your entire body and make you feel alive and ready to face the day. In the evening, however, I might choose one or two long holding yin poses like straddle or legs at the wall, letting my muscles relax. After a long day at the office or sitting on the train, this is heaven to me!
Camilla will be teaching a 7-day yoga + surf retreat in Taíba from 15 to 22 October 2017.