Welcome! I’m Salema and I’ve been sharing and teaching Yoga for the last 5 years. People who have known me for long are often surprised to learn that I have changed gears profession wise. In college I studied Molecular Biology and for years I worked in a lab sequencing DNA, the now so famous PCR, growing cells and bacteria. I remember that during my first year of Uni I felt so fortunate to be studying the mystery of Life. It was wonderful to discover and understand how we got here, and that is precisely how I feel when I practice and learn more about Yoga, one of the oldest sciences, the science of what it means to be human. Yoga, through experience can set us free.
As cliché as it may sound, Yoga came into my life just when I needed it the most, lots of stress and hours in a job that no longer motivated me and that was more and more in conflict with my core values, the ending of a relationship, many health issues, but above all, a terrible relationship with myself. Yoga changed the way I saw myself and the world. It opened a window that finally allowed me to breathe
I believe it always works this way, at first Yoga makes us feel good physically, mentally and emotionally. It helps us let go of the burden we have been carrying, it gives us some relief. Over time, however, we are faced with two paths. One of them is superficial where we keep seeking that momentary state of feeling good. I picture it as a circled pathway that always takes us back to where we started. We can either stay here, or take the other one. For me the latter is the true path of Yoga, the one that once taken does not allow you to go back. Once you have awoken you cannot walk asleep again. So, there is a choice, either Repeat or Evolve. What will you choose?
Evolving is hard work though. It requires always putting yourself at the point of friction, on your limits, face to face with the darkest of your being. Only when we have shed light upon our obstacles can we observe and overcome them. This requires humility, courage, discipline, sense of duty, focus and resilience. In order for adversities to not wobble and destabilize us we need balance, stability, to be deeply connected to our center.
Unlike other dynamic yoga practices that are so popular now, Tradition gives us the tools and methods we need to evolve intelligently and safely. It’s a system tested and perfected for thousands of years by hundreds of yogis: Chandra, Surya and Agni: Moon, Sun and Fire.
The Moon represents our Mind, which must be able to remain calm and stable, still and steady, in Stithi, the unsurpassed innate calmness of the mind in its purest innate quality, like the reflection of the Moon in the still waters of a lake on a clear night sky. Only then can we fulfill the promise of yoga.
Once the Moon has been made steady the Sun can be made to rise
The Sun symbolizes Prana, our vital force, our Energy. To gained sensitivity to it, to be able to cultivate and direct it, to transform it into the necessary force we need to face our obstacles, our karma, our limitations, in order to grow and evolve we require a mind that is stable and focused.
Fire, Agni or Rudra, is cultivated once we have conquered our mind and our energy. Only in this way can we ignite our internal fire, for it to melt our limitations, addictions and fears, freeing ourselves and allowing our true essence to shine
My mission is to share these teachings as I have learnt them from my teachers, keeping tradition alive so that people can really get to understand these beautiful and powerful practices and what Traditional Tantric Hatha Yoga truly is and what it can offer
