About
Hi there, I'm Kotryna, nice to meet you!
Warm welcome to my page, I am a certified yoga and meditation teacher. I also come with 10 years of Swiss Corporate life experience and a background in Business Management and Economics. Yes, all is possible and all can be compatible 😊.
I am based in Switzerland, Villeneuve, where I live with my lovely husband and two amazing kids close to lake Leman (or do you say lake Geneva?😊).
I teach accessible, functional yoga for desk workers and new mums.
EveryBody is welcome in my classes: whether you consider yourself beginner or advanced yoga practitioner. No matter if you are just starting out in your yoga journey or you have been practicing for years - I am here to guide you and propose you different options and variations of yoga asanas. This way you can choose what works for you today and continue progressing on your personal yoga journey.
My teaching style
I teach accessible HATHA yoga with slow VINYASA flows. Vinyasa is a series of chained movements ( a.k.a. flow) combined with breath.
My classes involve holistic back movements to keep your back in good shape: balancing twists, gentle and energising back bends, reasonable forward folds, enjoyable side stretches. I like mobility work and transition movements that help to build flexibility and strength overall.
As a mother of two and a desk-worker I know a thing or two about back pain, stiffness, lack of mobility…and now I also know how to avoid them. Happy to share with you and practice some yoga together.
What does Sama U stand for?
1. In Hindu: ‘Sama is the quality of calmness and tranquility of the mind, which is highly valued in yogic philosophy. To find sama, the mind must be under control. It is an experience of inner peace and equanimity.’ Source: Yogapedia.com
2. In Sufism: ‘Sama means "listening"<…>.’ Source:wikipedia.com
3. In Japanese: Sama (さま) means ‘a Japanese title of respect.’ Source: collinsdictionary.com
Combining the 3 definitions above: ‘Sama u’ invites you to calm your thoughts and mind, tune in, listen to your true self, admire & respect what you hear. That is yoga to me.
And yes, Sama also happens to be the first 4 letters of my surname. What a coincidence 🙈
My yoga journey
I took my first yoga class back in 2004 and it was ‘love from the first sight’. From one class a week I quickly went to two and then three… 'I was home'. The classes were in my local gym and once I finished my studies and moved to Switzerland - I did not manage to keep yoga practice in my life. I found it back a couple years after. But I can clearly look back now and say that whenever I managed to keep yoga in my life – my life was simply better.
While I have been practicing yoga for many years, it is only in 2022 that I decided to become a yoga teacher. I have followed a yoga teacher training in Switzerland with Jessica Rabone (a registered Yoga Alliance Teacher) and it was one of the best decisions in my life. I learned about yoga history and philosophy, breath, anatomy, neuroplasticity, pain science, and intentional & logical yoga movement class sequencing. Following this training was a wish that my heart made and I was lucky to honour it.
My life journey
Originally, I am from Lithuania. I have lived and studied in Lithuania for the initial 23 years of my life. I have moved to Switzerland for my master studies in 2009. I’ve studied Economics at the University of Lausanne and then have worked in various Marketing Analytics roles for about 10 years here in Switzerland in multinational companies by lake Leman.
After my studies, I met my husband, fell in love and decided to settle in Switzerland for longer. Today we live in Villeneuve and we have two lovely kids. When my second child joined our family some changes came along and some choices were to be made. This is when I rekindled my yoga passion and went on to study and become a yoga teacher. ‘Why not?’, - I told myself, and ‘When, if not now?, and also ‘YOLO: you live only once’. So here I am, sharing my passion for yoga with you.
My Purpose and Yoga Passions
My Purpose
Infuse and share my love for yoga for happier, healthier and more wholehearted living with as many people as possible.
My Yoga passions
I am very passionate about yoga and its benefits both for physical body and mental health.
From the physical body side, I am into yoga practice that helps to build more flexible and stronger back. As someone who was working behind the desk for over a decade and cared for two small children for the last 5 years (bathing, changing, carrying and playing) I know firsthand about the back pain…and now I also know how to prevent it and how to build strength.
I love teaching beginners and it is a genuine pleasure to have someone in my class discovering yoga for the first time. It makes me truly happy to show yoga ‘ins and outs’ to the new comers and accompany them on their journeys.
Yoga benefits to mental health are being researched and discovered as you read this. Today science is backing up what ancient yogis knew intuitively and practiced over thousands of years: breath, meditation and movement matter in fostering mindbody connection and your overall health. I love science behind yoga. I can spend hours 'geeking out' watching yoga related webinars and participate in yoga workshops. Therefore, I will be sharing some insights into this in my blog and social media too.
