On Tuesdays and Thursdays the classes are thaught by Diego. I interviewed him, so that you can get to know him a bit better. Unfortunately, there are no cooking classes at Yoga Hathi yet…
How long have you been doing yoga?
I started with you at Molenveld. That was about 10 years ago. Nondepie* (untranslatable Dutch expression).
Why / how did you start with yoga?
My father was a martial arts master, from whom I learned the techniques and interval training: a rather spartan upbringing actually. That's why I wanted to learn to listen to my body more and learn to handle it in a gentler way. Suddenly you were around the corner from where I lived with your yoga studio and then I decided to take lessons there for a longer period of time, because I believe that you only notice the effect on your well-being when you do something for a longer period of time.
Did you already do other sports or something?
Yes, as I mentioned I did Kun Tao and I also played football.
Why did you start the teacher training?
I really liked the classes and I noticed that I started to feel better in my body. That's why I wanted to delve deeper into yoga and after some delay I just started doing it.
Where did you do your training?
At Arhanta Yoga in Sinderen, because that appealed to me the most and there were good reviews on the internet.
Was that fun? How did you find it?
It was intense, new, enriching and enlightening. It's kinda exciting to take on something like that, because you want to do it with your full 100%. It was 6 weeks in an ashram, so that you could fully focus on the training and be completely immersed in yoga.
Which part of the yoga path do you enjoy the most? What are you most busy with yourself?
Everything, really. Lately I've been looking at my karma a lot.
Is there a part of yoga that you find less fun, nice or difficult? Why?
Being consistent, but I think that's also the case in life. Staying in shape as a yoga teacher but also 'practice what you preach'.
What is your favourite yoga pose?
Especially the chest/heart openers, but actually I should do hip openers hahaha.
What do you like most about teaching yoga?
That’s a good question… Making people enthusiastic and aware of their bodies, for example by letting them feel which muscle groups they hardly use. By making them work hard, so that they go home tired but satisfied and zen.
Do you have a hobby or something you like to do that people might not expect from a yoga teacher?
I like to cook Indonesian rice tables.
Follow Hatha_yoga_diego on Instagram.