My Yoga Journey
with Anna Bachmann

Anna Bachmann is a teacher of yoga and meditation,  based in Paris, France. In this interview with Ayurooms, she shares her yoga journey and offers inspiration to practice yoga. 

One morning, in March 2015, I had a severe traffic accident. I was going to university when a bus hit me while I was crossing the street. It completely broke my pelvis in three and I had to spend a long time in the hospital without being able to move. It took me several months to slowly recover and learn to walk again. Yoga, at that time, was a way for me to help my back pain and allow my body to gently learn to move again.

Interview with Anna Bachmann
Published Sunday, 5 April, 2020

What does yoga mean to you?

To me, yoga means finding my inner peace. It’s my way of finding my physical, mental and emotional well-being in order to be happy. It’s also finding harmony between my body and my mind. And most of all, it’s helped me to realize how everything is linked: our physical body, our mind, our breathing, and our emotions. You cannot “do” yoga, you are already yoga.

​When did you first start practicing yoga and why?

I took my first yoga class 7 years ago, but I really started practicing consistently 5 years ago when I was living in Berlin. One morning, in March 2015, I had a severe traffic accident. I was going to university when a bus hit me while I was crossing the street. It completely broke my pelvis in three and I had to spend a long time in the hospital without being able to move. It took me several months to slowly recover and learn to walk again. Yoga, at that time, was a way for me to help my back pain and allow my body to gently learn to move again.

Were you ever resistant to learn yoga? 

I don’t think I was ever resistant, but it’s true that when I took my first yoga class, it wasn’t as trendy as it is today in Paris and I remember thinking that yoga was kind of “boring” to me. I was not consistent in my practice and yoga was not a priority to me at that time. It’s only when I moved to Berlin, where everyone practices yoga regularly that I understood what yoga could really bring me not only in the physical aspect but more importantly on the emotional aspect.

How has yoga impacted your life?

Yoga has impacted my life significantly! First and foremost because it made me quit my corporate job in Communications this year and leave Paris where I was living for 5 years. Yoga made me realize what kind of life I wanted to live, where my priories are, I think I can say that yoga made be a better version of myself.
​
In my everyday life, yoga helps me to find my inner peace. Yoga helps me to let go. Yoga is also teaching me discipline. Most importantly, yoga has taught me that happiness is not something that is outside, but that it is something that we all have inside of us and that we just need to listen to ourselves more.

Why should someone practice yoga? ​

I think we could ask the question the other way around: why shouldn't someone practice yoga ! There are so many benefits in practicing yoga regularly, first on the physical body of course, Yoga can help you relieve back problems, diminish any physical pain, work on your flexibility and so on. But more importantly, to me, yoga can help you to work on your emotions and your mind. Wherever you are in your life right now, I think that yoga can help you to know yourself better.

What are your favourite asanas and why?

I love Warrior 2 and Warrior 3, I feel like those asanas give me strength, confidence and balance in my practice. Another favourite posture of mine is the Pigeon pose and all the hip opening asanas. I used to be so resistant to them but the more I deepen my practice, the more I understand how important they are, helping us to release all the emotions that are being stuck in the hips. And in my yoga classes, I usually say to my students that the asanas that we like the least are the ones that we need the most.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Often, people tell me that yoga is not for them because they are not strong or flexible enough. For me, yoga is not about being the strongest or the most flexible in the room. By practicing asanas (postures) regularly, yoga is there to help us create space in our bodies, create space in our minds and, therefore, create space in our hearts. Don't let anybody tell you that yoga is not for you, especially if that person is you. 

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Anna Bachmann's inspirational yoga journey teaches us that when life hits us with a bus, yoga can help us find our feet again and get moving. COVID-19 has hit the entire world like a bus. But we have two options, we can remain stagnant or we can choose to grow by learning new things, such as developing a daily yoga practice. 

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