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Elena Heinrihsone Bodylight Instructor, Saint Heliers, Auckland (2025)

27/02/2025

I was very unfit and unwell with a couple of chronic health conditions and a couple of joints injuries when I discovered yoga at the age of 37.

I felt so much happier and healthier almost straight away (after a few months of practice) and by my 40th birthday I’d become the strongest and most content I’d ever been in my life. I kept wondering how come yoga philosophy isn’t common knowledge and wanted to share it and spread the goodness.

I started looking into meditation teaching courses but ended up studying a mix of yoga, pilates and qigong instead.

I had so many doubts!

How would I have time in this life to become good at teaching if I start it this late?! Especially when I myself had had such limited experience of yoga practice.

As with most things in my life - I doubted and feared and did it anyway! Each time I heard positive feedback about my class - I’d fall into the ambivalence – the joy was always overshadowed by the imposter syndrome

Took me nearly 2 years to stop doubting it. I now accept positive feedback with joy and gratitude feeling so lucky and privileged to be in this position. I can see now I’m making a difference.

I finally realized that the lack of experience became my strength and not my weakness.

I am able to relate to people like me - who struggle with physical activity, who have health limitations, who left it for too long. Yoga always allows to start again. I do talk from my heart when I say I believe yoga changes the perception in the mind and the chemistry in the body.

I know as a teacher I’m supposed to just hold space for my students and not talk about myself but I can also see how some of my personal narrative and the way yoga helped (and still helping!) me - can be inspiring and motivating.

To everyone who loves yoga and to everyone who’s yet to discover yoga (and yin yoga in particular!) – salute!

11/08/2024

🪷 “No mud, no lotus” 🪷
I taught first yin yoga class of the term on Wednesday night in Selwyn College.

13 people signed up for the term – it’s my biggest group yet.

6 of them are my returnees from the last 2-3 terms, and that really warms my heart – so happy to see them coming back, committing to their health, making a positive shift, trusting me to guide their practice. I was told Wednesday night is their best time of the week, I was told they’d sign up for 2 people and pay twice if the group is not big enough, I was told they feel and sleep better after my classes.

5 weeks since the last class of the previous term and so much has changed.

I have an office job now 5 days a week just like most of my students.

I love how much closer it brings me to them. I’m now facing the same problems: sitting too much, being exposed to more stress and temptations daily, not having enough time to practice yoga and stay active.

I’m actually taking this challenge quite seriously. It was easier to stay peaceful and happy when reading ancient and classic texts, yoga studies, yoga practice and art classes were my main occupation. Now I am putting it all to test – the tools that I acquired during my studies and practice should help me manage the change of circumstances and hopefully help me keep content despite everything.

I don’t want to appear a hypocrite even though sometimes “do as I say, not as I do” is a perfectly appropriate method of teaching. But so much more value in leading by example. I intend to spend the same amount of time getting ready for my classes and reading texts on yoga philosophy.

I will be able to relate even more to my group now and their daily struggles (juggling work, kids, chores and looking after body and soul) – certain we can make a positive change together.

Feeling so lucky to be in this position – sharing their journey and spreading some yin yoga goodness.

Lots of love ❤️ 🧘🏻‍♀️

05/06/2024

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.

Jalaluddin Rumi (Translated by Coleman Barks)

22/05/2024

There’s a belief in yoga philosophy (Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras) that we have something deep inside us that doesn’t change (true self) unlike everything else.
If connected to – it’s a source of our identity, true calling, something that can help us see things clearly and correctly, avoiding misapprehension.
I love this explanation of our busy life (that’s often called a hamster wheel or a washing machine cycle) T.K.V.Desikachar uses in his book “The Heart of Yoga”:
“When we’re swimming in a river and can not see the bank – it is difficult to notice the current. We are moving so much with the river that we may scarcely see its flow. But if we go to the bank where we have firm ground – it is much easier to see how the river is flowing.”

If we can slow down and connect to our inner self – we gain the power to understand things and events accurately. By practising yoga we make unimpeded seeing of reality possible. When we have quietened down the mind chatter – true understanding can lead to different actions and different outcomes.
This is not a quick process and enlightening does not just happen. Both mind and body are so deep in the habitual patterns of comprehension and action – the change can be very slow through consistency in yoga practice.
Yoga Sutra tells us that the clarity and misapprehension would come and go in waves when someone steps on the journey of yoga.

27/04/2024

So happy and grateful that through yin yoga classes and reiki treatments I am able to make some people feel better and more relaxed – even if it’s just for a short period of time. What a privilege.

In yogic philosophy everything we experience and feel is considered real. There’s no such thing as “it’s only in your head” – whatever we feel or think is true for us at the moment.
Another yogic concept is that everything is continually changing, the energy and the form are in constant flux. The way we feel today is not necessarily the same as we felt yesterday. The way we see things now won’t probably be the way we see them tomorrow.
We shouldn’t be discouraged when feeling low – we can shift the way we feel.
We shouldn’t feel bad for feeling upset or anxious.

“For as long as there have been storms in the seas – there have been storms inside of human hearts!”

24/04/2024

Yin yoga is not a workout, not just a physical exercise.
Yes, we improve flexibility and mobility but Yin yoga is SOOOO much more than just a physical stretch.
Yin yoga is a tool of self inquiry, a practice of self observation, a path to self awareness.

We really need to slow down, tune in with our bodies and truly listen.

Is this lifestyle working for me or have I been thinking for a while about making a change?

The new term of Yin yoga is commencing in 2 weeks - could be a great start for a conversation with own body.

Classes are on Wednesday evenings 6.30-8pm in Selwyn College.

https://www.selwyncomed.school.nz/courses/938-yin-yoga/

13/04/2024

Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras open our eyes to the fact that a lot of problems we face in life come from the way we see (perceive) things.

We almost never know when we misinterpret things and events. We very rarely are aware of our misapprehensions and wrong judgement calls and choices. If the clouded perception is the root – it’s easier to recognise it by its four branches, signs that we might be mistaken.

The first sign of it – the ego. Ego tells us to be better than others. Ego pushes us to compare ourselves to other people.

The second sign – the demands and cravings. We return to wanting something again just because it was pleasant in the past without questioning whether it’s good for us in the present. Wanting things out of our reach, or more of what we already have as it’s not enough. Wanting to keep things that need to be given away.

The third sign – rejection of difficulties. Based on our experiences we avoid people, settings and even the thoughts that remind us of endured pain. Sometimes we even reject unfamiliar things altogether trying to stay away from any possible risk.

The fourth sign that our perception of life circumstances is blurred – fear. We are afraid of growing old, we are afraid of death, we are afraid of being judged for our life choices.
One by one or altogether these forms of misapprehension are active in our subconscious mind and cloud our vision, giving us a familiar feeling of dissatisfaction.

For example we tend to compare ourselves with others. We notice that some are more financially successful, some are fitter, but there’s always some who’ve achieved less or are less academic. These comparisons can only leave us satisfied based on a feeling of superiority, otherwise making us unhappy if we sense inferiority.
Yoga decreases misapprehension by connecting closely with true self (quieting down the mind chatter) and breaking through the effects of ego, cravings, avoidance and fears. When we start seeing and interpreting things and events correctly – we acquire the sense of peace inside us – letting go of tension and agitation. When our understanding is clear – we are able to feel calmness deep within.

29/03/2024

Most people don’t realise it when they think about (or even when they practice!) yoga that it is a practice for the mind as well as the practice for the body. In Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra yoga is defined as the ability to direct the mind as usually there’s a lot of distraction and interruption.

Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra opens our eyes to the fact that a lot of problems we face in life come from the way we see (perceive) things.

Based on our life experiences (and our own temperament and life values) we judge the situation and believe that that we’ve perceived it right (correctly) and the following steps (action or inaction) we make according to that perception.

In reality though a lot of false perception or misapprehension happens, and we confuse what is there with what is not. That misunderstandings and misapprehension might be just a result of our habits that we’ve once fallen into, and now these habits have become the only true reality in our life.

Habituation clouds the way we see things and people and sometimes leads to superficial perception.

The deeper level of perception (not distracted by incorrect comprehension) is within us, and the goal of yoga is to reach it so that we could act in a more beneficial way.

07/02/2024

They say that in every walk with nature we receive far more than we seek.
I believe the same about yoga.
I had a student last term who was quite advanced in her practice and had done a lot of different styles of yoga throughout the years. In the beginning of the term she said
she only came to my class with an intention to gently get back into regular practice after a break and increase flexibility. I was closely watching her first couple of classes wondering if she’d feel disappointed with the slower pace and the practice designed to accommodate all levels including complete newbies.
At the end of the term she told us she got a lot more out of the class than she was looking for. That the class helped her mental health and improved her ability to manage every day life better.
The new term starts next week and she has already signed up for it as did another 4 students from that group.
Last week I offered a private trial session to an old friend who hasn’t done much yoga and after the class he felt he’d benefit from more regular practice and registered for the term as well.

I am still in the beginning of my yoga journey even though it’s been a few years and it hasn’t always been a smooth road. I’m learning a lot and still overcoming my own challenges and hurdles. And I’m taking this privilege of being able to be part of someone else’s journey very seriously.

There’s a few spots left in the class-sessions are on Wednesday nights 6.30-8pm in Selwyn College.
Come join me as sometimes the most productive thing to do is to relax!

01/02/2024

Summer still in full swing but new term of Yin yoga with me in Selwyn college is starting in 2 weeks. Looking forward to holding space for my students (can’t wait to see the returners again🙋🏻‍♀️) on their yoga journey - what a joy and a privilege it is for me.
Only 4 spots left in the group-classes are every Wednesday 6.30-8pm.
Let’s improve emotional balance by getting out of our minds and back into our bodies.
By signing up and getting an intention to practice yoga-you would’ve already begun!
Our body has its own intelligence-do we honor it enough?

https://www.selwyncomed.school.nz/courses/938-yin-yoga/

24/12/2023

Yoga is not just the stretches.

Yes, yoga and Yin yoga in particular creates/maintains flexibility in the body which is incredibly important.

But man oh man, does it help with flexibility of the mind and flexibility in life! I’m more interested in this part, as this change is a true miracle.

Luckily yoga is a union. We’re getting body and mind working together – allowing us to get out of the usual patterns and experience things differently.

How it feels is always more important than how it looks.

On the mat and off the mat.

Hope everyone has a relaxing holiday full of love and joy.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all.

Lots of Love.

Elena Heinrihsone Bodylight Instructor

27/02/2025

11/08/2024

05/06/2024

22/05/2024

27/04/2024

24/04/2024

13/04/2024

29/03/2024

07/02/2024

01/02/2024

24/12/2023

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