Tanja
Before Tanja followed her inner call and fully aligned herself with life as a yoga teacher, she worked for a long time in the financial sector. After completing her commercial apprenticeship in a Swiss bank, she moved in 1997 as a young woman to one of the most successful US investment banks, where she trained in the following years at locations in Zurich, London and New York and also successfully completed further training as a financial analyst and portfolio manager.
Also in 1997, she began taking classes with various Iyengar Yoga teachers in Zurich, laying the foundation for her yoga commitment. Tanja was fascinated by yoga from the beginning, but did not have the time to delve deeper into the subject. In 2003, the desire for a change grew within her, and so she quit her job and traveled to India - the country of yoga's origin. There she met Joey and with his help began to understand the holistic and spiritual aspect of yoga. At this time she also became a student of Father Joe Pereira, a world-renowned senior Iyengar yoga teacher, whose workshops she still attends regularly.
From 2004 to 2011, she worked in both the financial and yoga worlds. During the day she sold structured products to institutional clients and banks on the trading floor of a Swiss bank, but in her free time yoga took center stage. Tanja deepened her asana knowledge twice a week between 2004 and 2013 in Iyengar Yoga with Vasili Vlachos in Zurich. Since 2015, she has been a student of Aadil Palkhivala (also known as The Teacher of Teachers), who had been personally taught by Guruji B. K. S. Iyengar since the age of seven. Since the summer of 2018, Tanja has been one of the few holders of Aadil Palkhivala's exclusive 2,000-hour Teacher Training Certificate and continues to train at various seminars and workshops. In 2021 she successfully completed the Yoga Therapy Course of the Yoga University in Villeret.
Tanja has been familiar with Vipassana meditation since 2003, practicing Patrick San Francesco's Golden Light meditation since 2006 and Master Choa Kok Sui's Two Hearts meditation since 2012, and regularly practicing other meditations by this master.
Tanja has been teaching since 2009, gaining a deeper understanding of life thanks to spiritual experiences from her many years of intensive yoga and meditation practice and the study of various philosophical and yogic texts. As a yoga teacher who has internalized the values of yoga, she lives them outwardly and initiates a transformation process in her students.
Her teaching style is sensitive and very precise. The students can easily follow Tanja's individual instructions and implement the necessary changes. You can feel that Tanja has put a lot of time and effort into her passion and has been teaching for many years. She uses the skills she acquired in the world of finance to manage the yoga place, gmbh - here, too, you can see and feel the high quality standards.
A few questions for Tanja
In 1997, I started attending yoga classes in Zürich. But it was in 2003 in India when I met Joey that I began to understand the holistic and spiritual aspects of yoga. Joey also introduced me to his teacher Father Joe Pereira (Founder of Kripa Foundation and senior Iyengar teacher), whose workshops I attend regularly even today. From 2004 to 2013, I attended Iyengar Yoga classes taught by Vasili Vlachos twice a week in Zurich. I am currently also studying with Aadil Palkhivala (co-founder of Purna Yoga), whom B.K.S. Iyengar personally taught since the age of seven. Furthermore, since 2006, I have regularly attended Joey’s classes and workshops.
After working in the financial sector for several years, I was mentally and emotionally wrecked at a relatively young age. I was trained at one of the most successful American investment banks in London and New York, which I loved, but something was missing. My inner being was calling for peace and change, and a chain of circumstances brought me to the land of yoga. In 2003, I left my well-paying job and career, and took a flight to India. That is where I met Joey and my life started to take an entirely new turn.
When I met Father Joe for the first time, he put me on a set of yoga asanas and taught me how to bring the mind into the heart through the prayer of the heart method. That started my inner transformation. I found an inner peace and balance that brought stability in my life. Gradually, I was able to change things in my life with which I was not happy.
Yes, in 2003, Joey took me to a Vipassana meditation retreat. Meditation was something alien to me then and I was not sure if I would survive those 10 days. But it was great! Whenever I was in India later on, I attended Patrick San Francesco’s golden light meditation. Since several years, I have been practising the twin hearts meditation developed by Master Choa Kok Sui und lately started to practice other meditations by this master.
By the end of 2009, we rented our first studio, where I started to teach twice a week. Finally, in spring 2011, I was ready for the big change. I left my job as a Senior Sales Officer at a Swiss Bank for good and followed the calling of my heart. (I had re-entered the financial sector upon my return from India in 2004).