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Martyna

Martyna in Mysore
Martyna in Mysore 2560 1624 Martyna

Dear Yogis,

The time has come for me to take another trip to India! Between January 29th and March 1st 2024 I will be in Mysore practicing with Sharath Jois. But I’m leaving you in good hands – almost all of the regular classes will be covered by Claudia Zimmermann and Anna Zdepski. They are both experienced practitioners and very attentive teachers, I’m sure you will benefit from their inputs in your practice 🙂

The Fitogram booking tool is updated with all the changes, here are a few extra updates about the classes while I’m away:

🔸 Please note that there will be no classes during Fasnacht (February 8th to 13th). Because of school holidays, the Thursday Ashtanga Led I on February 15th will be cancelled as well.

🔸 While I’m away Monday Mysore and monthly Ashtanga III Led class won’t take place.

🔸 Please register for the classes as usual. The classes will take place even if there are just one or two sign ups, however if you’re the only student in a Mysore class, Claudia will practice alongside you.

🔸 Anna and Claudia might not know all of your names. Please check-in at the desk whenever you come to the class.

🔸 Payments by card won’t be possible while I’m away. You can pay with Twint, bank transfer or cash directly to Anna or Claudia.

🔸 I will still manage the administration and communication for the studio. If you have any questions or concerns, please send me an email or WhatsApp and I will get back to you as soon as possible.

Enjoy the practice with Anna & Claudia and I’m looking forward to seeing you in March!

Martyna
Dummy Image

June Newsletter
June Newsletter 1196 679 Martyna

Dear Ashtangis,

After what felt like a particularly miserable and rainy Spring, I’m sure everyone is enjoying those beautiful sunny days ☀️ I definitely feel a burst of energy and I’m especially happy about seeing some light on my way to the studio at 5am. People are often surprised that I do yoga so early in the morning, but for me finding time for even just a short practice before work feels essential to my state of mind and the quality of my teaching.

Did you know that traditionally yoga is practiced mostly in the mornings? ⏰ According to Indian philosophy the time before the sunrise, called Brahmamuhurta, is particularly good for spiritual practices. I guess it makes sense to salute the sun when it rises! Your body might be a bit stiffer in the morning, but the mind is more clear and the practice will energise you for the upcoming day. Perhaps now that the mornings are brighter, it’s a good time to give it a try and start your day by unrolling your mat?

Below you can find events and schedule changes of the next couple of weeks:

  • We start the month with the Full Primary Series led class this Sunday. The beautiful weather is a tough competition to yoga classes, so please make sure you sign up today until 7pm to let me know that there’s enough interest to run the class.
  • The following week (June 7th until 12th) I will be away to a yoga retreat with Harmony Slater. Harmony is an incredibly knowledgeable teacher, I’m looking forward to learning from her! There will be no classes on Thursday, but Claudia kindly offered to open the studio for self-practice on Wednesday and cover the Mysore class on Friday (June 9th). Please register the day before.
  • After I’m back, I will teach a hands-on adjustments workshop on June 17th. I find adjustments an important part of teaching yoga – they relieve tension and help students experience asanas before they can fully do them on their own. In the workshop I will share with you my insights on how to use touch in yoga classes and we will practice adjustments in a safe learning setting. The workshop is meant not only for yoga teachers – you might also benefit from learning the alignment by understanding why I correct you in a certain way.
  • The following Friday, June 23rd, you have another chance to catch up with the basics in the introduction workshop. I strongly recommend it to all the students who haven’t visited yet – you will learn all the essentials for starting your Ashtanga journey.
  • I will finish with another reminder about the last spots in the next yoga retreat in September. I have two spots left now – you can come alone or ask a friend to join you!

Love,

Martyna

May Newsletter
May Newsletter 1660 853 Martyna

Dear Ashtangis,

This has been an exciting couple of weeks. I joined a fun workshop with James Figueira, taught a wonderful retreat in Ticino and now I’m getting ready for a couple of days with another senior teacher, Peter Sanson. It’s refreshing and inspiring for me to join workshops with other teachers and I’m always excited to share my new insights with you! Especially our retreat felt like channeling all my knowledge to you, talking about yoga all day long 😀

On a different note, did you know that tomorrow is AYL’s seventh birthday? 🎉 😮 Just like the practice has its ups and downs – sometimes you fly above the mat and sometimes your back doesn’t bend at all… – so does teaching yoga. There are days when I’m inspired and days when I don’t have as much energy. There are times when the studio is full and times when there are few people to teach. But no matter how challenging running a yoga studio can get, I feel it’s worth every minute of my time and every drop of my sweat. Meeting all of you has been a gift and seeing your happy faces after the practice is the best reward. So let’s hope for many more years for Ashtanga Yoga Luzern! 🎂

Below you can find events and schedule changes of the next couple of weeks:

  • This month’s workshop on May 13th will be about building strength 💪 Arm balances and inversions can be challenging, but I will show you how to slowly build the required strength and approach them with small steps. Inversions have many health benefit and arm balances can be very playful while building your confidence – don’t miss it!
  • May and June are full of holidays and long weekends. I will be mostly around, but a few classes will be cancelled (Thursdays May 18th & June 8th) and I might ask you to sign up early for other ones that fall on a holiday (Monday, May 29th). Please keep checking the website around the days off – all the changes are written under the class schedule and Fitogram is always up to date.
  • In June I will go to a yoga retreat with Harmony Slater (yes, my life does revolve around yoga 😜). But it won’t affect our classes much – I will still teach our monthly Sunday class on June 4th and I already scheduled the next workshop for June 17th. The topic will be, per your request, hands-on adjustments!
  • Recently the classes have really picked up and there are many new students starting the practice. If you’re one of them, please save the date of the next Introduction workshop – June 23rd. You can still join it after a couple of weeks of regular classes to catch up with necessary theory.
  • September seems very far ahead, but our yoga retreat in Château Gottrau is already almost full! I have one more spot in a twin room left, so hurry up if you’re interested ⏰ All students who already booked the retreat will received an email confirmation next week. And those of you, who will miss it, don’t worry! I’m already working on the next retreat in the Winter ❄️

Love,

Martyna

March Newsletter
March Newsletter 1196 745 Martyna

Dear Ashtangis,

I don’t know about you, but I’m emerging from what was probably my busiest quarter yet 🤯 Juggling yoga classes, psychology clients, workshops and studying trauma has been a bit of a challenge, but the learning curve has been appropriate to the effort invested. Plus if you know me, you might have noticed that I thrive when I have a lot to do, so this is not really meant as a complaint 😉

Speaking of my studies, I’ve just completed a two-year education about working with trauma. It was really remarkable to me how much having a yoga background was helpful while studying mental health. It’s a commonly accepted knowledge now that trauma is stored in our bodies and any body-based approach, including yoga, can be very helpful while recovering from difficult experiences. Yoga doesn’t only connect us to our bodies, but it soothes the nervous system and helps us regulate our emotions. And the interpersonal aspect of the practice – the relationship with your teacher and being a part of the yoga community – are invaluable resources as well. I’m glad my life led me in a direction of combining the two approaches and you will sure hear more about it from me 🤓

Below you can find events and schedule changes of the next couple of weeks:

  • This month’s workshop on April 15th will be about creating your own yoga practice. Ashtanga can seem a bit rigid with its fixed sequences, but there’s a lot of flexibility to this system. I will show you how to consider your individual body type and the time you have to adjust the practice to your needs. I will also address some common questions like recovering from injuries, adding preparations and transitioning from the first to the second series of Ashtanga.
  • A few days after the workshop we will head to the yoga retreat in Ticino on April 19th. I’ve got good news – the hotel got an extra single room for us, so I could accept one more student for the retreat. The room is only free until Saturday, but you could still participate in the whole day’s program and the price would be adjusted accordingly. Please contact me soon if you are interested. In the meantime I also updated the website with details of the retreat in September – check the link below!
  • And before all that, you can join our usual Ashtanga III & Pranayama class this Sunday. Please note that the May class had to be moved to April 30th, because I will spend the first weekend of May at a yoga workshop with Peter Sanson.
  • I can’t believe it’s already Easter! 🐰 I’m around this year and I’m happy to offer you a Mysore class on Good Friday if I get at least 3 sign ups 24 hours before the class. On Easter Monday there will be no classes.
  • We will finish April with another Introduction workshop on April 28th. Please join if you haven’t been yet and don’t hesitate to invite friends that might want to start yoga 🙃

Happy Easter! 🐣

Martyna

February Newsletter
February Newsletter 2560 1033 Martyna

If you listen to your body when it whispers, you won’t have to hear it scream.
– Dan Millman

 

Dear Ashtangis,

The Fasnacht break is over, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did! Visits to Poland tend to be quite busy for me – only a couple of days to meet all relatives and old friends, to run some errands and to try a few new restaurants (Warsaw happens to be one of the world’s top cities for vegan food 😍). But I didn’t forget about yoga – I joined a friend’s class for inspiration and at home I practiced on my old mat that I bought 21 years ago (!). I even happened to teach one class – it was my mom’s wish to start yoga on her 59 birthday 🙃

Back in Lucerne I observe a tendency that New Year’s resolutions often only last from January 1st until the carnival 😅 A few days off can get you off track, making it hard to restore your routine. If you notice that you’re looking for excuses not to practice, don’t listen to your mind – it can get very chatty! Listen to your body that will sure be happy to move and relax.

Here are a few updates for the next couple of weeks:

  • We will begin March as usual, with the monthly Full Primary Series & Pranayama class. If Ashtanga Led II has become comfortable for you or you practice at least half of the Series in Mysore, feel free to join us on Sunday. Remember that since January I also teach the full sequence weekly on Thursday evenings. –> SIGN UP
  • Following Saturday, on March 11th, I will teach our monthly workshop. The topic of this month will be Detox & Healing through Ashtanga Yoga. We will explore the therapeutic aspect of the Primary Series – how asanas press on our organs and improve the functioning of different systems of the body. We will also discuss diet that best supports the yoga practice. –> SIGN UP
  • The last event of the month will be an Introduction to Ashtanga workshop on March 17th. I encourage all new students, including those who already visited some classes, to join this workshop – I will explain you everything you need to know to start a regular Ashtanga practice. Among others, you will learn basic yoga philosophy, the ujjayi breath, the alignment in sun salutations and how to do a short yoga practice at home. –> SIGN UP
  • If you’ve practiced with me for a while, you know that I really value the sense of community that you can find through yoga. Apart from being able to make new connections in the classes, workshops and retreats, feel free to stay in touch with us through our WhatsApp group.It allows me to share with you different yoga resources as well as short asana videos that I create for this group. If you want to join, please email me your phone number.

Love,

Martyna

December Newsletter
December Newsletter 1920 766 Martyna
Dear Ashtangis,
It’s been a busy two months since you’ve last heard from me! I spent those weeks not only teaching, studying and traveling to yoga workshops, but also doing a lot of deep thinking about the studio and the next steps for Ashtanga Yoga Luzern. I feel that after two quiet years people slowly find the way back to their yoga mats and I ask myself what I wanna share with them and how I can best use my skills to do that. I’m full of ideas for the upcoming year – ready to let go of things that haven’t been working, open for changes, curious to see what comes 🙂

Here’s an update about the upcoming changes and events:

  • To make sure AYL has a fresh start into 2023, I’m working on a new website. The work is in progress and you can expect it to be launched any day now! I hope the new website will be more visually attractive, while still intuitive and easy to navigate. I will be curious to hear your feedback once it’s finished!
  • The next update is a new class schedule. I followed your feedback from the survey and the only two changes for now will be a slightly earlier start to the Monday Led class (7pm instead of 7.15) and changing the Thursday evening class to Ashtanga Led class III. There was a lot of enthusiasm about me teaching the Full Primary Series every week, I hope the attendance will reflect it. If the classes pick up, I hope to open more classes in the next months, stay tuned!
  • The third update is about the workshops. Sharing my knowledge with you in a more in-depth form is one of my favourite ways of teaching and therefore you can expect  regular monthly workshops in the upcoming year. The topic for January will be ‘The art of vinyasa’ on January 14th – you can sign up here. Students new to Ashtanga can join the Introduction workshop on January 6th (–> sign up).
  • Before the intense start into the next year, I will take a week off between December 26th and January 1st. I will restart the classes on January 2nd (Monday) and will teach on both public holidays that week (January 2nd & 6th). Your yoga passes will be extended accordingly. And if you are still looking for a last-minute Christmas gift, you can pop in the studio and get a beautiful gift voucher for a yoga class!

Love,

Martyna

PS. If you would like to be added to our WhatsApp group to receive updates, practice tips and videos, please email me your phone number.

 

I wish you a beautiful, restful, joyous Christmas. Have a wonderful time eating and laughing with your loved ones, balanced with some quiet time just for yourself.  In Poland we say that whatever you do on the day of Christmas Eve, you will do the whole next year. So make sure that this Saturday you unroll your yoga mat and set a good habit for 2023 🙂

October Newsletter
October Newsletter 1920 1082 Martyna

Self-care is so much more than a beauty regimen or an external thing you do. It has to start within your heart to know what you need to navigate your life. A pedicure doesn’t last, but meditating every day does.

Carrie Anne Moss

  

Dear Ashtangis,

The autumn is definitely here and I’m enjoying it not only because of the beautiful golden leaves, but also because it’s the time of the year when all the “seasonal” yogis find their way back to their yoga mats 😉 It’s the self-care time of the year, when the idea of moving our bodies in a cosy candle-lit yoga studio seems much more attractive. Use this motivation to deepen your practice and to find a healthy routine that will keep you going throughout the Winter. Often what comes to our minds when we hear “self-care” is a warm bath, sleeping in and taking care of our external. And although it is important to have some restful time, in yoga we have this idea of taking care of ourselves through regular practice and healthy effort. The feeling of internal peace that comes from showing up on your yoga mat will last much longer than the relaxation after an evening on a sofa. Try to find a balance between activity and rest, between self-indulgence and self-discipline. Your body will very soon show you how grateful it is 🙂

And here you can find an update about the next couple of weeks: 

  • We start November with out monthly Full Primary Series led class on November 6th. If you are comfortable with the pace of the Ashtanga Led class II, you’re ready to try the full sequence. Although this class is rather intensive, we always conclude it with half an hour of breathing exercises, leaving you relaxed and centred. –> sign up (click and scroll down)
  • The next event will be an Introduction to Ashtanga Yoga workshop on November 18th. It’s a workshop that covers all the essential information for new students and it will be the last time I’m teaching it this year, so don’t miss it! –> sign up
  • Another workshop I will teach next month will be about opening the hips. Our modern lifestyle doesn’t help us keep the hips mobile and tight hips will not only prevent you from doing all kinds of yoga poses, but might manifest as back and knee pain. We will go through all different movements of the hips and you will learn exercises that you can later include in your regular practice. Yogis of all levels are welcome, including those with no experience with Ashtanga. –> sign up here
  •  I know a lot of you are waiting to hear more about my yoga retreats in 2023. The dates are already on the website and a third of the places are already pre-booked before I even managed to post the details (!). I promise to share all the info on website and in our WhatsApp group* within the next couple of days and you will hear more about the retreat in Ticino in the next newsletter. 
Love,
Martyna

* If you would like to be added to our WhatsApp group to receive updates, practice tips and videos, please email me your phone number.

September Newsletter
September Newsletter 1920 1160 Martyna

No significant learning can occur without a significant relationship.

James P. Comer

 

 

Dear Ashtangis,

This summer has been unusually busy for me. I’ve been to three yoga retreats and in between I was teaching full time and even refurnished the studio a bit. I’ve also invested more time into my other career as a psychologist and I’m full of ideas on how to combine the two in the future. Now I need a few days of rest and therefore I will be leaving on Friday for a short holiday. It will be my first yoga-unrelated vacation in many years, which makes me a bit nervous 😉 But I’m sure gonna pack a yoga mat to do my daily ritual while away.

 

Below you can find updates about classes and events in the upcoming weeks:

  • During my holiday Claudia will cover half of the classes for you. Follow this link to see the holiday schedule and make sure to sign up on time for classes you want to attend next week. It’s a big relief that I’m leaving you in good hands and I’m very grateful to Claudia for that! 
  • After I’m back, the studio schedule will be pretty busy! I planned three workshops for you in the upcoming weeks. We will start with an Introduction to Ashtanga Yoga workshop on September 23rd. It’s an all-you-need-to-know workshop, please join if you haven’t been to one yet!
  • The Friday after, on September 30th, I will teach a postponed workshop about the female perspective on the Ashtanga practice. We will talk about how yoga can be different for women and I will explain you how to practice during period or while pregnant. You can find all the info on the workshop page of the website.
  • Last workshop I’m planning in October is an Introduction to the Intermediate Series of Ashtanga Yoga. I’m excited to see that a lot of my students are progressing and many of you have started the Second Series by now. In this workshop we will have a look at the whole sequence and I will give you tips for particularly challenging poses. I will offer easier variations of the asanas for those of you, who would like to try the Intermediate Series, but are not very advanced yet. You can already sign up to this workshop through Fitogram. 
  •  I’ve never thought of myself as an “event” kind of a yoga teacher and I always preferred to invest my time in regular classes where I can observe you over a longer period of time. But I must say, yoga retreats have really become my thing! Teaching the last retreat at Chateau Gottrau was really rewarding and I felt so at home in there. To me the retreats are not just yoga holidays, but they give us an opportunity to get to know each other and to go deeper into the practice over a couple of days. I’m definitely gonna carry on teaching retreats and I already fixed two dates for 2023: April 19th to 23rd & September 7th to 9th. You can already pre-book the retreats with me, more info will follow soon! 

 

Love,

Martyna

July Newsletter
July Newsletter 1920 1040 Martyna

In the same way that gold is melted in a pot to remove its impurities that raise to the surface, yoga asanas boil the blood and bring all of our toxins to the surface, which are then removed through sweat. If the method of vinyasa is followed, the body becomes healthy, strong and pure like gold.

R. Sharath Jois

 

Dear Ashtangis,

I don’t know about you, but this summer is treating me very well so far! I went to one yoga retreat in June and have two more to go this summer. And in between I can pass on what I’ve learnt, because the classes are running pretty well this month! I’m really happy that despite the heat and all the outdoor options, you guys keep showing up on your yoga mats. And I’m sure you will be rewarded for this – the summer heat makes you more flexible speeding up your progress. And all the sweating is good for your skin and the process of purification. Way to go! 

Below you can find updates about classes and events in the upcoming weeks:

  • For me the best summer is when I plan the next yoga retreat on the way from the previous one 🙂 I went to Salento to be Petri Räisänen’s assistant for two weeks and came back with a plan to join his next retreat in Finland. Therefore I will be gone for one week from July 25th until 31st. There will be no classes in that week, your yoga passes will be extended accordingly. I will come back with even more energy and inspiration for you! 
  • And that’s not all the retreat news. I will go to one more yoga retreat this summer, this time as a teacher. Starting on August 25th I will teach for four days in a a charming old house near Fribourg, Chateau Gottrau. There are still a few rooms left, including two beautiful double rooms with private bathrooms. Because I need to fill up the retreat until the beginning of August, you have two more weeks to sign up. I think my own addiction to yoga retreats should speak for itself – that’s where you can find peace, focus on your practice, have a lot of personal time with the teacher plus you can meet a lot of nice people with similar interests. All levels are welcome, including students who have never practiced in a Mysore class before. You can find all the necessary information here, but don’t hesitate to get in touch with me if you have any questions.
  • I don’t want to jinx it, but this summer has been spoiling us with really good weather! It’s a lovely opportunity to do some outdoor classes. We will start with a class this Saturday at 9.30 in the usual spot – Konsipark in Lucerne. You can find all the information here. Please remember to sign up until 5pm on Friday. I will also offer one such class in Polish on August 6th (more info here). 
  • August 1st is a big national holiday in Switzerland. If you’d like to celebrate by doing some yoga, I will offer a special outdoor class at 4pm. In that way you might be able to squeeze in some time on the mat between brunching with your family and celebrating with your friends in the evening 🙂 If the weather doesn’t allow, we will meet in the studio instead. 
  • Last but not least: apart from the retreat and outdoor classes, I will also offer two workshops in August. On August 5th I will teach another Introduction to Ashtanga Yoga, which I strongly recommend to all new students. On August 19th I will give a workshop for everyone interested in the female perspective on the Ashtanga practice. We will talk about how yoga can be different for women and I will explain you how to practice during period or while pregnant. More info about workshops here.
Love,
Martyna

PS. If you would like to be added to our WhatsApp group to receive updates, practice tips and videos, please email me your phone number.

June Newsletter
June Newsletter 1920 922 Martyna

You’ve got to follow your passion. You’ve got to figure out what it is you love – who you really are. And have the courage to do that. I believe that the only courage anybody ever needs is the courage to follow your own dreams.

Oprah Winfrey

 

Dear Ashtangis,

The last couple of weeks were really busy for me. I was teaching all the regular classes, several workshops and on the top of that I started giving counselling sessions as a part of LiLi Centre’s Mental Health Initiative. I also spent a few days with some of you at another wonderful yoga retreat in Ticino. That’s what I call “good busy” – doing a lot of what I love, feeling fulfilled and energised. In between all that I managed to make some plans for this summer and now I’m ready to share the news with you. 

  • As you might remember from my previous newsletter, this Friday I’m leaving to Yoga in Salento to assist my teacher Petri Räisänen in his retreat. I will be away from June 10th until 25th, but the studio won’t be closed as Claudia Zimmermann agreed to cover some of my classes. Claudia is a very dedicated yoga practitioner and an experienced teacher herself, you will be left in good hands! You can find a modified schedule and all the important info about the classes in the following two weeks here.
  • After I’m back I will teach the whole July & August according to our normal schedule. If you would like to commit to a more regular practice this summer, you can benefit from a 10% discount for the 1- and 3-month passes. 
  • Our last Ashtanga Yoga retreat in Ticino totally exceeded my expectations – I had a wonderful time with you and I felt like we used this time to go deeper into different aspects of the practice. That’s why I decided to offer another yoga retreat starting on August 25th. This time we will visit a beautiful old house near Fribourg, Chateau Gottrau. You can find all the information about the retreat here. The last retreat got fully booked really quickly so don’t wait for too long if you’re interested! 
  • I also plan to teach a few outdoor classes this summer. For now I fixed two dates when I will teach such classes in Polish: July 13th at 6.30pm and August 6th at 10am. But I will also offer classes in the Konsipark in English – I will post information about them on the website and in our WhatsApp group* after I’m back from Italy.

Have a good start into the summer! Take rest, enjoy the sun and don’t forget to step onto your yoga mat 🙂 

Martyna

*If you would like to be added to our WhatsApp group to receive updates, practice tips and videos, please email me your phone number.

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