Yoga

Where I teach

I have taught a few yoga for migraine relief courses at Helsingin Aikuisopisto, where I’ve interwoven migraine science snippets into the yoga classes, each one designed specifically with migraine sufferers in mind.

If you’d like to stay in the loop about these offerings, you can sign up to my mailing list here.

I am preparing an online migraine science course which includes a weekly yoga component as well. The course is in Finnish, and you can sign up here.

Coming soon

• An online “yoga snacks” series: bite-sized yoga practices to fit easily into your every-day life
• Weekly online classes who want the accountability of a place and time to show up for their yoga practice

How I came to train as a yoga teacher

I have enjoyed yoga for a long time but never would have dreamed of doing a teacher training, had it not been for a lovely little studio in London.

There, I discovered teachers* who infused yoga philosophy into their classes in a way that made it accessible to the not-so-spiritually-but-more-scientifically-minded students like me. I started talking to the teachers after classes, asking for ways to learn more about what else there is to yoga than just the asana (the physical poses we do in class). This also coincided with the worst of my chronic migraine struggles, and yoga became my main form of exercise because I could so easily adapt the practice to whatever was possible for me on any given day.

* Bex & Marisse, I’m looking at you ♡

Slowly, an idea was born…

What if there was a way to use yoga specifically for migraine sufferers? What if not just the asana could be tailored to the needs of migraineurs, but there is wisdom to be found in the timeless yogic teachings that could help us figure out how to live a good life despite the challenges we face when living with a migraine brain?

I love science, but looking at computer screens and sitting at desks or experimental set-ups for hours – both rather necessary features of modern-day science work – are not very migraine friendly. I wanted to find something more physical to do, since (outside of active migraine attacks) that is actually quite beneficial for migraine brains. With my neuroscience background that helped me understand the physical aspects of migraine, and my personal experience how yoga could help practically manage the condition, it suddenly felt like I had found something I could share with others, and in the process, hopefully also help them.

I love deepening my understanding of yoga, and I very much believe that there is wisdom to be found in yogic philosophy that can be applied regardless of any spiritual beliefs. I know I’m going to sound like an utter cliché of a yoga teacher, but I really do think that everyone can benefit from more yoga in their lives and use it to build a better life – in particular those of us with health challenges.
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