Marcela
Yoga with Marcela
Marcela, how did you get into yoga?
It was more than 30 years ago in Argentina. Pure coincidence. I saw a flyer of an older woman who offered yoga classes. I had no idea who she was, but there was something about her that attracted me. I was young, insecure, somehow lost and thought to myself, what is yoga anyway? She was Russian and one of the first women to teach yoga in the western world. I wasn’t so much interested in the asanas, but in understanding! I just wanted to be. I was full of pain back then.
A few years later I moved to Australia. It was a very transformative time for me, I hardly spoke any English and I thought to myself “hey Marcela, just do yoga, then you don’t have to talk much” So I “just did yoga”. I went and did it. That’s how I came to do my first yoga teacher training in Sydney, a long, intensive training that lasted 3 years.
What happened after your teacher training? Did you start teaching straight after that?
No, in fact let me explain: even after three years of intensive training, I felt I wasn’t good enough. This feeling was deeply rooted in me. I questioned myself again and again. I didn’t trust myself to teach others. At some point I realised that yoga only brings out what is already inside you. So if you have sadness or insecurity inside you, for example, yoga will help you to heal, but first everything has to come to light, it’s a process. So I kept practising and practising, then I went back to South America and did a supplementary training course there for another year. Then my path led me to Spain. Here I discovered Shivananda Yoga and for the first time I felt true “connection” and at the same time this deep longing for India sprouted in me.
Shivananda helped me to overcome my worries about doing something wrong in class, actually my worries completely dissolved with a single sentence that changed my life. “This is yoga, let the class happen”. I know that may sound strange because it sounds like nothing, but it meant everything to me at the time. Shivananda gave me the structure I was looking for. Structure and knowledge are my foundation, I build on that. I call it my container. The rest is intuitive, connected to my feelings.
When did you follow your dream and go to India?
When I moved to Menorca 2 years ago, I didn’t feel myself anymore, my marriage had broken up after 22 years and I was at a point where I felt lost again. I remembered that feeling, that longing I had for India back then and it somehow seemed logical and sensible to go to India, to an ashram. It was an Ayuvedic centre near Mysore, Karnataka. I found myself there, reconnected with yoga, stayed for several months as a student and later taught there.
India healed me.
What is yoga for you?
It It doesn’t matter why you start practising yoga. Yoga will always do the work. It has been working for ages. Yoga, not just the asanas, but the philosophy, the meditation and the breath work will guide you. Yoga is my path, my way of passing on my knowledge. Knowledge that I have about the body, which is the instrument for our soul.
What brought you to Menorca?
When I was still married, my husband wanted to show me a property in Menorca. When we arrived at the airport, I hadn’t seen anything yet of the island, I knew I wanted to stay. I believe it is a place where magic happens. When we got divorced, I decided to stay. My husband moved back to Punta del Este, Uruguay. Fortunately, we still have a very good relationship and I am very grateful for that. So when I fly home, we’ll see each other. Laughs and says, but I’ll be back, Menorca is my home. Her nephew comes to the table, smiles and takes her in his arms ….
You were talking about your yoga retreats in Menorca, tell me more about them.
I’m now well connected, my students come from all over the world, either because we’ve met in person somewhere, practised together or through friends/acquaintances. My retreats usually take place in a private setting, in a beautiful villa that I rent on the island for this purpose, or in one of the wonderful boutique hotels on the island. The group consists of a maximum of 12 people. We have two yoga sessions, one in the morning of about 2 hours, one in the evening. In the morning I teach a more dynamic Hatha Yoga class, and in the evening a Yin Yoga class.
Sound healing and meditation in nature complement my classes. The island has so many places of power and is full of magic. Nature, the sea and the light help us to heal. I also think that it is important for the group to stay together, because only then you can fully benefit from the energy of the group, we create a safe place where it is possible to get involved in “the process”. When you feel safe, you are able to connect with yourself and your environment. This is how you will become your own healer.
Every retreat is different, every dynamic is different, it depends on the people, their energy, their mood, their current situation. It is therefore so important that experienced support accompanies you on your path during the retreat.
When is the best time for retreats in Menorca?
Either in spring, in the early summer months or at the end of September, beginning of October, even in December we have beautiful days.
You used the word magic when talking about Menorca, what exactly do you mean by that?
To be honest, I think the island unleashes creativity and spirituality. It is magic, there is no other explanation. We can’t escape it. At least not if you see with your heart and all your senses.
Speaking of creativity, who is your favourite artist?
I know many artists who have impressed me and touched me. Recently, I was lucky enough to attend a talk by Lita Cabellut, the famous Spanish painter, here in Menorca. She spoke at the Illa de Lazaretto, her theme: “The art of observation”. Incredibly inspiring!
Through observation to freedom. How true observation can change your way of seeing. „The art of observation“ contributes to create space for gratitude and makes the soul smile. Through art and in nature we can overcome many things. It is pure connection when you embrace this. That’s why I love walking meditations, for example, because then I’m completely in the moment, I can take in the nature that surrounds me, study it and enjoy its beauty.
And who knows, it might be the best moment in life.
Your favourite book?
Zen The Art of happiness
One of your favourite places on the island
The sea across the street from my house
One more final question, why Yoga?
Yoga always works, it doesn’t matter why you start, maybe because you want to get fitter, healthier, more flexible, it really doesn’t matter! Neither when you start by the way! Maybe we are searching for something, caught in a phase of sadness, despondency, need to let go of someone or something, then yoga can help you. We are always going through enormous changes, both positive and negative, in life. This is the moment when transformation sets in and yoga takes effect. I like to think in images. After my divorce, it felt like the chocolate box was empty and there was nothing I could do about it except let go. Acceptance is how we learn. I firmly believe that we are all connected, one energy body. We just have different tasks to fulfil.
We don’t have to be Mother Theresa, but we have to practice being a good person. If everyone practised yoga, the world would be a better place!
I think that’s a very nice sentence to end with …
Thank you very much for your time!