My Yoga Story

Not even in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that a girl whose spine was once deformed, who spent her childhood sleeping in a plastic corset in excruciating pain, would end up being a yoga teacher. I was fresh out of high school and my life was already all set. Competitive and nerdy, I was ready to conquer the world of science and academia and become a scientist. But even back then, I was at the same time drawn to a diametrically opposite world view, the world of spirituality and religions. So I started studying religions on the side and called it my hobby. Most people didn't understand what the heck I was doing. Honestly, neither did I.

In the following years, I changed countries, universities, jobs - happily skipping from one adventure to the next. After finally settling down in Berlin, looking for pain relief when my back started to trouble me again, I tried yoga and since then yoga has slowly and steadily entered my life (while my back pain disappeared once and for all!). At that time, everything seemed to be working out for me. I had a nice home, relationship, friends, money, job and a happily ever after in front of me. Little did I know that life had something else in store for me.

Before I knew what hit me, this perfect life I had spent 15 years building was gone. Homeless, heartbroken, depressed, burnt out, grieving the deaths of loved ones and with an empty pocket, I lost the ground under my feet. While everything around me was falling apart, yoga was the only constant. It gave me a safe space to grieve, to regroup and eventually come back to myself. It made me breathe when everything else made me wish for otherwise.

With time, as my muscles began to tone, my mind became calmer and my spirit stronger, I picked up the broken pieces of myself and started over. Yoga literally saved my life and, as I came to understand its power to transform, the desire to teach and help others with this powerful tool became the dominant force in my life. Suddenly, I had a purpose again and realized that things had to fall apart in order for yoga, the love of my life, to enter fully.

In yoga I found the middle ground between science and spirituality where I could still geek out on anatomy and at the same time dive into the ancient spiritual texts. Two sides of me, the scientific side and the spiritual side, met in the middle. I finally understood what I was doing. Yippie!

From that moment on, things started to unfold organically. I met the right people, came across inspirational teachers, found what works for me and ended up taking part in the most amazing yoga teacher training. Now I have the privilege to do what I love and share the joy of yoga and my passion with others.

Thank you yoga!     (written in February 2018)

Trainings and teachings

Yoga 
  • 230 hr teacher training - alignment based hatha and vinyasa and Buddhist philosophy w/Jess Rose and Leah Sugerman; Buddho Yoga, Thailand (2018)
  • 50 hour yin yoga teacher training - anatomy and yin yoga theory w/Sebastian Pucelle and Murielle Burellier; Govinda, Zagreb, Croatia (2018)
  • 50 hour yin yoga teacher training - philosophy and meditation w/Sebastian Pucelle and Murielle Burellier; Joogaroom, Tallinn, Estonia (2019)
  • 300 hour five elements and ayurveda yoga teacher training - multi-style yoga (ashtanga, hatha, vinyasa, yin, TCM, ayurveda); Trimurti Yoga, Goa, India (2020)
  • 20 hour myofascial release teacher training w/Evy Ferraro (2022)
  • 60 hour Insight Yoga teacher training w/Sarah Powers; Radiantly Alive, Ubud, Bali (2023)
  • 15 hour the art of flex-ability (advance your backbends) training w/Rebecca Hannah, Berlin (2023)
  • Intensive course (Prana Vashya series, pranayama, flexibility & strenghtening course) w/Yogacharya Vinay Kumar; Prana Vashya Yoga School, Mysore, India (2024)
Sound meditation
  • Initiation into gong playing w/ Frida Möhres (Berlin, 2022)
  • The Spirit of Sound online training w/Soneiro Collective 30h (2022)
  • 1:1 Gong training w/Kay Karl (2024)
Other
  • Numerous other yoga related workshops and continuing education classes for teachers
  • Master of Science; University of Zagreb, Croatia
  • International Erasmus Mundus Master; Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Portugal & Universita degli Studi di Ferrara, Italy

What my students say about me

Lou (France)

Leda is probably the most complete yoga teacher I have ever had. Her class is the perfect balance between body and mind work out in a very consistent and poetic approach. Each class will focus on a more specific part of the body, illustrated by an inspiring storytelling. Every exercise will lead you to achieve a deep introspection and a position that at the beginning you think you would never be able to perform.

 
Melanie (Argentina)

Leda is hands down my favourite Yoga instructor in the city. Now this is of course a personal opinion, but I find her entire presence to be highly unique and her wisdom, as well as awareness of self, shine through consistently in her classes. Combining teachings and stories from Hinduism and Buddhism, musical sets prepared for each class individually, and powerful, flowing asanas, she is capable of opening your body, heart and soul to the beauty of yoga as a spiritual practice. I cry pretty much every class out of appreciation and truth of her message, so can only give her the highest recommendation as a teacher and yogi, and hope you'll find her classes just as inspiring.

 
Chris (UK)

I discovered Leda's class with a friend of mine who is an advanced yoga student. I was a beginner back then. What we love about Leda's class is that everyone from a beginner to advanced yoga enthusiast can enjoy it. I love the way she combines philosophy and stories with yoga exercises. Since trying her class I tried others but haven't found any class that comes close to matching her one.

 
Marie-Sophie (Austria)

After taking one of Leda’s classes I always leave with my mind floating a little bit (sounds cheesy but is true). Her unique approach with encapsulating every class into an inspiring story that she carefully chooses to build the structure of the class makes her teaching so unique and never boring. Physically the classes are just the right amount of challenging and calming to feel accomplished and grounded. She teaches so that you can find what’s right for you regardless of your level. Because of her personality the atmosphere of the class always feels very inclusive, positive and calming which completes the experience. Leda’s class is the only one I would bike all across the city for.

 
Melissa (Peru)

Leda’s class is a magical experience. I always felt like I entered inside of the story that she shared and, by following her precise instructions, I would manage to reach a state of inner awareness. She is the connector, connecting me back to myself so when I leave the class, I feel calm and perfectly at peace.

 
Marina (Brazil)

After my first class with Leda, I felt like I just finished reading a really good book which had a start, a middle and an end as well as peaks of things happening throughout. Every class that I took with her since then made me travel mentally, helping me to understand different aspects of yoga, not just the physical part. The construction of the class is always fluid and intuitive and people are not afraid to try even the hardest poses. When I leave her class, my body feels like it has worked out and my mind gets inspired to read more about philosophy.