Haridev and Mats

Do you want to know how Mats experience in his first yoga class ever was?

Check Haridev's and Mats' conversation where Mats shared his experiences and what is important for him to share with his students in a yoga class.

Transcript:

Haridev: Hi everybody, this is Haridev.

Mats: This is Haridev.

Haridev: This is Mats!

Mats: This is Mats.

Haridev: So Mats, tell me about your first yoga class. How did you get into yoga? How was it?

Mats: My first yoga class ever?

Haridev: Yeah.

Mats: So...There was a friend of mine, she's been traveling the worlds and I haven't seen her in a few years and, suddenly I met her again - this is a long story, very, very short - it was a lot of synchronicities, a lot of crazy stuff happening, and she invited me to her yoga class. She told me that she'd become a yoga teacher while travelling and she invited me in. I was like: "Ok, let's try it out and see what it is". And then, I ended up in a Bikram yoga class. It was my first yoga class ever. I've been sitting on my as*, eating s*it food, drinking coffee, all that stuff for a while, and then I came into that class and I almost fainted halfway through it. At the end of it I couldn't even lift my arms and the ceiling was like wavy, it was crazy, quite trippy. So that was my first yoga class. And they ended up giving me like this juice with a lot of nutrients so that I would be able to get up and go again. I figured, ok, maybe I should not start with the hot yoga, and maybe change my diet - so I did. And then I ended up at Eight Treasures Yoga, which became my yoga home and where I did my first teacher training and everything.

Haridev: As a yoga teacher, what do you feel is important to share with your students? In the class, or in general?

Mats: It's important to have a little bit of fun. I mean, you can make it serious, like needlepoint towards that depth, learning how to observe yourself and your perceptions and all that, but also, it's important to laugh and not make it too serious all the time. So if you see like pictures of Buddha, he is usually smiling. Either he is meditating with a gentle smile, or he is laughing you know? When I meet kind a guruish person who is lacking a sense of humor, that is a huge red flag, like, don't ever go to this guy.

Haridev: Agree!

Mats: So, I would say, to be able to share these wisdoms and these movements and these tools for life, with a little pinch of seriousness and a little pinch of humor and ridiculousness.

Haridev: Thank you Mats!

Mats: Thank you too!