About Maria
"Happiness is your nature. It is not wrong to desire it, what is wrong is seeking it outside when it is inside"
Sri Aurobindo.
A Yoga Story....
My yoga journey began in 2011 when I moved to London with my husband, leaving behind my career in finance and life in my homeland, Colombia - and I have to mention it - I didn't have any connection with yoga until then, even I criticised people who practiced it...
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After struggling for some time with anxiety, depression, that led to eating disorders, plus hormone disorders, breathing problems and chronic fatigue, a profound call to explore yoga awakened within me and soon I found myself in a beautiful ashram in India at the foot of the Himalayas.
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With no prior experience in yoga, I arrived with an open heart and an empty cup, ready to receive whatever healing was meant for me. From the very beginning, I felt at home. The teachings of Integral Yoga, inspired by Sri Aurobindo and The Mother, became a balm for my soul. Daily meditation and yoga practice, selfless service through karma yoga, a nourishing vegetarian diet, a grounded daily rhythm, and the wise guidance of Swami Brahmdev created the perfect environment to begin clearing away old patterns and rediscovering myself.
Slowly, I began to hear the voice of truth within me—the voice that had long been silenced and buried beneath the noise of my mind.
In 2012, I decided to start my Teacher Training, took mentorships, and other courses that helped me to understand what happened to me with my first experience in the ashram.
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Teaching wasn't my initial goal in pursuing these trainings, specially because speaking in public was a deep issue to me, but somehow everything was guiding me towards it finding my own healing..
In 2013, I began teaching at a beautiful community center in Notting Hill, building a community of dedicated practitioners who came to practice every Sunday morning. I'm incredibly grateful for their support, as they gave me the strength and confidence to continue! I started teaching in other community centers, small studios, and private classes at home with clients who I still teaching until these days.
Upon returning to London, I wanted to maintain the inner peace and calm I had found. For the following six months of "coming back to reality," I withdrew myself into my flat, following the same sadhana we practiced in the ashram.
After some time, I felt the need to open up to the world and deepen my understanding of yoga. I found a studio in London that became my second home. I began practicing with wonderful and recognized teachers, exploring various yoga styles. At that time, any yoga style fit me, and I had something to learn from all these variations. I loved Vinyasa classes as much as Kundalini or Iyengar classes. I was simply learning with an open mind, enjoying it all!
In 2016, everything began to shift when I had my first baby, and my yoga practice transitioned to a gentler approach. I completed my Pregnancy Teacher Training with Uma Dinsmore-Tuli and began teaching pregnancy classes as well. This transition led me to explore deeper layers of myself as motherhood uncovered them. I was introduced to shamanism, where I met Urtema Dolphin who guided me through a profound healing journey. Following that, I took a brief training in sound healing with Anne Malone, and my yoga practice continued to evolve.
After having my second child in 2020, I felt the need to explore new forms of yoga that would help me cope with my energy levels. After practicing Yin Yoga for a while, which felt right for me at the time, I decided to deepen my understanding and trained with Sarah Lo. I have completed three levels of Yin Yoga with her, and nowadays I combine Yin with Sound Healing.
I returned to teaching more regularly in 2024 when my youngest was 4 years old. I had maintained some teaching with private clients while pregnant and after giving birth to stay engaged and active, but during that time, my children were my priority. It felt like a 24-hour training in learning how to be a mom, which I feel will never truly end!
After more than 10 years immersed in learning, exploring various types of yoga, deepening my practice, and creating my own style combining all the experience, I reached a point where I needed something even deeper. As they say, when the student asks and is ready, the teacher will appear! From a deep questioning, I once again arrived at Kundalini Yoga, this time immersing myself in its richness and depth of its teachings taking Level 1 Teacher Training with Karam Kriya School, guided by the wisdom of Shiv Charan Singh and under the guidance of Angad Kaur and Preet Kaur.
Rediscovering Kundalini Yoga has been a beautiful journey that has brought together all the elements I found in my previous practices, but this time finding them all in one! It is a complete practice including meditation, physical exercise (Kriya), pranayama, mantra, mudras, and meditation that work deep in the subconscious mind, allowing us to achieve real transformation.
Yoga and meditation are my daily medicines. I feel an absolute difference with and without practice—physically, mentally, emotionally and energetically—especially in family life. Yoga has changed my life and continues to change it (it's an endless journey; the more I discover, the more I feel I need to keep deepening). I'm passionate about sharing my story to motivate others to give it a try. Once you experience how it connects the self, it becomes your way of living. Yoga means union, and here we are.