Dear Gina, dear Terry, great that you found time to answer a few questions for us. Together you are the founders of “Pop Up Yoga” in Munich.
We at OGNX find the “Pop Up Yoga” concept super exciting. Please explain to our readers what exactly this is about and, above all, where you practice yoga:
Terry: Our idea is to bring yoga out of the studios and into all the cool places our great city has to offer, indoors and outdoors. Museums, galleries, showrooms, roof terraces – yoga goes everywhere. Here we use the different atmosphere at each location to experience a unique yoga class together. We want to move away from the “rather serious” yoga studio atmosphere, for us it's about a nice shared experience, about having fun and about making yoga a little more tangible for everyone.
Gina: We're also trying to create a yoga community, so to speak, because we see Munich as an anonymous city. Even in yoga studios it is often difficult to make friends. Although we all have such a beautiful topic in common - YOGA. That's why we usually motivate you to briefly introduce yourself left and right before or after the lesson. This is very well received by our yogis and it's really great to see more familiar faces every time.
How did you come up with the idea of bringing yoga from the studio to the city?
Gina: I first heard about Pop Up Yoga while visiting a yoga friend in Zurich. The Swiss were probably a bit ahead of us. I couldn't get the idea of bringing this exciting concept to us in Munich out of my head. “I can do yoga – you can do events” - so Terry, who plans events full-time, came into play and the idea took shape. Following the motto “Let’s just see what happens” we then started writing to various locations in Munich. The fact that our very first event at Villa Stuck was fully booked within a very short time and that our idea was so well received by so many people in Munich - we really didn't expect that at the time and we're really happy about it!
Gina, you once mentioned in a conversation that you wanted to combine art and yoga with your actions. What do you see as the major interfaces between these two areas and what fascinates you about the connection?
Gina: Every person experiences art differently - has different emotions when they stand in front of a picture, interprets it for themselves according to their history, experience and mood. It's exactly the same with yoga. Every yogi who stands on the mat comes with their own story and shapes and feels the class for themselves the way they feel. Some consciously, some still unconsciously. In addition, the atmosphere in galleries and museums is always something very special - calm, interesting and somehow relaxing. That fits perfectly, right?
Have you noticed that your actions have brought people to yoga who previously showed little interest in yoga?
Terry Answer: Absolutely. Above all, we are pleased that we can also get some men excited about yoga, which is still very much dominated by women. It happens again and again that someone comes to us after an hour and says that they have always wanted to try yoga (or their friend wanted them to come along), but somehow it never worked out. For us, especially at outdoor events, the inhibition threshold is apparently much lower. Maybe the lack of a door with the word yoga studio is one reason for this... Especially if you've never done yoga before, you might be worried about embarrassing yourself and only being surrounded by "professionals" in the yoga studio. At our outdoor events you can come and go and you don't have to pay anything if you don't have fun. But as far as we know, no one has ever left
Gina: And it's really great to see what a colorful mix comes together at our classes - old & young, male & female, yoga newbie or ambitious yogi - everyone is welcome. This is made possible by the special – perhaps somewhat unconventional – yoga style of our classes: Strala Yoga comes from Tara Stiles in New York. It is a very fluid yoga that is about trying out a lot yourself, what feels right and what feels wrong and having fun while doing it. Every body is different and there is always a suitable option - easier or more challenging - for everyone, which is why basically everyone can take part.
To stay on topic, how did you actually get into yoga?
Gina: I first came into contact with yoga through my father when I was 14 years old and took my first lessons in classic Hatha yoga. When I was 15, I started meditating more and gave up physical yoga for a while. At this time I found more for myself in the meditation experience. In my early 20s, the desire for yoga came back – and very intensely. I have taken my meditation experience with me into yoga and enjoy the great feeling of feeling the movement in the body and connecting with yourself in a different way through breath and movement.
Terry: At POP UP YOGA I am a little more the organizational part than the “yogic” part. But that doesn't make me any less of a yoga fan. For me personally, yoga is especially great as a balance to daily exercise. I love working out and relaxing with yoga, feeling what movement is good for my body and stretching intensively. What also fascinates me about yoga is how different it can be depending on the style and teacher - from almost artistic to spiritual. So everyone can find “their” personal yoga. As you can see, we are both very different in this respect and that is precisely why we can complement each other so well in our POP UP YOGA project.
What does it look like in the future? Do you already have a hot iron in the fire for a new event or is everything still top secret?
Gina: Oh yes, we have some plans for the fall and winter :) For example, we can continue our very popular lessons at Villa Stuck. There will also be one-off good morning hours at the Hard Rock Café in October. We've also planned a very special lesson with Patrick Broome, which isn't about the location, but about something else special... and maybe we'll have our own little yoga studio over the winter... you'll see - it definitely will not boring on the POP UP YOGA front
That sounds exciting. How can interested parties find out about your campaigns?
Terry: Mainly through Facebook. We have had a “LIKE page” there since March and are really happy that it has already become a large community with lots of great yogis. At POP UP YOGA MUNICH you can find all of our events and photos and you can always write to us if you have any questions. In addition, there is an email newsletter for all non-Facebook users through which we communicate the planned events.
Thank you both. We wish you a lot of success and we will definitely see you on the mat at one of your next “POP UP Yoga” sessions.
Contact Gina Pup Up Yoga: http://www.yoga-mit-gina.de
All further information on Facebook .