When I settled on the island, rumours got around that there was a fantastic yoga instructor in the harbor. After my previous experiences with yoga, I had no desire to look into taking a class. One day I saw a red Citroën 2CV, and a petite woman behind the wheel, who someone pointed out as teaching an aerial yoga class. This duo – a red, beautiful old car with a young, smiling girl – made a huge impression on me.

On March 23, 2023, I wrote Ana a message. She invited me to the class, even though it was not the beginning of the cycle – I was coming as a beginner to a group of nine other women. From the first, to the last minute, I felt taken care of. Even though she didn’t point me out and being suspended in a sling, it was difficult to have direct contact with the exercisers, I felt her care. The eye contact, the smile, the body language (I didn’t understand much, even when she switched from Portuguese to English), it was all enough to make me feel safe. In the very first class, with Ana’s help, I managed to do the inverted position (I hung in the sling with my head down).

Maybe it’s strange, but I was happy that I didn’t understand anything. I didn’t even try to focus on the words. I listened to the sounds of her verbal message like music. Ana’s voice sounds beautiful and calm (a tremendous resource). Her body in the sling took poses, like the most professional ballerina in the pack. The fingers and toes, the long neck, even the gaze – everything was the finishing touch to the dance phrase that Ana’s yoga was becoming. Relaxation music was quietly oozing from an invisible speaker, and a pleasant fragrance was spreading through the room. Everything was coherent in sensory terms: the sounds, the smells, the tactile sensations in the luxuriantly textured material, and the sight of Ana reflected in a huge mirror. After each class we were given tiny cups of hot tea in our hands, personally prepared by the instructor (often based on what she picked in the garden, e.g. mint, chamomile).

After the vacations, outdoor yoga classes began. We would lay out our mats in the park, or right by the ocean, on the boards of a friendly pub closed in the off-season. Imagine: you lie down on your mat during the day, practice at sunset and after relaxing, you open your eyes and the stars hang above you. And all this accompanied by the melody of the ocean, or the singing of birds in the park. Ana selects music with extreme care. As a musician, I am extremely sensitive, not to write “touchy” about it, and at every class I am pleasantly surprised by her choice of repertoire. I thought I would miss rocking in a suspended sling, but Ana can surprise and even classes on the mat become a unique experience. As you relax, she makes you smell pleasant smells and your head gets rid of tension (I won’t reveal more, it’s her unique style of taking care of each of us).

I’ll admit that at least a few times before she served the tea, I wiped away tears. They were never tears of impotence, of pain. They are always accompanied by great emotion at the time. I can’t put into words the gratitude I am filled with after every meeting with Ana.

Occasionally Ana invites us to a yoga & brunch. Then, in addition to the traditional tea, she has delicacies prepared for us on our own. Plates overflowing with colorful vegetables and fruits, baskets of homemade bread and bottles full of soft drinks appear on the table. Everything healthy, tasty and interesting. We look forward to these occasions and then even our partners come, because no one can resist this temptation to feast.

On March 23, 2025, it will be two years since I know that “when the student is ready – the teacher appears.” I began to understand the words spoken by Ana. At first I recognized single phrases, and recently even whole sentences. What she says at the beginning and end of the session has caused me to no longer retract my hand when an ant enters it. I don’t get off the mat when I feel raindrops. More and more I feel oneness with what surrounds me. I am where I am meant to be and as I am meant to be. Without expectations or a sense of time. With an open head and heart.

I am grateful that life crossed our paths and we can enjoy the moment of meeting. May it last as long as possible.

HERE YOU WILL FIND INFORMATION ABOUT ANA

Ps. if you want to meet us together on the island – there will be such an opportunity: Ana invited me to co-create one of the weekends of FOOD&YOGA, which will take place May 1-4, 2025. HERE YOU WILL FIND MORE INFORMATION