Teachers

Each journey is unique, and the same goes for the yogic journeys our teachers have been on since their first encounter with this practice. Find out more about the women and men that stand at the forefront of our Online Yoga Studio.

Sjoerd Dragtsma

After a flirt with yoga in his twenties, it were the Shamanic traditions from the Amazon that led Sjoerd back to the path of yoga in 2014. This time he was naturally and inevitably drawn into the yogic fire. These sacred plant traditions Sjoerd experienced offered him profound glimpses about the meaning of Life and how we are conditioned to limit ourselves because of the evolutionary need to stay ‘safe and secure’. More insight and embodiment came when he underwent a 500-hour ‘Delight Yoga Teacher Training’ with Katiza Satya Ivulic and Kevin Sahaj in 2016-2018.

Sjoerd’s classes are also influenced by his shamanic path and have an emphasis on the meditative and healing aspects of yoga.

He invites everyone to give space to whatever arises. And to lovingly witness these energy’s and start seeing them for what they truly are, just by simply ‘be’.

Roos Metje Smit

Roos’ yogic journey started a couple of years ago when she felt a strong urge to ground herself. To discover ways to be in the moment entirely and to find harmony in all her ways of ‘being’.  Roos knows; you can be Woke & Wild, and one does not rule out the other. A vision that Roos gladly illustrates during her classes. Her focus lays on opening up, letting go and empowering. Although she puts a strong emphasis on female energy, her classes aren’t less suitable for men. However, one thing’s for sure: Roos believes that in order to be awake, you need to have an open heart. When she’s off the mat, you can find Roos in a boulder hall, dancing in her room or twirling around a hoop in a parc. She loves (vegan) cooking and finds her peace behind rattling pots and pans. Potluck picnic anyone?

Chris Hettinga

Chris’ yogic journey kicked-off when he started working as a personal trainer and yoga teacher, right after his studies ‘Sports & Exercising, Lifestyle & Health’.  His deep dive consisted of a 200-hour Vinyasa – Ashtanga Teacher Program he underwent in Mandali and a comprehensive course in personal training. His fascination for movement and innovative ways to approach it in daily life, ignited his in-depth search for more knowledge and broader skills. A passion that has been refuelled and replenished every since he graduated. He is constantly on the hunt for ‘out of the box’ methods to enrich the body and loves to enroll in workshops and courses that focus on new or different ways of physical empowerment. His teaching style is characterized by his signature way of approaching the physique, which is derived from his own need to be in motion as often as possible. Feeling good in your body while having respect for its anatomy is Chris’ philosophy’s primary value.

Yessica Ypma

‘Making the world a better place’.  After years of studying and backpacking trips, this became Yessica’s primary objective. Idealistic as she was, she was unapologetically ambitious during that mission. Electrified and euphoric about her dream, she embarked on a journey as part of a team within a big Development Association. It did not fill her heart in the way Yessica hoped though. Movement, sports, and health have always played a leading role in her life. It was at that particular stage that Yessica began to question whether these could only be ‘life’s pleasures”. Could they form the basis too? Questions that led her back to her base, the beginning. One that entails yoga, movement, and health as a starting point. Three factors that have brought her balance, and on top of that utter joy and happiness and much more. A form of awareness she happily shares with anyone she encounters.

Tash Richards

‘Remember to ‘Dwell in the possibility.’ After starting yoga as a healing practice, Tash quickly became inspired by the potential for play within yoga and space for self expression. She found inspiration in wonderful teachers in London, focusing on embodied movement and slowing down and completed her teaching training two years ago through Frog Lotus International and her London studio, Stretch. Her classes follow fluid natural lines and have a dance like quality. Encouraging students to really feel into their own bodies, listen to their own energy and find their own space to explore, whether that’s taking that extra arm balance, or having a long roll around on the floor. She believes yoga is a space for connection not only to yourself but to everyone around you, finding that space not only for movement but for understanding. Fusing her natural love of creativity and her passion for yoga Tash also runs day retreats incorporating both Yoga and Ceramics, and Yoga and Floristry, bringing together like minded curious ones to explore as one.‘

Emily Ledeboer

Emily’s go-getting personality goes hand in hand with her enthusiasm and curiosity. She was introduced to Bikram Yoga at the age of 16. During her studies for Economics Degree, she pursued a teacher’s training in New York. It was there and then that she discovered what depth truly meant and experienced how all aspects of life are connected. To Emily, doing what makes you truly happy follows a conscious lifestyle with conscious choices. Choices that help you to stay on your path and not someone else’s. She loves to combine the conscious yogic lifestyle with the faster pace of the ‘Amsterdam experience’ and her teaching is characterized by a combined flow of depth and lightness. She hands her students tools to stay in the “now” instead of being led by the endless stream of thoughts. Also, never afraid of a good challenge, she loves to take them by the hand and let them explore their boundaries.

Kim van der Veer

Kim began her growth journey in 2013. She now shares a life with Jochem and her daughter Miki, exploring motherhood through her mantra: ’the only thing that matters is Love.’  While her search for balance is an ongoing practice, her focus lays on prioritizing the power that lies within her, to sculpt her world and purpose, one conscious movement and decision at a time.

As a former lawyer, Kim quickly learned that the way to her heart was through nourishment of her physical, mental, and emotional body. As a joyous dreamer, Kim’s purpose of helping others discover the healing qualities of yoga and Ayurveda has been a critical direction-giver in her practice. Gingerly illustrating the clarity and calmness, a practice can boast in order to live a truly fulfilled life.

It took Kim years to truly grasp what her practice could mean as a way of life support, and she has been searching for tools to convey the beautiful ancient wisdom that stems from the mindfulness traditions to translate them in a language that speaks to everyone from that moment on.

Jonathan Craig

Jonathan loves to live to move and moves to live and has been fascinated by movement and mobility for as long as he can remember. He takes tremendous pleasure in exploring the boundaries of body and mind while helping others do so too. Jonathan first encountered the craft of martial arts at the tender age of ten and has been captivated by this fierce practice ever since. As a ‘Movement practitioner’ Jonathan fuels his energetic practice with disciplines like calisthenics, gymnastics,  capoeira, free flow, and yoga. All inspiration grateful passed along through his work as a strength and conditioning coach.

With a history of chronic pain issues, Jonathan has embraced movement and mindfulness as a source of healing and fulfillment and ongoing factor in his life. As a personal trainer, he tries to convey his infectious spirit to others, focussing on posture correction, mobility, and skill development.

With over 20 years of experience and an impetuous passion for anything that involves the balance and interconnection between body and mind, needless to say, that Jonathan is a luminous addition to our studio.

Charlotte de Beaumont

Charlotte started dancing at the age of 3 and has always been captivated by movement and the link in between the awareness of the physical body and the mind. After travelling to Bali she found a more profound layer to yoga and to life. For her yoga is the path of bringing out your inner light. Every time you’re on the mat could be an invitation to explore, to share, to create and to learn. She discovered that everyone has his own path and thanks to her dancing career she learned that each person and each body is unique.

Charlotte loves sometimes to just sit still and do absolutely nothing. How good it can make you feel to take a step back and to listen and feel. Listening to your heart, your body and your intuition: to ‘just be’. The real beauty lies in the simplicity. Truly trusting in the power of a smile.

From her younger years Charlotte has always been fascinated by the moon, she believes that there is a balance to everything in life. Her daily practice is to balance the solar and the lunar energy and to find the connection in between them and the world around us.