A yoga practitioner for 6 years, since 2021 I am a certified yoga and mindfulness teacher by Yoga Alliance International (200 hr with House of Om Bali, 200 hr with Yoga Union Bali, 300 hr with SoHa School Of Healing Arts Bali in progress), who guides people on their journey into a more mindful way of life. This platform is inspired by the yoga, mindfulness, breath-work, and meditation practices that have helped me improve my physical and mental health, well-being, and work-life balance, and I am thrilled to share them with my private and business clients.  

6 years ago, however, things were different. I was just finishing my master’s program in Strategy, Innovation and Management Control at one of Europe’s leading universities, and had a great career in front of me. But I knew something was missing. I started working full-time, and at that time I started practicing yoga, taking a lot of time to read, journaling, travel by myself, and reconnecting to my inner knowing. I thought a lot about what I really want to do in my life, and where I wanted to put in my energy. In the years that followed, I’ve solo travelled around the world to places such as Thailand, Bali, and Greece, to explore my spirituality and different styles of yoga. On these trips I experienced first hand what it means for the universe to have your back, when you are connected to your intuition, and listening to your inner guidance. Synchronicities, meaningful connections, and magic moments were everywhere, if I would only be receptive enough to see them as such. 

Throughout my time working at start-ups and corporates, I often had a side hustle – something that felt connected to my purpose – what I truly came here to do. In 2018 I launched my sustainable fashion blog D Golden Hour, and launched a sustainable t-shirt line. In 2020 “D Sustainability Issue” podcast about mindfulness and sustainable fashion was born. Since then it’s been featured multiple times as top podcast in its category, and has had guests such as Orsola De Castro, Sadhguru, and so many other amazing people. In march 2020 I also co-founded Goodity – an online marketplace for small local businesses we ran as a non-profit. The platform gained hundreds of partners within the first few weeks of its launch. It got the attention of every major media outlet in Austria, including the print version of Die Presse, Kronen Zeitung, TREND Magazin, Miss, and Trending Topics, won the PwC Covid Help Award, and became a member of the Handelsverband Österreich. 

Working on several side-projects alongside my full-time job soon showed me that I only had a limited amount of energy, and again I had to think hard about where I really wanted to put it and what I wanted to contribute to. A lot of self-reflection, journaling, and mindfulness practices later, I knew that all I wanted to do in my life was contribute to people’s health and well-being, help others suffer less, heal physically, emotionally, mentally, and live with joy. This theme had been with me since I could remember myself, but at that moment I was ready to change everything in my life that didn’t align with it anymore. I knew I was ready for a course correction. So I took a leap to go on a one-year sabbatical and pursue my long-time dream of becoming a yoga teacher, something that had been my absolute passion for years at the time. 

The moment I taught my very first yoga class during my yoga teacher training in Greece, I knew that nothing has ever made me more fulfilled. My eyes were shining, my heart was beating fast, my soul was on fire. Three yoga teacher certifications later, I was ready to make a big change – build a soulful business that feels like a mission and a calling about something that I most deeply care about – healing others by spreading the ancient wisdom of yoga combined with the latest findings in scientific mindfulness research. My first ever yoga class was taken in the office of the start-up I worked at at the time, which makes working with companies feel like closing a full circle. 

I am dedicated to making this world a better place one conscious human at a time. 

Thank you for being here. 

Dessie