Sandra Sinfield-Hain

Whats your yoga style? After decades of yoga practice, particularly in a style which emphasizes good alignment and careful progress, I love encouraging practitioners to have good alignment in their practice. That way the body uses the correct muscles and the risk of injury in more challenging poses is reduced. BKS Iyengar spoke of ‘effortless effort’ in poses – whilst doing a hot 26 &2 practice that may seem hard – but it’s a great goal to have in mind to find a sense of stillness and meditation in a pose, even if it’s balancing on one leg!

Apart from alignment, I try to teach with encouragement, compassion and kindness and often with a dose of humor. Essentially, it’s about teaching from a place of love.

About me: It was in Bahrain where we lived for almost a decade that I got into yoga. It was very random. One day I saw a notice in the local supermarket from someone offering Iyengar yoga classes. I went along and loved it. The teacher was very experienced and over time could guide me through many postures including during pregnancies. Then I began teacher training with her, but after 3 sessions she left to go to Australia (hopefully not to escape from me!). Bahrain being small and without other teachers in that style put an end to that teacher training. I continued practicing other yoga styles and trained in Pilates too.

Here in Luxembourg a yoga teacher got me to go along to what was the precursor to Yoga Loft Tropics. I loved it. For me hot yoga is a great combination of good alignment cues in a consistent sequence, so you can really observe how your body is moving each time you practice, with the added bonus of the heat and the healthy sweat that induces. I have arthritis in my fingers and if I practice yoga in the hot room regularly then I’m completely pain-free. I find that the heat definitely adds something to practicing yoga.

Favorite food: Healthy Asian food with some fresh herbs and spices – coriander, ginger and lemongrass taste so good! Due to my Austrian heritage I also love a good Kaiserschmarrn it’s a unique Austrian dish a bit like fluffy warm bits of pancake with raisins and a splash of rum -  delicious with stewed plums. Not the healthiest, but it hits the spot after a day hiking or skiing in the mountains.

Favorite yoga pose: There are so many it is impossible to choose one: ‘it depends’ is the most honest answer. Sometimes there’s a feeling of comfort in practicing a familiar pose. On a day when you, or another practitioner, gets a breakthrough in a new pose, then that pose might be the favorite. I love the sense of flying in any arm balancing pose – or maybe it’s just delight to have lift off! And shavasana is always wonderful. Viparita karani (legs up the wall pose) or supta baddhakonasa (reclined bound angle pose) are perhaps my go-to restorative ones.