About me, Cédric

Hi, I am Cédric. I am a yoga and meditation instructor based in Copenhagen, Denmark, teaching classes, privates, special events, workshops, and retreats and I have been the proud owner of HeartWise since 2017.

To me, Yoga is more than a good stretch or a nice work out. Yoga is also a way to get to know ourselves and live a more fulfilling, conscious life at the physical, emotional, and spiritual levels. It is a pretty awesome practice, and it is what I am passionate about sharing with you.

In the following, you can read more about my background and how I teach.

My early years

I grew up in Southern France, dreaming of traveling the world, meeting all kinds of people, and feeling at home everywhere. As a kid I was always interested in the big life questions, e.g. what connects us to each other and where we truly come from. I loved spending time in nature, in my own imaginary world, and at my parents’ local fish shop. There, I learned to be curious and open about others, and I started developing a passion for people, listening to their personal stories from time to time.

With years, I also developed a fascination for travels and foreign languages. I ended moving to four different countries, feeling home in many cities, and getting friends from all over the globe. I got more and more curious about people and how they approached life independent of where or how they lived, worked or studied. I was excited, but I could feel there was something more to explore than what just met the eye.

I studied some more and engaged in research in the social sciences, labor and immigration studies, to dive deeper into and understand why people in different places and in different groups think and behave differently. Yet, something was still missing. Despite my studies and travels, I was still longing to know the inner, more intimate dimension of people’s inner world, and I realized that the necessary condition was to get to know my very own. I met yoga, and yoga showed me an effective way to do just that.

Meeting Yoga for the first time

I had practiced yoga occasionally for a couple of years. I enjoyed it and felt there was something there, yet I still could not open to its full potential. In 2012, my PhD got me to move to San Francisco and even more specifically right across a yoga studio called “Yoga Kula,” which would become my second home. I started to practice nearly daily and had the blessing to meet some amazing teachers. Something significant shifted in me: I slowly awakened to the holistic aspect of yoga, its rooting in ancient wisdom and its use of the body as a powerful doorway to the inner realms.

Not only did yoga make me feel stronger and healthier in my body, but it also enabled me to touch some inner depths that not even regular psychotherapy had accessed before. I became more curious about what my teachers called ”the heart;” the invisible place within that longs to become touched and open… by ourselves. The asanas started to help me contact, even for just a glimpse, the depths of my own heart in each class. One day, as I laid down for savasana at the end of the class, I suddenly sobbed for no apparent reason. I simply allowed the process, and at the end I felt open and free as I had never experienced before. I knew yoga could teach me something important. I officially embarked on the yogic path of transformation. A couple of months later back in Denmark, I joined my first yoga teacher training and a few more months down the line I started teaching.

How I teach

Now with app. 700 hours of training under my belt, along with my PhD, a training in body-oriented psychotherapy (Hakomi method) and continuous body-mind-heart explorations, I am a fully dedicated teacher and offer yoga classes, workshops and trainings, and 1:1 sessions. I always offer a strong focus on alignment as well as a larger perspective on how yoga can benefit us “off the mat” and beyond the physical aspect. A priority for me is to create a safe space where it is easy and fun to explore and expand your edges, if you choose to do so, at all levels.

I am fascinated by the interconnectedness between body, mind and heart. Besides yoga, I offer meditation courses, events, as well as life coaching. Whether offering yoga, meditation or coaching, my work is informed by the cross-path of various healing modalities and practices including anatomy, therapeutics, mindfulness, philosophy, poetry, dance, and body-centered psychotherapy.

I have trained and certified in alignment-based and heart-centered yoga methods (i.e. Anusara and Ashaya Yoga), which all combine state-of-the-art anatomy, biomechanics and therapeutics with ancient, empowering, easy-to-relate philosophy. I have also studied and practiced meditation since 2012; something I am also passionate about teaching and typically include in every class. I now would like to explain in greater details two key aspects of my teaching style: alignment and heart centering.

Clear body-alignment

The purpose of good alignment is to ensure safety in all poses and help the body come back to its optimal posture, based on the natural anatomy of the spine and the main joints. A good and safe body alignment is also therapeutic as it can help heal previous injuries and prevent common discomforts and physical pain. If you allow me, I work with suggestive, supportive hands-on adjustments to bring more power and comfort in your practice.

Although I have taught and trained people in general or so-called ”universal” principles of alignment, my deepest intention is to empower you to become more physically aware and better able to discern the most appropriate adjustments from within. There are many different body types, and I believe we all are here on this planet to get to know who we truly are, also at a physical level.

Heart-centered space

Another intention I have is creating a mindful, reflective space conducive of inner inquiry and exploration. What ancient teachings call the heart can be described as the subtle, not directly visible part of ourselves that connects us to both our inner wisdom and to something greater than the limited confinement of our minds.

Heart-centered yoga, or when we let our practice inspire our life off the mat and beyond the purely physical level is a powerful tool for personal and spiritual transformation. My ambition is to offer an entrance into the heart in each class, event or session I facilitate.

I cannot wait to meet you or see you again.

Warmly,

Cédric

Contact:

cedric@heartwiseyoga.com

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