Meet The Team - Nina Vukas

Do you remember your first yoga class? How did it feel?

It was a while ago, but yes, I still remember it vividly. I was living in London at the time and, following a recommendation from a friend, decided to try yoga. It was 1998 and things were very different - we didn't have yoga studios at every corner, nor many styles to choose from. The closest place to my home was called Sangham, an Ashtanga Yoga Shala in Battersea. It was a self-practice (AKA Mysore) style, so I only did Surya Namaskars that first day, but I remember how good I felt after. That feeling took me back there every day and in many ways chartered my life’s journey.

How long did you practice Ashtanga, and do you ever go back to it today? 

My love affair with Ashtanga lasted quite a while, I practised it exclusively for about five years. After discovering other methods, I still practised it occasionally, even taught it as a base on my first couple of Teacher Training courses. But, once I started to study Anatomy and Ayurveda in more depth, as well as multiple other Yoga methods, I started questioning any set practice. I don’t believe that there is such a thing as one size fits all or in this case one yoga sequence that is beneficial for everyone in all cycles of their life. Today I have the skill to create a sequence that is right for me today. Maybe the same practice will not be great for me tomorrow so I will adjust. I can prepare my own medicine so to say, as I have a deep understanding of the ingredients (asanas, pranayama, mantra, mudra etc), so I don’t need a pre-prepared mix. I hope that makes sense:)

Is that how you came up with the method you call Spanda Vinyasa?

Yes, it was birthed out of this question - how do I create practices which are aligned with what we need at the moment to balance, rather than what we want or what someone else told us we need. But it took a while to call it a method, and of course, it took a while to unfold. It still does; it’s an alive, evolving, flexible thing, like everything else. My passion is to teach my students to understand the ingredients and become the alchemists of their own balance and healing, and of course, to the best of their understanding - of their student's wellbeing.

Did yoga help you overcome life struggles as it often does? Could you give an inspiring example?

Many times. But I think especially when I was diagnosed with Hashimoto thyroiditis as well as burn-out due to low cortisol levels. Up until then, asana was such a big focus of my practice, but when the symptoms started and my body felt broken, I was in pain and tired all the time, I couldn’t do my usual practice, my mind was foggy and out of focus, so I had to dig deeper in the ocean or yogic wisdom as well as science. Yogic philosophy helped me cope with depression which came up due to what was happening, deeper understanding of the physiology of breathing helped me choose Pranayama to manage anxiety attacks I was experiencing, meditation helped sharpen my mind, restorative yoga helped my body heal etc. It was a turning point for both how I practice, and how I teach.

Spanda Institute motto is "Grounded in Tradition, Inspired by Science". Can you elaborate? 

As someone who has attended many workshops and training since I first stepped on a yoga mat, I found that answers to some questions were rather vague, and I didn’t like vague. I always thought that, if we are teaching movement and some pretty complex physical postures, we (yoga teachers) should have an idea of how they affect the body both anatomically and physiologically. If we are teaching Pranayama, we should understand how exactly different breathing patterns affect our nervous system, if we talk about the mind, we should also inquire into what the new findings of biology and psychology, understanding meditation through neuroscience etc. Now more yoga teachers are starting to understand this, but it wasn’t like that 5, 10, 15 years ago.

Our roots will always be where my journey begun - in the deep and wise ground of Yoga and Ayurveda as well as Tantric and Buddhist Tradition. Not everything can be subject to research and statistics, and we often need to seek answers beyond. But, we are also still human beings with the body and mind which often needs balancing and healing and to find how, we need to look into science for inspiration. And when you find those points where they meet, and there are many, it’s amazing.

What is the next step for Spanda Institute?

I am currently building a Spanda Institute Online - an education platform offering a lot of different content - from short lectures about the subject you’re interested in, to yoga classes and Teacher Training courses. We will start with Yoga, so when it launches it might not be as rich, but it will grow into something I see as a space where our students can get a lot of inspiration, ideas and answers. Next year I am also hoping to expand the training to more countries, collaborating with our trainees who did 500-hour TTC with us. We’re also planning to launch a Yoga Therapy program next year, so there is always something in the pipeline for us.

And what is next for you? A studio in Portugal perhaps? 

I had a yoga studio for almost 13 years, and it’s not an easy thing. It has its advantages of course, but I prefer not to be bound by something like a physical space. I am dreaming about opening a retreat centre here, yes, but I might have to wait some years for a big project like that. For now, I am back to being a full-time student, so apart from creating Training courses and perhaps a retreat, I have to focus on my Psychology studies.

Did you think as a little girl that you would be working with body and mind?

I was a shy kid and I loved to draw and create in general so I went to Art school and always thought I will be an artist or a designer. I never saw myself working with people, especially because as a teenager I had social anxiety (which I hid well though). But, life had other plans for me and I am happy it did. I still love art to create, and it’s great I can use that love and those skills in what I do as well. 

I know you have many other interests, cooking, gardening, photography, how do you stay so lively and interested all the time, is there a yogic secret?

I’m just very curious about things and I love to learn and create. I was always like that, even as a child, so I’m not sure it’s a yogic secret, it’s just my character. But, it doesn’t come without a price. I often overdo things, I plan too much and always have too much on my plate. Fining something that interests me and doing comes naturally to me. It is the non-doing and relaxing more I need to work on.

What would be your advice to new teachers? And those already teaching? 

Just stay curious and inquisitive. Knowledge really is power. Explore and don’t be afraid of change. Question things you learn, but don’t judge those which no longer serve you. On this path towards a more liberated life, teachers and people you meet on the path can only light it, but you must walk it alone. Don’t get discouraged and learn how to take a break when when what you do doesn’t bring you joy. Stick to your practice, even when you feel you don’t have time for it. There’s always 10 minutes to do some breathing, meditation, or a few Namaskars. Personal practice is the best source of inspiration.