Sheltered upbringing and a safe, idyllic childhood
I was born and raised in a small village in the west of Germany, as the firstborn of two daughters in my parents’ house.
I grew up during the time before the Internet, when telephones were still attached to the wall and there were only three channels on television.
At that time people in my home village thought very regionally, and not about the wider world: They believed there were the people in the village and strangers “out there.” Very few people I knew travelled — the big tourism boom came much later — and nobody knew about other countries or exotic food. Hearty homemade food and the village environment was what we knew.
Everyone lived similar lives: People lived in similar houses, drove the same cars, had similar kinds of jobs, all keenly looked forward to the shooting festival in summer. This sameness was a glue that held village society together.
A new beginning
Since reading that first book about yoga, I have been practicing yoga and integrating yoga’s philosophy into my life. Yoga has greatly enriched my everyday life. Since my first encounter with it I have also become a vegetarian, and in 2003 I became a vegan.
From yoga I would learn to respect life, to live in peace, to harm no living being, to develop myself spiritually and personally, to stay connected with myself; these precepts have guided me in my life’s path ever since. To constantly develop myself further is my passion, to continually keep my mind open and to adjust to new ways and ideas. Yoga and meditation made me strong from those teenage years forward, and even today always bring me back to the essential.
And then, after this discovery, came the big day when I held my high school diploma in my hand. That was the “open sesame” that opened the door to my new life.
My time in Paris
Then came a second big change in my young life. After I received a scholarship to study at the Sorbonne in Paris, the hectic pace of my life only increased, and I worked harder, and was constantly doing. At the end of a year I became burned out; found I could not get out of bed. An inflammation of the thyroid gland forced me to stop. For the next year, life was very quiet and slow. I only did what was necessary and hardly left my apartment.
But during this unexpected time of quiet, I rediscovered what was important and began again to balance the things I was doing in the outer world with strengthening the feelings of connection and centering within myself. I found myself again. And despite this great peace and ““inactivity” this was one of the most important and active years in my life. So much in my life was directed in a new way during this time.
And I discovered that the calmer I became, the more happened within me. I got to know myself anew. Personal development, meditation, yoga and a healthier diet helped me a lot! I regenerated myself, built up strength and became stable again on every level. And this stability has lasted until today.
And then came a time in my life that seemed like a fairy tale! After this long year of recovery, I got a job in the fashion world. This was the time of supermodels, and I worked as an assistant at Chanel and other world-famous houses. It was a great and glamorous time! But despite the attractions of this dazzling life, I was now so strongly centered that nothing could come between me and my inner balance.
I also saw how many people were attracted to wealth, glamour and glory like moths attracted to a flame that would burn them, in chasing after a false life. I witnessed what happened to people who didn’t develop a strong core for themselves. What happened to models who were celebrated one season and dropped the next because trends changed.
From then on, every experience made me stronger. I moved on from this work, and experienced the start-up boom of the first Internet companies and worked for a global Fortune 100 media company and traveled around the world.
