Inspiring Women – Erica Nagy

Interview with Erica Nagy – from passion to profession. Yoga Hub associate, co-founder of Yoga Academy Romania, former real estate broker, account manager.

Describe in a few words your professional journey and what made you focus your attention on the “teaching of liberation” as yoga practice is also known.

I would describe my professional journey as a visit to an amusement park. Like any young person at the beginning of their career, I started this professional journey armed with a series of dreams and goals shaped, to a greater or lesser extent, by a combination of personal desires, parental advice, education, friends, and social context.

At that time, it seemed necessary for me to achieve a high financial income in order to live a fulfilled and happy life. And, to continue the amusement park metaphor, I began exploring the available attractions at that time. All the projects I got involved in before discovering yoga were like a roller coaster ride for me.

I experienced excitement, adrenaline, smiles, or scary moments, and each time I knew that the ride would stop at a certain point, and I had to get off. When I discovered yoga, it was like entering a hall of mirrors, a world that motivated me to look at myself and discover different aspects of myself from multiple angles.

That was the moment I felt that this was the place where I wanted to stay, where I didn’t rush to try something else. And while before, when I was working, I waited for the weekends or vacations to enjoy my life, since I started teaching yoga, I enjoy my life every day, and I don’t feel the need for a vacation or escape.

And today, when I think about the future, in five, ten, twenty years, I see myself on a beach, doing yoga, and enjoying my life.

When did you first encounter yoga, and how did that “meeting” unfold?

Yoga came into my life exactly when I needed it the most. I was working a lot, had a hectic schedule, spent hours bent over a keyboard, and I wasn’t taking care of my body. As a result, I weighed 103 kg, had back pain, and terrible migraines. At that time, a friend recommended me to attend some yoga classes.

During the first yoga classes, I considered this practice as a challenge. I couldn’t clear my mind, I struggled with my physical form to get into the poses, and then I began to discover things about myself: emotions, thoughts, and feelings that I had kept hidden.

I believe that was the turning point when I realized that I felt so good after the yoga classes in the evenings that I decided it should be a permanent form of physical activity in my life.

Three years later, I obtained my first Yoga Teacher Training certification within the course organized by Yoga Academy Romania in Bucharest, in partnership with the Bindusar Yoga Kendra Risikesh school in India.

In early 2017, you went to Goa, India to attend the courses of the Sampoorna Yoga School (for body, mind & soul). What was the experience like during the 300 hours spent in the courses?

The courses at the school in India brought a new depth to my yoga practice and helped me understand yoga at a different level. If during the 200-hour course in Bucharest, I was juggling a professional life in advertising and real estate while also discovering my calling for yoga, when I decided to go to India, I knew that yoga was my vocation, that being a yoga instructor meant more to me than just a profession or a job.

During that month in India, I managed to discover the missing pieces of the puzzle, to discover myself and explore new talents and potentials, to learn new techniques and perspectives, and to refine my personal practice and teaching style.

Have you implemented the knowledge gained at Sampoorna Yoga in your classes, and what has been the feedback from the practitioners?

During the courses in India, I gained versatility in teaching methods and understood how to teach certain techniques in a way that everyone can understand without diving into depths that many do not wish to explore from the beginning, while also providing an opportunity for those who are open to getting to know themselves better.

Experienced practitioners who have been attending my classes for a longer time immediately noticed the change. The most eloquent feedback is when people come and tell me, “I want to go to India too.” In those moments, it is clear to me that they see this change in me, and it is an experience they would like to have. They don’t need to tell me more.

I know that reaching a certain level in yoga practices requires hard work and perseverance. Can you now say that you have nothing more to learn?

I believe that in any profession or field, there is always something new to learn, and there are skills that can be improved over time. During the 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training course, I realized that yoga practice involves a continuous process of learning and development. And that delighted me because I can constantly discover new aspects that theory reveals during practice.

After the 300-hour course in India, where I delved into asanas, anatomy, breathing techniques, and the underlying philosophy, I discovered that every time I am on the mat, I refine my understanding of yoga and how I convey information to the participants in my classes.

I am amazed to find that every “today” builds upon what was “yesterday,” and “now” becomes important and different. However, don’t think that I have discovered the realm of promises where everything is just milk and honey.

Sometimes the present moment is paradise on earth, while other times it is the last struggle before the end of the world because life flows for each of us with its ups and downs. Nevertheless, I have found that the practice of yoga helps me establish a point of balance to which I can relate regarding the things happening in my life.

Considering that there are multiple styles of yoga, is there a specific style that represents you more compared to others?

As you mentioned earlier, yoga practice is the “teaching of liberation,” so what represents me is precisely this process of continuous learning and exploration. However, I can tell you the style of yoga I currently choose for my personal practice, which is Ashtanga and Vinyasa.

These styles are characterized by dynamism and lead you to your depth and the depth of the practice itself. For the classes at the studio, I have chosen to present various styles, from Hatha, Ashtanga, or Vinyasa to Yin Yoga, Restorative Yoga, or Yoga for the back.

This year, I participated in several yoga festivals with the yoga for the back classes, and the feedback has always been extremely positive. I believe we are living in an era of posture problems and back pain, so I recommend anyone who has the opportunity to try yoga to improve their posture.

Ultimately, yoga, regardless of the style, offers the same benefits; only the level of physical demand may vary.

Yoga Hub is the place where you spend a significant part of your day, combining managerial activities with being a yoga instructor. How do you detach yourself from a job that involves the use of intellectual capacity and adopt that mindset of calmness necessary for conducting a yoga class?

This question reminds me of my experience in India, especially with one of my teachers there, Sudhir Rishi, who guided us to detach ourselves from problems and meditate:

“When you have a problem, you stop, detach yourself from the problem, and meditate on that fact.” My reaction was, “Okay, but HOW do I detach myself?

If I have a problem, I am completely consumed by it, and it doesn’t leave me in peace.” His answer was simple: “You just… step outside the problem and meditate.”

I cannot rationally describe the process I learned there under his guidance. I don’t have a logical scheme of steps. However, this art of liberation is achieved over time and through sustained and consistent practice of breathing and meditation techniques.

Therefore, at the studio, it is easy for me to transition from being in front of the laptop to being on the mat because there (on the mat), everything is about me and my relationship with my body, about my students and their needs. At most, I choose a problem for which I intend to find solutions, and I set aside other thoughts.

“Shape your life!” is Yoga Hub’s slogan. What is the concept that defines Yoga Hub?

Our mission, as the Yoga Hub team, is to create a space that becomes a place of rediscovery for every client who walks through our doors, a place where they feel understood, supported, and helped to become the best version of themselves from that moment on. That’s why we have chosen to offer a varied range of classes with diverse yoga styles that address the different needs and desires of our clients.

At Yoga Hub, we strongly believe that yoga practice helps you reconnect with your life. A harmonious life is one that gives you many reasons to smile.

Based on your own experience, tell me, how is yoga perceived in Romania? Are people open to this type of physical exercise?

Fortunately, the practice of yoga has emerged from the stigmatization of previous years and, through increasing influences from the West, where yoga has gained popularity, it is becoming an alternative form of physical exercise, alongside pilates or aerobics.

Moreover, people who practice yoga have realized that it brings an additional benefit, namely reducing daily stress and rediscovering personal values. We live in a fast-paced and online-centered century, so the practice of yoga comes as a moment of respite, where you have the opportunity to be “here and now,” focused on your body and its needs.

A positive thought to both those who practice yoga and those who want to discover the “lifestyle” of yoga.

Yoga, initially, is your moment of tranquility, the oasis you step into once you roll out your mat to start your practice. It is a journey to yourself, with yourself, and about yourself.

No practice is the same as the previous one or the one to follow. At first, you leave your problems outside the practice, and all your focus is on the physical aspect. Slowly, you realize that you can solve those problems during the practice.

Eventually, this person, who has a clearer mind with each practice, this improved version of yourself, can reenter everyday life and fully experience the state obtained in the practice.

The purpose of yoga practice is to bring the best possible version of yourself into the world, without competition and pressure, only with acceptance and love. You don’t have to be a certain type of person to practice yoga, but with each practice, you get closer to the person you want to be, and that is the only aspect that matters.