Morocco - Yoga Teacher

Laila Sell

Hello! My name is Laila, I was born in Germany and am half Moroccan.
From very early childhood I lived in many different countries. Raised in a creative environment, I dedicated myself to an artistic career. I studied Fine Arts and it was while I was a student that I fell in love with yoga. That was over 12 years ago...

The first tradition I originally started in and trained as a teacher, is Iyengar Yoga, which I studied for 3 years. I remember being quite surprised in the very first few classes how the subject was approached in an almost scientific way. I learned how body posture affects the mind and was amazed to discover the changes that happen through alignment and steadiness and being able to concentrate better and accessing unexpected resources of energy. There was this whole new world unfolding in front of me and soon I started travelling to India to find out more.

With an open curiosity I had the chance to meet different teachers and lived in various Ashrams all over India.

In the first years of travelling I also became a practitioner of Ayurvedic Massage as I have a keen interest in healing and well being. In parallel to that I also trained also over many years in Odissi classical Indian dance. It's a sacred art that demands high body awareness and develops focus and attention as well as grace and coordination. (see the photo above)

There was a time when I suffered from chronic lower back pain and this happened to be a true teacher for me as it led me to take up a regular yoga practice and I learned how to heal myself through yoga therapy.

In the interest of broadening my perspective I also explored other practices such as and Chi Gong and Tai Chi. I also found inspiration in many different types of yoga, in particular teachers that worked with Vanda Scaravelli.

Over the last 4 years I have taught yoga in India and gained experience from meeting peoples from very different backgrounds on this path.
I like to help students to listen to their own body more and share tools that can help to free oneself from unnecessary tensions that are often held, as well as finding core strength, nourishment and rejuvenation. My classes are process oriented rather than goal-achieving, while also looking for a quality of movement that enhances awareness. Its an invitation to a journey to explore new ways of walking, breathing and being.