About

In 2007, I moved further west to Vancouver, Canada. It was love at first sight and Vancouver became home.

I continued to practice yoga on and off. I began to realize that each time I was “off” yoga, after a few months, the pain in my lower back from my scoliosis would return. It was a great reminder to continue with a regular practice.

The physical and spiritual aspects of yoga intrigued me so much that in 2010 I decided to enrol in a teacher training program to learn more and dive deeper into the vast aspects of the practice, philosophy, and lifestyle. At that point, I didn’t even think of teaching, I just wanted to learn more.

While working in various capacities of customer service and corporate sales, my practice of a balanced diet and yoga fuelled my body, mind, and soul to withstand the challenges of high expectations, unpredictable schedules, and travel.

To deepen my knowledge and to follow this passion, I enrolled at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in 2011.

In the same year, my own company, under the name Wholelicious, was born.

2013 was a big year; I decided to leave the hotel industry and fully commit my time to coaching and teaching others how to live a healthy and happy lifestyle. However, my personal situation changed drastically that year which made me question my future.

A few months after I decided to make the big leap to the entrepreneurial life my husband and I decided to separate and get a divorce after being together for 12 years. We were both no longer able to be for each other what we each wished for in a partner and even though we, to this day, remain friends, it was heartbreaking.

Getting used to my new entrepreneurial and single existence, life had something else coming for me.

Another few months later, my brother came to visit me from Zurich and on the 2nd day after his arrival, we went for an incredible hike that ends on the top of The Chief (name of the mountain). While being up there, enjoying the incredible views down the inlets of the Vancouver Coast and taking pictures of us, I felt happy and free. We started our descent and about half way down the mountain, my brother was walking in front of me, he tripped, or that’s what it looked like. Bending over him within seconds, I realized it was not just a fall.

I was screaming for help, which, within minutes, in the most professional, yet for me, spiritual way, arrived. It soon became evident that it didn’t look good and later, we learned that in this instant, he had died of a heart attack…at the age of 36.

How ironic that on the drive up to where we started the hike we talked about how we have cardiovascular disease running in our family from both sides – my dad passed away from a heart attack also at an early age, at 53, my brother and me being teenagers, and my mother just had bi-pass surgery a year prior to my brother’s passing.

The reason I said earlier “professional and spiritual help” is due to the fact that an emergency doctor visiting Vancouver from San Diego, three nurses on their day off and two off-duty rescue workers all happened to be hands on helping within minutes. I later realized they were not there for him. He was taken care of already, they were there for me. To find peace and to know that everything was done that could have been done. They were there so that I didn’t have to live the rest of my life with a guilt that I did or didn’t do something, and that is a blessing and freedom I will always cherish, because guilt can break people.

The following week, I had the most beautiful experiences in that most terrible situation. People, friends, strangers, officials, you name it, made me believe in the kindness of human nature so deeply. It gave me strength, faith and besides the tears, smiles and laugher.

Soon I was back in Switzerland, where I spent the summer just being with my mom.

I probably don’t need to explain that I questioned everything about my future – what, where, how.

Returning to Vancouver, I had the best thing waiting for me. A “job” to dog sit. This was arranged before all of this happened and this little fur-ball named Toby was the best therapist I could have asked for. Funny that Kya, my dog now, four years later, looks very much like Toby (not planned… or maybe it was 😉 )

For the first time in my life, I was not able to work. Work had always been the place I felt at ease and in my element. Now I just couldn’t. I went to yoga, took walks at the beach, spent time with friends. I craved to feel my body, I needed to feel alive, so I did a lot of Yoga. Thank God for yoga and the community I had at the yoga studio there.

For a month, and for what almost ended up a year, I was torn between wanting to be in Vancouver and missing my family and life-long friends in Switzerland. I decided to spend 3 months in Switzerland to check it out – after all, it had been a few years since I lived there.

I organized a retreat and some workshops, got to know the yoga and wellness scene and noticed that there is still much more potential for growth compared to Vancouver.

So later that summer, August 2014, after life had given me quite a few hints, I decided to move back to Switzerland. With mixed feelings I left Vancouver, knowing at that point that I actually don’t need to decide. I can have two homes: Zurich AND Vancouver.

I gave myself time to settle into Zurich, and even though I had commitment issues 😉 with Zurich I noticed how everything just flowed.

Both on a personal and professional level, Zurich has been amazing and full of excitement and curiosity.

I was able to teach, work with clients, organize more retreats and workshops and thrived on being fully immersed in the Yoga and health boom that Zurich was in the middle of.

In 2015 and 2016, I was both hosting retreats in Switzerland and Canada and expanding them to Italy and Spain in 2017, 2018 and 2019. I was also able to teach at festivals in Switzerland and Austria and grow my coaching practice steadily.

Through my own journey, loss, divorce, moving and settling, corporate job vs entrepreneurial life, health ups and downs as well as all my studies, therapies and soul-family time, I feel grounded and rooted. At the same time, I know the only constant in life is change.

I am excited to see what the future has to offer.