Hi, my name is Marisa. I am a Hatha yoga teacher specialized in prenatal and postnatal yoga. I am passionate about accompanying future and new mums on their journey from pregnancy to motherhood with yoga.

I am the mum of little Félix who was born in March 2018. Originally from Austria, I have been calling Geneva, Switzerland, my home for the last 8 years.

My yoga journey

My encounter with yoga was not love at first sight. When I was living in Vienna in the early 2000s, I tried one of those mass yoga classes at the gym. The experience was so unpleasant that it took me several years before I was ready to give it another try.

When I arrived in Geneva in 2016, I discovered an approach to yoga that is holistic, respectful of each individual’s capacities and constraints, free from competition, and informed by solid anatomical knowledge and modern biomechanics, all the while staying true to original texts and teachings. I also realized that yoga is so much more than just physical exercise or something you do once a week on a yoga mat. It’s a lens through which I see the world. It’s a way of life.

After practising yoga for several years, I realized I wanted more: deeper knowledge about postures (asanas), more insights into ethical values, philosophical and spiritual teachings of yoga. So, in 2016, I started my 300-hour Hatha Yoga teacher training with 100% Yoga in Geneva, Switzerland.

I had almost completed the training when I got pregnant. I decided to seize this once (or so) in a lifetime opportunity to pursue a prenatal and postnatal yoga teacher training while experiencing pregnancy, birth and post-partum myself. The training built on the approach of renowned French medical doctor and yoga teacher Dr. Bernadette de Gasquet, combining modern medical knowledge with traditional wisdom about pregnancy and giving birth. I also started teaching prenatal yoga to other pregnant women: what a wonderful, enriching experience!

My Qualifications

Prenatal and Postnatal Yoga
Hatha Yoga Teacher Training (300 hours)

My personal motivation

In March 2018, I gave birth to the most beautiful baby boy the world has ever seen (of course, right?). What a life-altering, humbling experience (you can read my birth story here). Being a mum is both exhausting and exhilarating at the same time. Life will never be the same. Nothing prepared me for this hurricane of emotions (and hormones), the unconditional love I feel for this little human being. This is it. It all makes sense.

To witness the birth of a child is our best opportunity to experience the meaning of the word miracle.
Paul Carvel