This month we turn the Garden Featured Teacher on Katrin Kuttner. She leads the Yoga Garden SF 300-Hour yoga teacher training, contributes to prenatal yoga education, as well as teaches detailed workshops on incorporating aromatherapy, art and trauma-sensitive applications to yoga practice. She strives to address the unique therapeutic needs of every student and to inspire free expression in teacher trainees, with intent to cultivate energy and courage in her students to go out into the world with a solid foundation. Without further ado, please read on to learn more about this artist and luminary!
After having been traveling nationally and internationally to teach yoga, contributing to teacher trainings and providing yoga therapy, I was asked by the lead teacher trainer at the time, Michelle Myhre, to contribute to Yoga Garden SF’s 200-Hour training program. Soon after I joined the regular schedule with challenging classes and also started an innovative program integrating aromatherapy into flow yoga which has since then continued in popularity. I am known to have taught a “Restorative Level 2” workshop focusing on opening the body for deeper poses. Visualize restorative scorpion pose!
Who is your hero/heroine?
What is your spirit animal?
Monkey probably? It’s my Chinese zodiac.
What’s your finest advice for a new teacher?
Retake the trainings and deepen your knowledge and experience. You learn from repetition, and you will know what specific questions to ask. Over the years I accumulated thousands of hours in training, assisting and apprenticeships.
With core philosophy you get to be creative, innovative and honest. We take on the Bhagavad Gita and not just parts of it. You also learn about history, geography and art – corner stones in truly understanding where yoga originated and why we practice the way we practice today. Highly interactive, every course is fresh with homework tailored to everyone’s special interests and talents. The result of which is that every participant will be able to pick up ancient scriptures without hesitation and express their thoughts on yoga philosophy clearly and concisely from a deeper place of knowing. Both courses make use of my professional training by experts in the field of yoga philosophy and advanced yoga practice as well as my two Master degrees in Fine Arts and Chinese Literature and Art History.
We know you love to travel. How has travel influenced your yoga teachings and why do you think travel is important?
Travel is important and it doesn’t have to take you far. California alone offers a multitude of natural wonders and sacred sites. Culture and Art are one reason to travel as it opens your horizon, inspires, connects and breaks down barriers. Another reason to travel is to be in nature and remember ones connection to the universe. As a nerdy ‘citizen scientist’ I came to realize how yoga scripture was inspired by the observation of nature. Nature strives to be diverse, nature favors everything spherical and the universe loves emptiness (vacuum). In urban environments it’s easy to forget that nature is us versus nature and then there is us.
Anything else you’d like to share?
You come to realize that what makes a Yogini or Yogi is to develop ones attitude through knowledge and action. And that ultimately leads you to uncover your talents and purpose.
My friend, many people would like to know that. You must do what you have learned and receive money for it and clothes and shoes. There is no other way that a pauper can obtain money. What can you do?I can think. I can wait. I can fast. – excerpt from Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
