Juraj runs yoga for 1 euro, inspired by his stay in India

Heartnest Retreat is the only one of its kind in Slovakia. Do you remember the moment you decided to start the project?

It all started during my third trip to India. I noticed that there are usually such yoga centers in cities or larger villages that provide free services. They are mostly attended by rich people from the village, or by some companies that sponsor them. That’s why I decided to bring this idea here, to Slovakia. I have long wanted to create a place where you could go for free, without discrimination. And what I experienced in India was a great inspiration for me.

Did your stay in India influence you, what was your last visit like that inspired you?
I have been there three times and the last time I completed a rigorous training. It was there that I understood the difference between how yoga is perceived abroad and how it is there. We practiced four hours a day with a few hours of theory, got up at five in the morning, followed rituals. It was in the city of Rishikesh in the Himalayas, which is considered the place where yoga originated. All this lasted 31 days and it was an amazing experience. It brought us closer as a group and gave me a huge desire to do yoga to the fullest.

Can you also tell me about the people you met during your stay in India? Whether it was the people who studied yoga with you there or the teachers themselves?

Mostly they were people who came from abroad. Statistically, mainly from the richer Western countries, but there were also a lot of Indians. However, many times they were people who did not have the goal of teaching yoga, but wanted to deepen their knowledge and their own practice. Personally, the stay gave me the desire to devote myself to it 24/7 and bring this concept to Slovakia.

How did your experience with yoga or your stay in India specifically impact your personal life?

It definitely made me a more grateful person and I started to appreciate things and everything I have more. I saw the conditions people live in there. Everyone should go on a trip there.

Going back to your beginnings with yoga, where and when did you first encounter it in person?

I first encountered yoga in Slovakia with Fredy Ayisi, who was one of the first yoga teachers in Slovakia. I had been developing this relationship since childhood, until I finally decided to enroll in my first course about five years ago. Since then, I have been building my skills more intensively.

What does yoga mean to you personally and why did you decide to combine it with community work?

When we translate the word “yoga” , it means “connection” . In our country, yoga is often seen as a physical exercise, but in reality it is a complex system of rules for life. I think the most important thing is to have a good community that can support and motivate each other. Yoga is not just about positions, it is about moving, about working on yourself, about relationships. In the future, I would also like to do classes that will be focused on raising money for good causes.

If you look at the difference between yoga in India and ours, what is the difference, whether physically or in the deeper spiritual sense?

I think that the yoga that is practiced in our country is already very influenced by Western ideas about exercise and yoga. In India, it is perceived completely differently, there they consider it hard work. Here it is perceived more as slowing down and returning to oneself. The system is also different. In India, every village or city has its own ashram or Hindu temple, to whose activities rich people contribute and they are very proud of it. However, the activities in this temple are not only about yoga, but people go there to learn to cook, garden, and often volunteers from abroad go there to teach English. Among other things, the temple often gives out free food.

Now that we’ve outlined the differences in yoga practice, how would you describe your class specifically? Do you combine the spiritual dimension in addition to the physical exercise?

I try to incorporate a meditation or breathing practice into every class so that it’s not just about the physical exercise. I also always want to make sure that we don’t start off too hastily and that people who come in don’t start the exercise feeling rushed or out of breath. I want to give them time to slow down a little, take a few breaths, and just sit there quietly for a minute before we start the exercise.

When you started teaching yoga in Bratislava, was there anything that surprised you, either positively or negatively?

I struggled with trusting people for a long time and I found that trust is now a very strong currency that is very difficult to earn. People are wary of new things. It took me a few long months before people started coming to my classes in larger numbers. At first, one or two people would come to my classes. It was demotivating, but gradually it started to take off and now whole groups are coming.

Who actually visits you most often?
They are mainly students and seniors. They often tell me that they couldn’t afford regular yoga classes. I also feel gratitude that we offer classes for one euro. For many, we are their first contact with yoga, as they decided to try it thanks to the price.

You offer yoga symbolically for 1 euro and at the same time you try to make it accessible linguistically. How do you manage to maintain this accessibility not only financially, but also culturally or linguistically?

At the beginning of the year, we felt the need to make yoga in Bratislava accessible to foreigners. We started offering classes in Russian, as many people from Ukraine do not speak Ukrainian. After the summer, we plan to include English classes. It is difficult financially, so far we are at zero.

What are your plans for the future with the project?

At the beginning of August, we launched a collection on Donio.sk to raise funds to open our own studio in September and so that our activities do not cease after the summer. At the same time, I would like to expand the concept, we have been contacted by people from Košice, Žilina, Nitra and the Czech Republic who would like us to bring the concept there as well. We are negotiating a space in Bratislava, specifically in Nová Cvernovka, where we could continue after the summer.