About us | www.yogaform.be

Nicki Forman-Levitan

Nicki, founder and executive director of Yoga Form, qualified and practiced as an attorney in South Africa. After immigrating to Antwerp, she completed a degree in Dutch, and lectured and studied at the University of Antwerp. Around that time, Nicki began to explore yoga through intense practice and theoretical study. Nicki has been fortunate to learn and practice under various international and local teachers and continues to draw her inspiration from diverse yogic schools and traditions. Through her South African mentor, Swami Kamalavidya Saraswati, Nicki continues to explore the Satyananda yoga tradition and follows the teachings of the Bihar Yoga Bharati. Her teaching style flows from the Vinyasa system as well as incorporating aspects of the Satyananda tradition. Nicki is profoundly inspired and guided by Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa and the teachings of Yogi Bhajan and has studied these teachings and technology in Rishikesh, India with Gurmukh completing her training as a Kundalini Yoga and Meditation Teacher. She is a registered yoga teacher (RYT) of the Yoga Alliance and a certified Kundalini Yoga and Meditation Teacher through Kundalini Research Institute (KRI). Through the creation of Yoga Form, Nicki is privileged to open the door for aspirants on the path of yoga and is actively engaged in building and supporting the local and international yoga community. Through the establishment of YogAspire, Nicki hopes to be actively engaged in local and South African community service. She is currently based in Israel.

Barbara Mullin

Barbara is a certified yoga teacher, professional dancer and dance teacher. She works regularly with Panama Pictues in The Netherlands as well as other freelance dance and theatre projects. She has been practicing various forms of yoga since taking her first classes in Australia, her homeland, in 1993. She continues to expand her practice by regularly attending (international) yoga and meditation classes and retreats. Combining this knowledge with her dance background, Barbara's classes encourage a deeper experience of the energy, space and silence inherent in the body. She aims to teach in an inspiring and challenging way which is relevant to life outside the studio.

Fabienne Huygen

As a child Fabienne found that she was naturally doing yoga postures in which she found a sense of quietness. At eighteen she met her first yoga teacher, who was inspired by Yesudian. It felt like coming home - a space where she could satiate her spiritual hunger. She then followed a teacher training with Alberto Paganini at Soma in Brugge and several intensive yoga trainings in different styles: Oki-yoga, Dru-yoga, Kripalu yoga, Asthanga and Iyengar yoga. In her teachings, Fabienne follows her inner flow inspired by these varied styles. She brings great intercultural experience from all over the world. For 25 years Fabienne has worked as a professional dancer and dance teacher in classical, modern and intuitive dance. She is also a yoga teacher, an enchanting singer, a musician and a skilled massage therapist. Fabienne integrates her experience in Indian temple dancing, Tantra, Tai chi, emotional bodywork and sound healing to go to the very essence of sound and movement, to bring you deeper within and connect to the source.

Ingrid Thys

Ingrid was born in Leuven in 1968 and moved a lot with her parents and sister. Her father, a hard core physicist, had a very open mind towards the wisdom of the energy in the body. Morning exercises, breathing exercises, rocking the body and then feeling the amazing energy became part of her daily live. Her love for children and teaching, motivated Ingrid to become a school teacher. After her degree she decided to travel and to work with children in vacation resorts. From 2001 till 2008 she continued her journey to Switzerland and France and studied manual therapies and Yoga. Ingrid has been teaching yoga since 2006 and returned to Belgium in 2008. As a certified Okido Yoga teacher and with her passion for yoga she loves to experience all kinds of yoga styles to seek her own truth. It’s her wish and invitation towards children to walk on their yoga pad with joy, finding opportunities to grow, learning to hold on and to let go, experiencing how a better physical balance can lead to a better mental and emotional balance and discovering the power of the breath. Practicing yoga is like filling a big bowl of transparent liquid with colored drops; the color in the bowl changes and evolves continuously not knowing what is to come. Ingrid is a shiatsu therapist: “to treat is a present, but stimulating young and old to help themselves with yoga is a blessing”.

Kaushal Kumar Jha

Kaushal was born in a village called Kakwara, very close to the Bihar Yoga Ashram in Munger and Rikhia. He was introduced to yoga by his late father who was a disciple of Swami Satyananda Saraswati. Kaushal was fortunate enough to grow up immersed in the yogic lifestyle, using it as a therapy as well as a means for maintaining all levels of health. With this background, he followed the 4 months residential program in Bihar Yoga Bharati, Munger, specializing in yogic studies. His teaching style stems from his lifetimes exposure to Swami Satyananda Saraswati and is bathed in traditionalism and knowledge as well as channeled by a deeply intuitive guidance. Although he is directed by his Satyananda background, his approach to teaching does embrace various elements of yogic tradition. Kaushal also uses yoga as therapy, enabling the practitioner to combat or cope with medical or other conditions though the vehicle of yoga.

Kristel Rombouts

Music and singing have always been Kristel's natural connection with her feelings, her inner teacher and with ‘that which is beyond all’. In 1999 Kristel followed a three-year course in meditation, visualisation, energy and chakras with Lucien Verkooijen, a spiritual teacher, author and therapist from Oosterwijk, the Netherlands. Kristel was Lucien's intern for one year and it was her intention to continue as a teacher but her plans changed when she became a mother in 2003. Since 2005 she has contributed as a singer to Kristalan meditation music. After years of singing as an entertainer she had the opportunity to sing in a state of meditation and record it professionally with her dear friends Kristien De Winter (trainer HMH and author of several books) and Alain Smits (coach and composer) who have both inspired her on her individual path.

In 2007 Kristel discovered yoga and began practising alone as she was housebound. She was eager to get out for yoga experience but had to practise patience (a huge yoga discipline) as it wasn't until 2009 that she was able to attend classes; finally standing on a yoga mat in front of inspiring teachers. In 2011 she finished her 500 hours of Yoga teacher training with Patrick and Gösta from Svahayoga Amsterdam. She is currently taking the Level 1 Kundalini Yoga teacher training hosted at Yoga Form. Kristel believes that the music, singing, meditation, philosophy and the patience she had to practice are related and come together in her Yoga classes. An education in energetic anatomy is on her agenda for the coming year. An eternal student, Kristel loves to share and connect as she feels that: “we are one! Each one of us contributing with our own uniqueness.”

Kristen MacPherson

Kristen MacPherson (spiritual name, Sat Jot Kaur) teaches yoga in parallel with a career in academic research. Born in the United States, she moved to the UK to complete her MSc and DPhil at the University of Oxford. After working and living in London for several years, she and her husband moved to Brussels. Having practiced Hatha yoga for several years, she attended a Kundalini yoga class in Brussels 5 years ago – and just kept going! She completed training in Brussels and France to become a certified teacher of Kundalini Yoga and Meditation as taught by Yogi Bhajan (issued by Kundalini Research Institute, KRI). Her yogic path also led to training with Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa in NYC to become a teacher of Khalsa Way Pregnancy Yoga (a holistic approach to pregnancy trains the mind and the body for the experience of birth). Kristen also teaches ‘Mama & Baby’ postnatal yoga classes.

Mona Ahmad

Mona Ahmad is an artist and yoga teacher. Her mission in life is to uplift others. She discovered the healing power of yoga, Reiki and painting which allowed her to overcome depression and see a whole new world. She discovered that only by opening up to others can you open up to the pearl within. From her experience she learned that there is no good or bad in life only precious lessons for us to learn from. Open your eyes, smile to yourself and discover the beauty around, starting from within. Slowly you will start noticing how people are changing, they start to smile back at you. Did they change? Or is it you that started to view things differently? This is the magic of Kundalini Yoga, it is the yoga of awareness and unity. When the self doesn't exist anymore and becomes one with the whole, the yoga takes place. Mona invites you to try this sacred science for yourselves as words cannot replace one heartfelt experience.

Nele Van Poucke

If you would have asked her years ago what her passion in life was, the answer would have been shoes and chocolate. Ask that exact question now and without hesitation the answer is Yoga. Nele was educated to be an artist, a painter. That evolved to working in advertising and running from one deadline to another. Looking for a way to relax she discovered yoga, with Elsie Matthijsens as her first teacher. Because yoga made her calm, friendly and happy, she was instantly hooked. Teaching happened accidentally when her teacher needed someone to sub one of her classes. Nele did her training with Shiva Rea in L.A. (Prana flow yoga) and makes it an annual tradition to go back to train with Shiva and indulge in the Californian way of life. Since 2011 Nele has had the priviledge to assist her Mahateacher Shiva on retreats in India and Santorini (Greece). Besides Shiva Rea she unrolled her mat with these well known yogi(ni)'s: Katiza Satya, Anthony 'Prem' Carlisi, Petros Haffenrichter, Rusty Wells, Twee Merrigan (Prana flow), Erich Schiffmann, Gurmukh (Kundalini), Tias and Surya Little and many more.

Her classes are powerful yet calming. With Nele you explore your edge - flexibility, strength and endurance - in a playful way. The timbre of her voice gets you out of your thoughts and tempts you in a soft and meditative way. Her love for yoga is obvious in her classes, where passion, joy and flow invite you to discover your own yogic journey.

Had je enkele jaren geleden naar haar passies geïnformeerd, dan had ze uitgeroepen: schoenen en chocola. Stel je dezelfde vraag nu opnieuw, dan is haar antwoord: YOGA. Nele komt uit de reclamewereld en holde ooit van deadline naar deadline. Op zoek naar een manier om te ontstressen, ontdekte ze yoga via Elsie, toen nog in een overvolle fitnesszaal in Zwijndrecht.

Omdat yoga haar rustig, vriendelijk en gelukkig stemde, was Nele meteen verslaafd. Het lesgeven begon per toeval omdat Elsie haar een keertje vroeg om één van haar lessen over te nemen. Bij Shiva Rea (de Madonna van de yoga) in LA voltooide Nele haar opleiding en inmiddels is een reisje naar Los Angeles een jaarlijkse tradite. Behalve bij Shiva Rea rolde ze haar yogamat uit bij de volgende prominenten: Katiza Satya, Anthony 'Prem' Carlisi (Ashtanga Yoga), Petros Haffenrichter , Rusty Wells, Twee Merrigan (Prana flow), Erich Schiffman, Gurmukh (Kundalini), Tias and Surya Little en vele anderen. Sinds begin 2011 heeft ze het voorrecht gehad om haar Mahateacher Shiva te assisteren tijdens yogaretreats in Indië en Santorini (Griekenland!.

Haar lessen zijn dynamisch maar toch is ze tijdens haar yogalessen de rust zelve. Met Nele van Poucke zoek je je grenzen – op het gebied van lenigheid, kracht en uithoudingsvermogen – al spelenderwijs op. Het timbre van haar stem haalt je uit je gedachten en daagt uit op zachte en meditatieve wijze.
Ravinder Kaur

Ravinder is a certified Kundalini yoga teacher. Her yoga experience started in 2007 after she had a stroke. It literally woke her up. When she recovered she started studying Ayurveda and had her first Kundalini yoga lesson. It was love at first sight. A few months later she started the Level I teacher training program with Gurumarka in Amsterdam. In April 2008 she got her certificate and started teaching immediately. Since then she has led many Kundalini yoga classes, sadhana’s and meditation & pranayama courses. She is finalizing her Level II training program and is assisting Gurumarka in his Level I teacher program. Born and certified as a scientist (PhD nuclear physics) she felt like coming home when she followed a Karam Kriya (numerology) workshop with Shiv Sharan. As a consequence a Karam Kriya training is the next step in her continuing training program. Kundalini yoga is still ‘young’ in Belgium, but growing fast. Ravinder is actively involved in the creation of the Belgian Kundalini Yoga Federation.

Wesley Ann Bassett

Wesley Ann Bassett was born in New York City and raised in Wilder, Vermont. She attended Rollins College, a liberal arts school where she graduated with a major in Sociology and minored in Anthropology. In 1992 she moved back to NYC where she worked for The Walt Disney Company as a Marketing Associate with the Hyperion Publishing house. Five years later she met her husband and moved to Antwerp. In 1999, Wesley’s first exposure to yoga took place during a visit to Santa Fe, where she attended a yoga class given by her sister Ki. The magic happed in the first downward dog – her world literally exploded! Through yoga Wesley began to understand how yoga opens one up allowing for emotional catharsis. Wesley lost her mother when she was 24 and through the help of her sister she learned how to breathe again. The following year she returned to Santa Fe to deepen her practice with Tias and Surya Little, two eminent teachers and founders of the Prajna School. Three years ago Wesley added Yin yoga to her teachings. This is a yogic method of opening our deep connective tissues and learning how to take up residence in our bodies and minds. Wesley has been taught under the guidance of Paul Grilley and Sarah Powers, the founder and crusader of this tradition respectively. Almost 12 years later after that first downward dog, Wesley continues to teach and share her yogic journey with students and friends. She teaches her students that a consistent yoga practice develops coping tools, patience and constructive emotional insight and release. This evolved practice enables us to understand interpersonal relations and encourages us to protect and respect our environment. In doing so, we become more aware of the preciousness of all life and what a miracle this places is we call home. Through Vinyasa-style and Yin classes Wesley shares what she has learned so far, the pure power of movement with breath, to open the senses and to heal the body. She invites you to join her on this path towards healing, awakening and realization.
Lama Nasser

Lama is an Artist, a Pilates and Yoga teacher, a fitness instructor, and a proud mother of three. Movement, music and art had always been an integral part of her childhood growing up. A memorable gift given to her on her 7th Birthday, a professional painter’s set and a ballet outfit, would ignite an already present passion, and later become the essence of her path. Graduating from school, she went on to study Art and Design in London, where the heart of her work revolved around the human body and the beauty and energy in its lines and movement. Her interest in the subject propelled her to take Physiology and Anatomy courses and later became certified in fitness training and nutrition. In 1999 she got married and moved to Antwerp, where she began teaching a wide range of fitness classes in gyms across the city. After starting a family three years later and devoting her time to motherhood, Lama felt the need for balance and calm, and began exploring the world of Pilates. She immediately fell in love with its graceful lines and movement, and its deep mind-body connection. At the same time, her other eye was on Yoga, knowing it was her answer without yet having tried it. And she was instantly proved right. Her first yoga experience, in Thailand, was like the lights had suddenly been switched on and she could finally see. Since then, she has unrolled her yoga mat alongside many renowned yoga teachers through trainings and workshops, always eager for more learning, while also teaching Pilates and pilates based classes. Lama continues to paint and teach, and injects into her various classes the knowledge and wisdom she has learned from each. She is passionate about helping others gain a deep connection and understanding of their own bodies and energies through a creative approach to exercise. Her classes aim to educate, challenge and inspire, while encouraging a deep experience of energy, strength, and inner stillness.