Today we’d like to introduce you to Tim Feldmann.
Tim, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I used to work in the arts. I worked as a professional dancer and then choreographer for 15-20 years. Born in Denmark, I moved to Holland where I received formal training in Choreography. I had a major accident in ’92, falling off a mountain ridge in Venezuela, which changed the direction in my life in many ways. I began focusing more on creating dance and stumbled over yoga as part of rehabilitating body. Over the next 10 years, my interest priorities shifted from dance and art to yoga and spirituality. In the early 00’s, I went through a divorce and a few years later met my a woman from Miami Beach, Kino MacGregor, with whom I am now married. We moved to South Beach in 2005 and opened a yoga school, Miami Life Center, the year after, focusing on the kind of yoga we had learned during our Ashtanga yoga studies in South India. Now, more than 11 years later, we have a thriving, healing and inspired community of dedicated practitioners of all levels, showing up on their mat every day of the week, and at these are time we travel around the US and the world teaching what we have been taught by our teachers Sri K. Pattabhi Jois and R. Sharath Jois.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Well, as I mentioned, I almost lost my life in 1992. I miraculously survived a fall equal to falling 6-7 stories from a building. Equally miraculously, I did not lose my thirst for exploring or my ability to move my body, yet it took me 2 years and several minor surgeries to function again. Since then, keeping my body healthy and strong has been the main part of my daily routine, a physical necessity and discipline I cannot afford to get lazy about if I want to live pain-free, practice advanced yoga postures and be of any the of inspiration to my community. Furthermore, in 2005 the Miami yoga community was in an early upstart and we ran into a mindset which had little information and a fair bit of attitude.
Many who came through our doors in those first years considered yoga something everyone knows intuitively, hence, an instruction not really needed. It’s kind of comical, but we were struggling to make some students accept that yoga had to be learned. Others refused to pay for classes as they considered yoga ‘everyone’s property’ and got very angry with us for inviting they had to pay for joining. At this time, we had a growing group of committed students who were on fire and really wanted to learn, which made waking up at 4 am every day to teach a privilege and joy. These days, running a small yoga shala in the middle of South Beach (we are situated on 6th Street) is always a struggle but so far we have been able to find a balance between making sure we provide a top nudge level of service to our students, maintain a healthy financial business model while staying true to an authentic spirit of yoga.
Miami Life Center – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
From day 1, we at Miami Life Center have been committed to teaching yoga the way we are taught by our teachers in India and as yoga has been taught for centuries. we have never had any doubt about what our mission is – we have full faith in yoga’s ability to help, heal and strengthen the body, mind, and spirit of anyone who walks through our doors. We have seen it again and again, we have experienced it on our bodies, in our own lives, and that is what we do. The commitment and trust are built over years of practice with the very top teachers in the US as well as yearly study trips to India. I believe we have the most well-educated teaching staff in Miami and even in most part of the world. It has a lot to do with the fact that we focus on one type of classic yoga, Ashtanga Yoga. we find that by focussing on one method we avoid knowing a little bit about everything and know ing nothing in depth. Instead, we have built expertise and craftsmanship about one classical, a time-tested and central method of yoga and the benefits that are available to everyone practicing it. We call ourselves a yoga school, not a yoga studio, of that same reason and because we offer yoga teachings on every level from complete beginner to the most advanced, which is why students from all over the world seek us out, travels to study with us.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
It’s been a great joy for me, personally, to reinvent my life and start a new on South Beach with my wife, Kino and all our awesome teachers at MLC. It’s been a long way from traveling the world as a Copenhagen based choreographer to a small business owner and international yoga teacher. It’s been a steep learning curve but once I have had as much joy pursuing as it’s been hard work. I suppose I’d do it all again, I’ve learned so very much along the way and met so many new people, some of whom has become dear and close friends. My new life in Miami gives me tremendous joy.
Contact Info:
- Address: Miami Life Center, 736 Sixth Street, Miami Beach FL 33136
- Website: www.miamilifecenter.com
- Phone: 305-534-8988
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/miamilifecenter
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/MiamiLifeCenter
Image Credit:
Agathe Padovani, Astrud Angarita
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