Besides loving yoga I love nature and teaching about a healthy lifestyle. I strongly feel that living in harmony with all of the creation supports our well-being as a human community and our personal growth. Therefore, I host workshops and retreats where you are invited to escape your daily list of chores to go visit new places, meet new people, learn about foreign cultures, and most of all, dedicate time to your yoga practice.
Manja Herlt Podratz, DNM, Ph.D., E-RYT 200, teaches Vinyasa, Ashtanga, and Yin Yoga. She is a Board-Certified Doctor of Natural Medicine, best-selling author, and retreat leader.
As a six-year-old girl, she started receiving the first instructions in Hatha yoga from her father, who also introduced her to relaxation techniques such as autogenic training. From 1998 to 2006, she practiced Kundalini and Prenatal yoga in Berlin with different teachers, and Hatha and Kundalini Yoga in the tradition of Swami Sivananda with Yoga Vidya in Germany. Manja came to the United States in 2008 and received her 200-hour teacher training in 2014/15 from Shanti Warrior Living Yoga School in Mobile, AL under guidance of Tracey Narayani Glover.
Manja holds a Doctorate and Ph.D. in Natural Medicine from Quantum University and works as a Double Board-Certified Holistic Health Coach (ANMA, AADP) and Brain Health Coach (Amen Clinics Certified). She is certified as Life Coach, Hypnotherapist, and Master Reiki Teacher. Manja helps her clients to heal trauma, anxiety, depression, and overcome limiting beliefs on a physical, emotional, and mental level. Manja works bilingual in English and German, she is certified as a translator, and frequently serves as medical, legal, and sports interpreter.
Before committing her life’s work to natural medicine, Manja received her Bachelor degree of Arts Management and Cultural Studies at the University of Applied Sciences in Potsdam (Germany) and her Ph.D. in Theory of Architecture and Media Studies at the Brandenburg University of Technology in Cottbus (Germany). She taught at college level for 11 years in Germany, Italy, and the United States, and published several academic books and articles both in English and German during this time.
In 1999 she got diagnosed with uterine cancer, a shocking diagnosis which caused her to completely change her diet and lifestyle. Manja lived raw food vegan for two years and savors a yogic diet ever since. Today she is the mother of three wonderful children, born naturally at home, and the author of “Das Leben kennt den Weg” – a guidebook about natural pregnancy and childbirth as well as vegan nutrition during pregnancy, currently being translated into English.
http://yogawithmanja.com/healing-from-cancer
In 2001 a sports accident caused fractures of three vertebrae, which after long months of healing brought her back to a more intense yoga practice. http://yogawithmanja.com/healing-from-spinal-injury
Her motto in life is:
If you’ve been given much, it is your responsibility to give much back and serve yourself, your family, and your community for the highest good of all.