Photo Annemijn Meijerink Who: Sabine Boerboom (25)
What: yoga teacher
Why: Yoga puts you in touch with yourself
Hourly wage: €5 to €45 per hour, including preparation
You’ve got to make ends meet somehow. We can all borrow from Uncle Duo, but there are also students who earn money in unusual ways. In this series, we put some interesting side jobs in the spotlight. This time we meet Sabine Boerboom (25), a Master’s student of Organic Agriculture, who teaches yoga at Het Yogaschooltje and other venues.
‘I had such severe RSI at one point that I couldn’t even do the dishes anymore! I was in the middle of a stressful period at the time and had gone beyond my limits. I had to rehabilitate in hospital. Yoga, focusing on balance and relaxation, put me back in touch with myself. By doing exercises that train flexibility, for instance, you also extend your own limits, but in a mindful way. Yoga taught me to let go of stress responses in daily life, such as hunching my shoulders.
Yoga can be spiritual, but it doesn’t have to be
As a teacher, I can now help other people to listen to their bodies. During a class, I walk around the room and support the participants. With a simple question, for example, like: ‘Do you realize that you are frowning?’ People often do that unconsciously and it feels more comfortable when you relax your forehead.
‘I teach classes in various styles, such as yin yoga, flow yoga and classic hatha yoga. Classic hatha targets all the body’s systems. It increases your flexibility and strength and teaches you how to get into “rest and digest” mode. In flow yoga, you move on every inhalation and exhalation. Yin classes focus on the tendons, joints and connective tissue. Connective tissue surrounds muscles and organs to protect and connect them. Stretching these “slow tissues” improves circulation and flexibility. And you stay in a pose for longer in a yin class. These are meditative exercises in letting go of thoughts that are of no use to you and returning to the present sensations.
I think yoga is less new-agey than people think. It can be spiritual, but it doesn’t have to be. You get in touch with yourself, which actually means having both feet on the ground. In the end, yoga is just a form of exercise.’
Do you have an unusual side job or know someone else who does? Send an email to steven.snijders@wur.nl