The story behind Impact Yoga
Impact Yoga was founded in 2017 by Kirsten van den Akker. Kirsten is a certified yoga instructor based in Amsterdam. She specializes in Yin Yoga and has also immersed herself in mindfulness and meditation, the Chinese energy meridian system, deep-tissue stress release, yoga therapeutics, and working with people who have been impacted by trauma with the knowledge she acquired through the Prison Yoga Project.
Yin yoga in particular has had an immense impact on Kirsten’s life. For years she struggled with chronic Lyme disease. She turned to yoga in an attempt to work with her limitations and take back a sense of control of her life. Yin yoga proved to be the answer she longed for, showing her how to bend so she wouldn’t break. Yin taught her to find trust in the healing abilities of her body and mind and eventually helped her step by step to her recovery. After each yin session she felt improvement in her condition. She could feel the energy flow again. Yin taught her how to make space, accept and trust the process, allowing her to move forward. Having experienced the impact of yoga firsthand she felt passionate to share this gift with others.
Hence: Impact Yoga was born.
‘Yin yoga is a very passive, nourishing form of yoga. Practicing Yin not only helps me on many physical levels but has also shown me to be very therapeutic. It has given me the tools to trust and listen to my body with sincerity and compassion, to trust, to get to know myself on a whole new level, and most of all to reconnect with what makes me me.’
– Kirsten
Kirsten is also a professional Public Speaking Coach and the founder of Impact Speaking.