Hi, I’m Jara
Dutch by origin, Parisian by choice, yoga teacher by happy obsession.
My journey into yoga started when I moved from Amsterdam to Paris in 2016. I didn’t grow up doing yoga. I actually found it through a bit of a detour: I started taking dance classes in my twenties and quickly found myself, in a room full of kids who were way more flexible than me. Determined to catch up, I started stretching obsessively and turned to yoga purely as a way to improve my flexibility.
At first, it was all about forcing my body. It worked, kind of, but it didn’t feel good. Backbends gave me headaches. Inversions terrified me. And yet, something about yoga kept pulling me in.
Over time, I learned to move with my breath, not against it. To build strength alongside flexibility. Slowly, what felt impossible began to feel natural. Not easy, but sustainable, and joyful.
That’s the experience I now share with my students.
A Special Love for Backbends
Backbends are kind of my thing. They’ve helped me reshape my own posture, reduce tension, and reconnect with my body and breath in a totally new way. I now specialize in helping others deepen their backbend practice, building strength safely, releasing stiffness, and understanding how to open the spine and heart without injury or force. It’s one of the most misunderstood and magical areas of practice.
What You’ll Find in My Classes
Expect detailed guidance, a little humor, and lots of room to make the practice your own. Whether we’re working 1:1, online, or in a studio in Paris, I want you to leave class feeling better than when you arrived. Stronger. Lighter. More at home in your body.
If you’re working through fear, stiffness, or just a case of “this pose will never happen”, I see you. I’ve been there. And you don’t have to get bendy before you come to yoga.
My Teaching Style
Today, I teach yoga that’s thoughtful, breath-led, and playful, a space where strength meets softness and nobody’s trying to be perfect. I guide creative sequences that build flexibility, real strength, and body awareness without feeling like a workout. You’ll move, breathe, explore, and probably surprise yourself with what your body can do.
Over time, I developed what I now call The Soft Strength Method: a fluid blend of creative flow, nervous system-friendly pacing, and smart mobility training that gets you into poses you didn’t think were for “people like you.” It’s not about pushing harder. It’s about feeling better, during and after class.