Last Updated on 12. March 2018

Which good resolutions did you make for 2018? Want to do more for yourself and your body? Practice more Yoga? Try Meditation? If yes, then my interview partner might have just the right inspiration and motivation for you. Today, I want to introduce Katrin Jonas to you. She is a BodyWareness Trainer in London.

I met Katrin via a Facebook group. I am a Yoga teacher myself and I practice and meditate on a regular basis. Therefore, it was super interesting for me to virtually meet a “colleague” and to learn more about her work. Katrin works as a BodyWareness Trainer in London and she is author of two books about meditation. In the interview she tells us more about herself, her life in London, her work and she shares some insider recommendations with us. Enjoy reading!

Interview with Katrin Jonas – BodyWareness Trainer in London

About Katrin and her job

Hello dear Katrin, please introduce yourself to the readers! I’m Katrin, a woman, BodyWareness trainer, “multipreneur“, frequent flyer, passionate meditator, and I love London.

Have you always lived in London? I have been living in London for 7 years now but I travel very often as I work frequently in different European countries.

What do you like about living in London? I like most that London is an international city. People from all over the world, from various nations, cultures and backgrounds live and work together here. They inspire and enrich each other. I used to work in a practice for holistic therapy where all the resident therapists had come to London from different parts of the world. It was amazing how much I learned during this time.

What do you do for a living? I am a body-mind therapist, Feldenkrais practitioner and meditation mentor specializing in body awareness and body-orientated meditation. I call what I do “BodyWareness”. It represents my approach to health and well being. I share it in individual sessions, workshops, retreats and BodyWareness trainings for health professionals, healers and therapists.

I am also a published author. After my first book, “Meditation as a healer. A new life free of pain” (in German), the next one with the title “Free of pain without medication. Meditation and body awareness” (also in German) was published in December 2017. I’m currently trying to find a publisher in the UK who is interested in publishing the two books so that my English-speaking clients can read them too. If anyone has any relevant contacts, please let me know!

I just love writing and there are a few more books about the power of body awareness and meditation in my head – and, actually, already in my computer.

About individual BodyWareness treatments: I offer treatments at the Evolve Wellness Centre in South Kensington as well as at the Wellbeing Business Centre, South Molton Street, in the heart of Mayfair. My treatments stimulate the body to calm down and to re-connect with your inner healing force via a focused stimulation of the nervous system. The effects on health conditions, stress-related disorders, aches and long-term pain can be tremendous. Yet, my treatments are not only suitable for people who feel unwell with their bodies. They are a wonderful opportunity to give my clients a precious “time-out” to recharge, unwind and be in inner harmony with their bodies and themselves.

In my experience, the symptom-oriented approach to the human body is, unfortunately, still very common. In this context, the whole focus is on the signal of the body instead on listening what it intends to “say”.

Once the signals of the body are understood, we take clear steps towards regeneration and healing. By applying a variety of tailor-made self-perception tools, awareness and relaxation techniques or movement sequences from the Feldenkrais method, people’s ability for self-reflection is getting more and more refined. If we learn to feel and understand our bodies, they become capable to solve their problems on their own.

As I work a lot abroad, my time is quite limited. I therefore offer BodyWareness counselling sessions online via Skype. Sometimes, clients visit London for a few days or just for a weekend to give themselves a kind of regeneration cure. I call these packages the “BodyWareness city breaks”. This is a wonderful way of working. When clients leave and feel happy, inspired and refreshed at the same time, it is a great moment for me.

What inspires you? It’s very simple: I feel inspired by real people. People who follow their own vision. People who are trailblazers. People who don’t care what others think. People who have the courage to live an authentic life.

Moreover, I feel also inspired by aesthetics, by true beauty, by the spirit of „less is more“ … and by beautiful movement. My most important resource is silence.

Katrin and her recommendations for London

What do you recommend for a first-time visitor in London to see/visit? That’s difficult to say, because everyone has specific interests. Most probably, I would tell people to just dive into the hustle and bustle of the city and follow their own instincts. Perhaps, I would recommend going to the theatre in London’s West End, as long as someone is interested in that in general.

Once they’ve had enough of all the busyness, I would introduce them to London’s many green spaces where I love to spend my time. I like walking in Hyde Park, Regent’s Park, Green Park and in Kew Gardens near Richmond, which is an unbelievably beautiful place One of my favourite places is Mount Street Gardens off Mount Street in Mayfair. You’ll find tremendous silence there so that you can literally hear the silence itself.

Which is your favourite area in London? Why? One of my favourite places is Hyde Park as it captures a variety of different aspects. For instance, I love sitting outside the „Lido“ restaurant at the Serpentine, sipping on a Cappuccino and watching the swans and swimmers. I also like to sit near the pond in front of Kensington Palace. I spend a lot of time there if I have worked a lot and have written for hours. It is a place with a very particular lightness.

I also like the Orangerie next to Kensington Palace, especially for tea time, and the Rose Garden (close to Park Lane). While taking photographs of flowers and blossoms there, I tend to forget time. Moreover, I like the Italian Garden with its water fountains.

My most favourite place in Hyde Park is the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain where I just feel relaxed and well. In summer, lots of excited children run and wade in the bubbly water and enjoy life. Often, I step inside with them – which usually means that I end up soaking wet.

Which museum(s) do you like and why? First, the Victoria and Albert Museum: I like the Asian section where very impressive Buddha statues are on display, and the museums shop where I always discover new and pretty things. I particularly like the jewellery made by unknown artists and goldsmiths.

Then, the Design Museum: There’s lots to see there that has already been long forgotten. It’s a bit like a journey through the history of design.

I wouldn’t go for a third recommendation but mention the huge choice of art galleries, museums, art collections and exhibitions that show really precious and beautiful art. To find all of this in such a concentration in one city is unique.

3 words to describe London: Vibrant. International. Friendly.

Food and Drink recommendations

Where do you go for a good breakfast? For breakfast, I love to go to “Gails” or “Le Pain Quotidien”, both on Fulham Road.

What is your favourite cocktail and where do you get it from? No cocktails, sorry.

The craziest food you ever had in London is: I remember an utterly delicious treat made of milk chocolate that I had in the Bvlgari Hotel. I kept its taste on my taste buds for quite a while and then dreamed of it at night.

 Some fun stuff about Katrin

Which is your favourite ice-cream flavour? Any recommendations on where to get a good ice-cream in town? Venchi ice cream is my thing. It is available at Venchi’s on King’s Road, Exhibition Road or in Covent Garden. All flavours are tremendously delicious so that you simply can’t get enough of it. I always go for Stracciatella.

Gin and Tonic or Pimm’s? Neither. I would prefer a glass of red wine in the bar of the Claridge hotel.

What was your weirdest experience ever while using the tube? It happened on my way to Heathrow airport to catch a flight to India. All of the sudden, the tube stopped. No announcements were being made when the tube would be moving again so I prepared myself for the worst (i.e. missing my flight). In the end and after an adventurous sprint through Terminal 5, I caught my plane and just about made it at the gate which was closed right after me.

What’s your favourite 90’s jam? Sinead O’Connor: “Nothing compares 2 U”

Who would win a fight between Spiderman and Batman? I am not really keen on fighting …

Thank you so much for your time, Katrin!

I so agree with her when it comes to the fact that we often tend to ignore the symptoms of our body. That we don’t (want to) try to find out the causes of our pains. Among my friends there are many Yoga teachers, healers and coaches and I am very happy that I now also know a BodyWareness Trainer!

Katrin Jonas on Social Media

Are you curious about Katrin’s work? Then why not have a look at her homepage where you will also find upcoming events. You can also reach her via email to welcome@katrin-jonas.com.

So far, Katrin has published two books in German “Meditation heilt” and “Schmerzfrei ohne Medikamente”. Both can be ordered online.

Katrin is also on Facebook, there is a dedicated page for her books only, Twitter, Pinterest and LinkedIn.

Workshops with Katrin Jonas in 2018

21 January 2018: Workshop „Gentle movement meditations for every day“ in Vienna (Language German)

26 January 2018: Introduction evening „Inner silence through movement meditations“ in London (Language English)

18 February 2018: Workshop „A painfree and stressfree back: Dream or reality?“ in Munich (Language German)

From 15 till 18 March 2018: „Retreat for female healers“ on Mallorca/Spain

20 April 2018: Start of the next one year BodyWareness training for therapists, healers and health professionals in Munich

Stay healthy!

This post is also available in: Deutsch