I run two Jivamukti Yoga Schools since 2003 and give workshops, kirtans, and retreats around the world. Summers I spends since 2001 mainly in my yoga-retreat “kretashala” at the Southcoast of Crete. Born into a family of artists and musicians I’m a dedicated lifelong student of arts and music and play a variety of instruments. I have performed in countless concerts and festivals and have published music on several albums, most recent on petros&friends “embrace” in 2009. Petros, musician, yogi, philosopher, life-artist is a senior Jivamukti yoga teacher, opened his first yoga-school in 2002, directed several yoga schools in Germany and runs one of the most renown Yoga Retreats in Europe / Kretashala, Triopetra in Crete / Greece. He has been a regular guest teacher and performed Kirtan in yoga schools of different traditions around the world and at intl.festivals for many years, teaching and lecturing. Asana, Pranayama, NadaYoga, and Philosophy. Through is present, funny and deep teaching he has been influential to many practitioners and has taught and educated hundreds of Yoga teachers globally. Petro’s honest, funny and challenging teaching inspires to be fully aware in the present moment. So experience comes through intuition and not from a place of personal preference or dislikes. Returning to that place, where, independently from outer circumstance there always is peace: the pure light of the heart. There are many obstacles, yoga gives us the possibility to free ourselves from. So our true nature remains no longer hidden. We really are free, wild, full of love and joy – without conditioning, without fear. He has great gratitude for all teachers, known and unknown, he had the honour to study with and is thankful to all circumstance that give us the chance to experience this feeling of unity, of non-separateness. To learn to accept the greatest of all teachers: our life. Q & A: • How did you come to find the path of Yoga/Jivamukti Yoga specifically? -My grandfather was a co-founder of the German anthroposophic society where Vedic philosophy, meditation, and yoga was a key element to a holostic approach to life. my father was practicing yoga every morning and practically every book in our house had to do with some form of philosophy, psychology, spirituality or arts. With that kind family influence, of course, wanted nothing to do with all that ? but as I was trying to learn how to hold my breath for a long time to hang out underwater for longer when I was 20, I figured yogis know best. so I went to a pranayama teacher in Greece – from there I found myself in all kinds of yoga teachings, feeling that these practices (asana, breath, concentration, dialogue, dedicated activities of attentiveness, sound, devotion, hanging with likeminded souls) really resonated with me and felt so familiar. on my path, I met many known and unknow knowers of the field, and I always enjoyed spending time with them. all together I trust that your dharma finds you, rather than you looking for the right form of personally preferred activity. I teach Jivamukti Yoga because it gave me the opportunity to emphasize what to my understanding is the most important practice in our time: kindness, nonviolence, the integrity of life and our responsibility to honor that. • Has yoga helped you overcome any obstacles in your life? There are no obstacles • What do you think is the most rewarding part of your being a Yoga Teacher or Yogi? The Satsang • What type of yoga do you teach/practice? Hatha/Raja, karma, bhakti, jnana • What is special/different about this modality? All inclusiveness • How often do you practice yoga? Every day • How do you find time to practice/motivate yourself to practice in your daily life? Life is the practice. even if a mat is missing. • Do you have any advice for yogis struggling to make time to practice yoga in their busy schedule? Stop working. spend time in nature. trust. • Have you ever worked/currently work in charity and giving back? I understand the teaching of yoga as a contribution to a higher state of collective awareness – sharing on all levels is one of the most important attitudes in life. • What is your favorite quote about Yoga/Spirituality? OM TAT SAT • In what ways do you incorporate selfless acts of service into your life? / What charity/outreach work have you done in the past/now/plan to do in the future? I stick to the teachings: do good, don’t talk about it. be kind and share wherever, whenever, whatever you can offer.