interview with Liljana Mitrovska

Be mindful of the energy you bring into this space. This is the sign you see when you first enter the studio – a place where I was spending two hours a week for the past few months… and it was one of the best decisions I’ve made.

Today, I’m taking you there with me – at least metaphorically, as I share my conversation with Liljana Mitrovska, the teacher at Long Life Yoga Studio in Skopje. This is where I tried yoga for the first time in my life, and now I know that I couldn’t have asked for a better instructor than her.

As always, she welcomed me with a smile and warm energy. Let’s start from the beginning, I said. What made you get into yoga in the first place?

She explained that it all started when she was twenty-two years old. Her friend’s mother, who had breast cancer, was the one who recommended Lili doing yoga. At first, it was simply just fun. But after a year or two, she started to feel that this practice has a positive impact on her life, and… today she’s a yoga teacher, sharing her passion with other people on a daily basis. Where did the idea to teach others come from, though?

I decided [to teach yoga] when I was working in banking, and I started realizing that I’m not doing anything good for people, she told me. Then I thought that I can share everything I know from yoga with other people, and be satisfied with what I do – help others and have some aim in life.

When I asked what her favourite part of teaching is, she said it’s simply seeing the people enjoying and listening, and feeling the changing of the practice.

Lili also explained how the approach to yoga changed in Macedonia in the past few years.

In recent years, it’s popular. But five, six years ago, it was like a taboo. Like yoga is something weird, unknown… and we are afraid of the unknown. When I mentioned that I’ve seen a lot of yoga studios in Skopje, she agreed. In the last two, three years, there are a lot of them. We are happy because people will get closer to yoga, and I think it will be good for society.

When it comes to her own practice, Lili shared that she started with ashtanga yoga. I fell in love with ashtanga, then I started to learn hatha vinyasa yoga, and from time to time yin yoga. But I definitely love ashtanga. Sometimes she does the full yoga sequence in the morning, and sometimes it’s just stretching and breathing exercises as a form of meditation – on the couch or bed, walking around, drinking water, brushing her teeth. Habits from yoga help her in daily life also because they are the reminders to slow down. When I’m rushing with my family, I remember: calm down, breathe and make it slower.

But her yoga journey goes beyond home or studio – she has also practiced in some really special places. Asked about the most interesting place where she did yoga, she answered without hesitation: Mysore in India. It was two years ago, one month of practicing – pranayama [breathing technique], meditation, learning full day. It was very nice. We also practiced the second series ashtanga. Yesterday, I started to practice the second series again, and I was like, how did I do this? Every day. Only on Sundays we had a break, she laughed. This experience not only taught her new things about yoga, but also made her switch to a vegetarian diet.

Even though yoga is becoming quite popular, there are still common misconceptions surrounding it. When I asked Lili for an example, she said it’s definitely the belief that yoga positions – asanas – are purely physical. It’s not true. It’s not only physical asana, even though we’re starting with our body. But yoga is the whole union. Mind, body, soul. Especially the sitting pose. When you do this, you’re quiet and you don’t have thoughts – that is yoga. She explained that we all start with thinking wow, a good pose, I want to try that, but after that yoga is actually inner practice. This connection is summed up perfectly in her favourite quote from Napoleon Hill: “The body achieves what the mind believes”.

If you consider trying yoga, Lili also shared some advice for you. Follow the breath first. And after that everything will come in the right place. As our conversation was coming to the end, she added: Everybody should try yoga one, two times. And listen to their intuition. 

For me, it didn’t end with one or two times. After a few months of practice, I can tell you many things – that I wanted to give up several times, that there were times when my muscles hurt even the next two days after the classes, that I was out of my comfort zone.

But for some reason, I kept on going. Sometimes it was the only time of the week when I could switch off my thoughts and focus on the present moment. When I’m stressed, I automatically go into breathing learnt at the classes – six seconds inhale, six seconds exhale. However, I think the most important thing Lili has taught me is to not compare myself to others during practice. It’s not about doing the most advanced poses, and more about feeling what your body needs right now – what you need right now.

Anna Wojdziak