Portrait of Victoria Bardiau, Yoga teacher, Graphic designer & Content creator

Victoria Bardiau, or Mila, is a young Belgian yoga teacher, passionate, curious and creative. She loves life, people and surprises. Yoga teacher, horse rider, social media enthusiast and sharer of a more conscious life, graphic designer and content creator, organizer of events, workshops and retreats, traveler, nomad, dreamer...

It was only natural that I asked him a few personal questions about his yoga practice, which I am sharing with you today.

How did you get into taking care of yourself?

The beginning is often the same… Love. Or rather, the absence of love.

After a heartbreak, I found myself alone. Alone with myself, alone with my fears, alone with my desires. No one left to tell me that I was beautiful, strong or intelligent. No one left to make decisions for me. It was the precipice. Abandonment. Loneliness. The truth. I was unsure of myself, I doubted, I was afraid, I was incapable of being alone, I was dependent, on the love of others and on everything that could take me away from feeling what I really felt deep down inside.

By finding myself facing my past, my demons, I realized that my thoughts and emotions shaped my life and the events that punctuated them. What did I need to understand? What did I need to change to change my reality? I always felt that I was a little different from others, sometimes too sensitive, sometimes too creative, sometimes too lively. I finally started to educate myself, to read, to discover new approaches, and then, one day, a friend took me to my first yoga class… It was magical. It was the trigger. I cried a lot during my first classes and that's when I understood that something was really happening and that my intuitions were right.

What practice for your well-being?

Yoga, horse riding, sports, nature, travel, meetings, books, creativity, writing…

What is the ritual of your practice?

I'm not very disciplined when it comes to myself, so I prefer to practice in a studio. But I still sometimes practice alone at home. In this case, I put on a playlist that matches my energy of the moment and that will help me release an emotion that seems blocked. I start by writing in my little notebook of intention and gratitude, then I flow, often with my eyes closed, and I let myself be rocked... I always keep my notebook close to me, because I often understand or unblock certain things in the middle of practice.

What do you get out of it?

An infallible serenity. Sometimes the burning desire to move forward, sometimes the need to rest. But each time, it gives me the answer to my questions and invites me to do what is right for me and for my body, which I often tend not to listen to enough.

What do you carry in your yoga bag?

Always my water bottle (DrinkBig Bottle), my notebook in which I drew and wrote LOVE, my white rose essential oil and my rescue, Bach flower.

What is your favorite object/accessory?

My mala that I made myself. There is a knot between each of the beads and I chose with a very special intention each of the stones that adorn my necklace.

What would be your advice for Tayrona Yoginis?

Let's leave our ego outside our mat. Let's not try to go too fast, too far. Let's take the time, the time to listen to our body, the time to feel, the time to observe, the time to enjoy each posture. Let's realize that the way we are, the way we act, the way we react on our mat is only a magnificent metaphor for life, our life. What you unlock on your mat will unlock in your life, and vice versa.

Never skip Savasana. First, because it is the best posture, second, because it is the posture that allows our body to integrate our practice.

Where/how do you practice?

I like to practice in the morning, because it allows me to have an intention for my day and to start with a clearer, more serene, more lively body and mind.

I practice at Yoga Room in Brussels and at Casa Vinyasa in Lisbon. Otherwise, at home, in a park, on the beach…

And then, finally, I practice yoga all the time, every day, since it has become my philosophy of life.

What is your mantra/favourite phrase?

Love life!

It comes from mvy (pronounced love life), which comes from Mila Victoria Yoga, which is my Instagram handle. It sums up very well who I am, what I do and how I get back up after every fall.

milavictoriayoga on Instagram