Shanti Treks

17/02/2026

MY LESSONS

1. Yoga does not happen on the mat

Patanjali, referred to as the father of Yoga, said Yoga is for the mind. Most of us in Europe start practising yoga to build strength and flexibility. Many feel the physical benefits, and many also the mental ones. Yet very few dive deep into the philosophical aspects of yoga. I realised here that I am only at the start of this journey.

2. Surrender to the practice.

I used to find Hatha and Ashtanga classes taught in the traditional Indian style, holding poses (Asanas) for five breaths or longer, with strict class discipline and without the usual flowing Vinyasa transitions, quite hard and at times rather boring. For four weeks, I showed up on the mat, often twice a day, surrendering to the Asanas and practising detachment from my emotions, simply showing up. It worked. I still prefer other yoga styles, but I now also enjoy Hatha and Ashtanga and will continue practising them.

3. Patience is not waiting for something to happen, but trusting the system that it will.

This is something I have always struggled with, and it became very obvious on the mat this time around. I practised a lot of Ashtanga for the first time during my first Yoga Teacher Training in 2019, and there are a few Asanas I thought were impossible back then that are now doable for me. Instead of avoiding them, I now revisit these Asanas regularly, noticing the progress and trusting that one day I will fully get there.

4. No matter how hard you try, there will be people you do not vibe with, and that’s ok.

Everyone operates on their own emotional and mental frequency, shaped by how they see the world. When two people share a similar frequency, connection feels natural and energising; when they don’t, nothing is wrong. They are just tuned differently.
Human connection isn’t about effort alone. It is about alignment. You are not meant to resonate with everyone because if you did, your signal would not be distinct. It would be noise.

The key is not to change your frequency but to broadcast honestly. Do that long enough, and the right people will recognise your signal, and the vibration will feel incredible.

15/02/2026

*NO MORE PERFECTION*

I am not the best singer, and I don’t hit every tone on the ukulele, but I sing with passion and pour my heart into my playing.

In German, there exists a word, “Hochleistungsgesellschaft.” Ridiculous as it sounds, it means high performance society. And that is exactly what most of my generation grew up in. It is all about good marks in school, a good position at work, and a high salary. Our performance is constantly rated by numbers all our life. I played along beautifully, one of the best to graduate, the earliest promotion in my first job, a high performer.

In everything I did, I strived for perfection until I realised perfection does not bring happiness. Starting Shanti Treks was like being hit with a baseball bat in that regard. Nothing was perfect, nothing worked out, and Shanti Treks certainly did not fly off in the beginning. I felt like everything I tried initially failed, nothing ever seemed to work.

Nothing still works perfectly, but everything just works fine. I got better, but I also got kinder to myself. I know that not everything I try will work straight away, and I give myself credit for doing most of it for the first time.

I recognise that I have bad days too and, despite my most professional attitude, my guests will sometimes feel that too. But instead of trying to be perfect, I ask for kindness and acknowledgment that I am too just a human being with all my ups and downs and flaws.

Yet, this is the beauty of Shanti Treks. It is an invitation to escape the Hochleistungsgesellschaft, ground yourself among beautiful, forgiving people, and come back home a little less perfect, yet more resilient to face the challenges of life.

14/02/2026

PRACTICING SELF-LOVE

I almost forgot it’s valentines day today but I was reminded in a drop-in yoga class that I attended this morning which deeply resonated with me.

Of course, it was about self-love because that is what we practice in yoga – being kind to ourselves, recognising our flaws and instead of trying to fix it embracing them. And with that our teacher told us the story of the cracked pot, which I had somewhere heard before yet loved it all over again. Hence, I wanted to share it.

A water bearer carried two pots on a pole every day to fetch water. One was perfect. The other had a crack and leaked water all the way home.

The cracked pot felt guilty.

“I’m sorry… I can’t do my job properly,” it said.

The water bearer smiled and replied,
“Have you noticed the flowers on your side of the path? I planted seeds there knowing you would water them every day.”

Because of that cracked pot, beautiful flowers bloomed along the road — bringing colour, joy, and purpose.

Sometimes what we see as flaws…are actually the reason something beautiful exists. 🌼

✨ You don’t have to be perfect to be beautiful.

08/02/2026

08/02/2026

Beach or mountains?

Mountain girl at heart 🏔, always, but the beach has been teaching me a different kind of magic. 🌊

There is beauty in staying still, in the simplicity of being in one place, needing nothing, not even shoes to wander up to my favourite lookout.

What is it for you? Leave me 🏔 or 🌊 in the comments. 👇

04/02/2026

*NO MORE GUILT*

Last year, I came to Goa for a Yoga Teacher Training,and it supported me deeply in finding the confidence to follow my path. Earlier this year, I felt a strong pull to return to this place and reconnect with that sense of grounding.

During the training, I shared my thoughts in a few posts that I’ve recently revisited. Reading those reflections again, I realized they still feel just as true today. Since my community has grown so much, I decided to repost them again and want to continue with these reflections on other topics as well.

Here is what I wrote about feeling guilty.

On my first long-term travel to South Asia, now six years ago, somebody said: "Every time you go travelling, you're escaping your real life at home." That hurt. It hit me hard that somebody thought I'm escaping "life". But they were right that something was imbalanced. For about twenty years, I had taken every opportunity to go travelling, all my savings went into it, and all my holidays. Instead of stopping to travel and starting to "settle down", I decided to change careers and create my dream life.

The last four weeks during my yoga teacher training, I was heavily confronted with many of my inner-demons of which guilt is one of them. I've worked through quite a lot of it and promised myself not to feel guilty anymore about

✔️ leaving the 9 to 5
✔️ travelling for a living
✔️ living my dream life
✔️ being happy
✔️ making happiness my life goal

We are often so caught up in what is expected of us that we feel guilty about pursuing what we really want in life. Yet, we are only here for such a short time. Why waste time on something we don't enjoy.

With Shanti Treks, I primarily take people to the mountains. But I also want to show that a different life from the so-called norm is possible, and I want to contribute to making such a lifestyle normal. I want the next generation to look at me and think: "Ah ok, that's a way to live a life, too." And it's socially accepted.

Leave me a comment about what you enjoy & feel guilty about at the same time!

01/02/2026

At the Bottom of the Top

When trekking to Everest Base Camp, many people sadly miss out on Kala Patthar. Most trekkers I met were on such tight schedules that they skipped the sunset hike to the viewpoint at 5,644 m — or were simply too exhausted after reaching EBC.

I’m so grateful that fellow trekking friends encouraged me to go. I couldn’t agree more: Kala Patthar was the highlight of the entire trek to EBC.

Even with just a light daypack and “only” 400 m of ascent, it was one of the hardest hiking days of my year. The altitude slowed everything down — nearly four hours for that climb alone. A powerful reminder of humility, patience, and presence at the roof of the world.

31/01/2026

31/01/2026

Everest Base Camp at its Limits

24/01/2026

✨ Newsletter dropping tomorrow! 🚀

Find out where Shanti Treks is heading this year, discover exciting new trips, get exclusive announcements of journeys currently in the making, and help shape the 2027 winter programme.

Want all this straight to your inbox? Send me your email address 📬

24/01/2026

They call her Ama Dablam - Mother’s Necklace.

The long ridges feel like a mother’s arms, wrapped gently around her children to protect them, and the hanging glacier like a dablam, a sacred pendant resting on her chest.

Sitting here, you feel why. The way you feel small, and strangely safe at once. The way she holds you without touching. There’s a feminine patience here. A softness that isn’t weak, a power that doesn’t need to shout. She asks you to slow down, to listen, to earn every breath. To stop conquering and start connecting.

I didn’t come here to take anything from the mountain. I came to remember what it feels like to be held.

20/01/2026

We think we have time.
But actually, we only get about 80 summers -
if we’re lucky.

So stop waiting for life to begin.
Don’t put off that trip.
Go on that hike.
Get up early to watch the sunrise.
Catch every sunset.

Because later… the coffee gets cold.