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Magic Pond International Yoga School

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Magic Pond International Yoga School

Bringing Yoga back to its original value

18/07/2026

Sometimes the biggest changes in our lives begin with a single conversation.

When I first started teaching yoga in Seoul, someone suggested I contact the Seoul Club, one of Korea's most prestigious private clubs.

I did.

The answer was short.

"Who are you? We don't need a yoga teacher."

That could easily have been the end of the story.

A few months later, while attending a community event, a woman with bright, sparkling eyes stopped at my table.

"Why don't you contact the Seoul Club?" she asked.

I smiled.

"I already did. They weren't interested."

She winked and said,

"I know the program manager. Let me speak to her first."

A few days later she sent me a message.

I called again.

This time everything was different.

Within weeks I was teaching several weekly classes at the Seoul Club, followed by private lessons, diplomats, and opportunities I could never have imagined.

Nearly thirty years have passed.

We're still in touch.

Looking back, I realize my career didn't change because I suddenly became a better teacher.

It changed because one person decided to help.

That experience has stayed with me ever since.

Whenever I have the chance to encourage someone, introduce people, or open a door for another person, I remember that one simple act of kindness.

You never know how much a small gesture can change someone's life.

Have you ever had someone unexpectedly open a door for you?

10/07/2026

My First Yoga Class in Korea... on Crutches

When I moved to Korea in 1997, I finally felt that I was beginning the adventure I had dreamed about for so many years.

Then life had other plans.

After receiving the opportunity to teach my very first yoga class in Korea, nine people signed up. I was excited and couldn't wait to begin.

One week before the first class...

I fractured my ankle.

For a moment, I wondered if I should cancel everything.

After all, who wants to learn yoga from a teacher on crutches?

But those nine people had placed their trust in me.

I felt I had made them a promise.

So I packed my yoga books, picked up my crutches, took a taxi to the German School in Seoul, and taught my very first yoga class in Korea... balancing on one healthy leg.

The following week, only five students returned.

Oddly enough, I wasn't disappointed.

I was grateful.

Those five people became the beginning of everything that followed.

Looking back nearly thirty years later, I realize that many wonderful things in life don't begin with perfect circumstances.

They begin when we decide to take the first step anyway.

Today, whenever my students tell me they're waiting for the "right moment" to start something, I smile.

Life rarely gives us perfect timing.

Sometimes we simply have to show up—with whatever strength we have—and trust that the rest will unfold.

Those five students probably have no idea how much they changed my life.

And I'm still grateful to every one of them.

❤️ Have you ever had to keep going even when life made it difficult? I'd love to hear your story.

01/07/2026

When Following Your Heart Doesn't Feel Rewarding

People often say:

"Follow your heart."

What they don't tell you is that sometimes, the moment you finally do... life becomes harder, not easier.

After nine years of preparing, I arrived in Korea with one suitcase, a few books, and a dream.

Reality wasn't what I expected.

I felt lonely.

I struggled with the culture.

Even the person I had come to train with didn't seem particularly happy that I was there.

There were days when returning home would have been the easy decision.

But something inside me kept saying:

"You didn't come all this way to give up now."

Then something unexpected happened.

The owner of a small pizza restaurant noticed that I was struggling. Through her kindness, I met people who asked me to teach yoga.

That single opportunity changed my entire life.

Looking back, I've realized something.

Following your heart doesn't guarantee an easy road.

Sometimes it leads you straight into uncertainty.

But if you keep walking, life has a remarkable way of opening doors you never knew existed.

The hardest part is often staying long enough for those doors to appear.

Have you ever experienced something like that?

I'd love to hear your story.

27/06/2026

It took me nine years to follow my dream.

Today we often celebrate quick success.

We admire people who seem to achieve their goals overnight.

But some dreams are not meant to happen quickly.

Mine certainly wasn't.

When I was in my twenties, I decided that one day I would move from the Netherlands to Korea to continue studying Hapkido and deepen my journey in traditional yoga.

Many of my fellow students went immediately.

I didn't.

Instead, I spent the next nine years preparing.

I worked ordinary jobs.

I completed my yoga teacher training.

I studied accounting and economics at night school.

I saved every possible guilder (Euros didn't exist yet).

Only when I felt truly prepared did I buy a one-way ticket to Korea.

Looking back, those nine years were not years of waiting.

They were years of becoming the person who was ready to live that dream.

Sometimes we become impatient because life doesn't move as quickly as we'd like.

But perhaps the delay isn't holding us back.

Perhaps it's preparing us.

One step at a time.

One day at a time.

One decision at a time.

Looking back after nearly 30 years in Korea, I wouldn't change a thing.

Sometimes the longest journeys begin with the quietest decisions.

Have you ever spent years preparing for a dream that others couldn't yet understand?

I'd love to hear your story.

🙏

23/06/2026

At sixteen years old, I asked myself two questions.

Looking back, I think they changed the direction of my entire life.

The first was:

"What do I really want?"

The answer surprised me.

Not money.

Not success.

Not recognition.

I simply wanted to be happy again.

I remembered the carefree, energetic boy I had been before life became complicated. I wasn't searching for something new—I was searching for the person I had once been.

Then came the second question.

"How do I become happy again?"

The answer was just as simple:

"Be yourself."

At sixteen, I had no idea how difficult that advice would be.

Life didn't suddenly become easy. I still struggled. I made mistakes.

There were times I moved backwards instead of forwards.

But those two questions quietly became my compass.

Years later, I discovered traditional yoga.

People often ask whether yoga changed my life.

Looking back, I would say something a little different.

The search had already begun.

Yoga simply gave me the tools to continue walking the path that started with two simple questions.

Even today, more than forty years later, I still return to them whenever life becomes complicated.

What do I really want?

Am I being myself?

Perhaps those are questions worth asking throughout our lives.
I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Has a single question ever changed the direction of your life?
🙏

20/06/2026

There was a time when I did something that many people found rather strange.

I threw away my television.

Not because television was bad.

Not because I wanted to escape the world.

But because I had discovered something I valued more.

Silence.

When I first started practicing traditional yoga in 1984, I expected it to make me healthier and more flexible.

It certainly did.

But the greatest change happened somewhere I never expected.

My mind became quiet.

For the first time in years, I could simply sit by the window, look outside, and enjoy doing... nothing.

Those quiet moments became some of the happiest moments of my day.

Then I noticed something surprising.

Turning on the television no longer felt relaxing.

Listening to the radio made me restless.

It wasn't that the world had become noisier.

It was that my mind had become quiet enough to notice the noise.

Forty years later, I don't think the challenge is television anymore.

Today we carry endless information, videos, messages, and notifications in our pockets.

Technology itself is wonderful—I use it every day, and it allows me to connect with people all over the world.

The real question is whether we are still choosing where our attention goes.

Yoga taught me something I have never forgotten:

The quieter the mind becomes, the easier it is to recognize what truly nourishes us—and what quietly drains our energy.

I'm not suggesting anyone should throw away their television or smartphone.

But perhaps we can all give ourselves a few moments of genuine silence each day.

Sometimes, in that silence, we discover the voice we've been too busy to hear.

Wishing everyone a peaceful day. 🙏

16/06/2026

**The first time I experienced yoga, I had no idea it would change my life so dramatically.**

When I was twenty years old, I was playing basketball with a group of friends.

After practice, our coach asked us to sit down and do a few stretches.

As some of us started bouncing in the positions, he stopped us and said:

*"Don't move. Just hold the posture and keep breathing."*

It sounds simple.

But something happened.

For the first time in years, my body became quiet.

My mind became quiet.

I felt a sense of peace that I had never experienced before.

When one of the players asked what we were doing, the coach smiled and replied:

*"This is yoga."*

That evening, I went to the library, borrowed a book on yoga, and started practicing.

What began as curiosity became a lifelong journey.

Yoga helped me sleep better, think more clearly, and reconnect with something I had lost along the way: myself.

Looking back, it's amazing how a single moment can change the direction of an entire life.

Sometimes all it takes is one experience, one conversation, or one insight to open a completely new path.

What was your first experience with yoga or meditation like?

For a much more detailed version of this story please read my blog via the link in the comments.

02/06/2026

You exercise.

You go for walks.
You stretch.
You work out.
You stay active.

But have you ever noticed that sometimes you can feel physically tired and mentally exhausted at the same time?

Recently, I found myself reflecting on the difference between exercise and recovery.

Many of us are moving our bodies regularly, yet our minds never truly stop.

We finish a workout and immediately check our phones.
We leave the gym and start thinking about tomorrow's problems.
We sit down to rest, but our thoughts keep running.

Traditional yoga taught me something important:

Recovery is not only about the body.

It is also about the mind and nervous system.

A body can be resting while a mind is still racing.

That is why meditation has always been such an important part of yoga.

Not because it is spiritual.
Not because it is mysterious.

But because learning how to become still is different from simply becoming tired.

Today, I leave you with a simple question:

Did you exercise today?

Or did you truly recover?

💭

24/05/2026

Happy Sunday!🤩

Address

서울특별시 영등포구 여의도동 35-2 백상빌딩 4층
Seoul

Opening Hours

Saturday	10:00 - 16:00
Sunday	10:00 - 17:00

Telephone

+821036891799

Website

http://www.magicpond.co.kr/

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