THE ART OF BEING
I’m Danka,
My journey began as a textile designer, creating hand-painted fabrics and custom pieces for individual people. Even then, my work was about seeing the person in front of me and creating something uniquely for them.
Over time, my search for greater balance and a deeper way of living led me from the world of art towards the art of being — through Chinese medicine, Shiatsu and Yoga.
For two decades, I have studied, practised and shared these traditions with deep respect for their roots — while bringing their wisdom into modern life.
My Path
From the very beginning, yoga gave me something I had been searching for for many years — a sense of grounding, inner clarity and a deeper connection with myself.
I experienced how even something as simple as a conscious breath, when practised with awareness, could change the way I felt. That experience stayed with me and became something I wanted to understand more deeply — and eventually share with others.
My strong foundation in yoga was Ashtanga Vinyasa, which I practised intensively for many years, progressing through Primary and Intermediate to Advanced A. I returned regularly to Mysore, India, to study with my main dear teacher Vijay Kumar, and continued my practice in Australia with Aileen Hall.
These years gave me much more than a strong asana practice. Through daily self-practice, hands-on adjustments, anatomy and close work with my teachers, I developed a deeper understanding of how bodies move, adapt and respond. At the same time, my studies of Shiatsu, Chinese medicine and Taoist philosophy taught me to look beyond physical structure — towards energy, breath and the whole person.
Teaching and working hands-on with students and clients in Australia and Europe gradually showed me that the intensive practice I had experienced in Mysore could not simply be transferred to everyone. Different bodies, lives and circumstances require different approaches.
This understanding led me to Matthew Sweeney and Vinyasa Krama. Years of study with Matthew gave me a broader and more adaptable way of working with yoga, eventually becoming a Senior Vinyasa Krama teacher and receiving authorisation to teach his Moon, Lion Cub and Sunshine sequences and their variations.
Today, these different strands of experience come together in the way I teach: respecting tradition while adapting the practice to the individual.
I have been fortunate to study with many inspiring teachers over the years. A few, however, profoundly shaped the way I practise, teach and understand the relationship between body, mind and energy.
“I´ve know Danka for many years. I perceive her as a one of the most responsible students, but also, as a one of my precious friends. As a student, she is characterized by an interest in searching for the core, a journey into the depths and discovering connections, and as a friend by sincerity and kindness. She unites these two of her qualities into her work and passes them on to her clients and students.”
Zuna Vesan Kozánková - Shiatsu therapist, teacher, author
Teachers Who Shaped My Path
Zuna Vesan Kozánková
Shiatsu · Chinese Medicine · Taoist Philosophy
Through Zuna’s teaching and Taoist philosophy, I learned to see how deeply everything is connected — how to listen, read the person in front of me, work with energy and understand balance through the seasons and transformation of the elements. Her teaching profoundly shaped the way I understand and work with people today.
I was fortunate to be one of Vijay’s first five students when he began teaching many years ago in Lakshmipuram, Mysore. Under his guidance, I immersed myself deeply in traditional Ashtanga self-practice, progressing through Primary and Intermediate to Advanced A.
Beyond the physical practice, he taught me discipline, patience, concentration and humility. To this day, I feel deeply connected to the heart, sincerity and dedication he brings to his practice, teaching and way of being.
Vijay Kumar -Ashtanga Saadhana
Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga · Mysore, India
“Danka is a sincere and humble practitioner. While her sincerity helps her to be a good student, her humbleness helps in being a good teacher.”
— Vijay Kumar
Matthew Sweeney - Yoga Temple
Vinyāsa Krama Mandiram - Bali, Rishikesh India
After years of intensive Ashtanga practice, studying with Matthew opened another important direction in my understanding of yoga. Vinyasa Krama gave me greater freedom to question, adapt and understand practice according to the individual, rather than expecting every individual to fit the same practice.
I studied with Matthew intensively over the last nine years and became a Senior Vinyasa Krama teacher, with authorisation to teach his Moon, Lion Cub and Sunshine sequences and their variations. His work became an important bridge between my traditional yoga background and the individual, therapeutic approach that shapes my teaching today.
Anamarta - Jade Circle
Kuan Yin Qigong · Taoist Practices for Women
My training with Anamarta brought together many threads of my previous studies in Qigong, Five Elements and Inner Alchemy. Through Kuan Yin Qigong, I learned how these ancient practices can be adapted specifically for women — supporting vitality, hormonal balance and feminine energy through different stages of life.
Your practice should support the life you are living.
I believe that some of the simplest practices can create profound change — a conscious breath, mindful movement, therapeutic touch, or simply learning to listen to what the body is telling us.
If you feel my approach resonates with you, I’d love to hear from you and explore how we can work together.
Professional Experience
Vinyasa Krama Yoga Teacher Shiatsu & Ayurvedic Yoga Massage Therapist
Education and Training
Certified Kuan Yin Qigong Training - Ancient Secrets for Modern Women, 2026
Alchemy of Menopause with Cathy Skiper, June 2025
Hormonal Transition Health Coach Certifications, MyMT Program by Dr. Wendy Sweet (PhD), November 2023
Vinyasa Krama Yoga Senior Teacher Training,
Bali, September 2022Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga Teacher Training (Level II)
Mysuru, APRIL 2018Ayurveda Yoga Massage Therapy (AYM),
Mysuru, India, MARCH 2018Registered Yoga Teacher Training
in Byron Bay (200 hours), April 2016Certificate IV in Massage Therapy course
at NSW School of Massage February 2014Asthanga Vinyasa Yoga Teacher Training Course
(Level I), Mysore, March 2012Wu Sing-Shiatsu in 5 energy transformation
(200 hours) August 2010Shiatsu 3 course (44 hours), January 2009
Foot Reflexology course, February 2008
Pregnancy Yoga course covered by the FISAF,
April 2008Vinyasa Yoga course covered by the FISAF (15 lessons), October 2007
Manual Lymphatic Drainage course, March-May 2007
Regeneration Clinic (224 lessons) courses completed: Anatomy and physiology Pedagogy and psychologyment
Education
1996-1999
Bachelor’s Degree, University of Trencin, Slovakia
Major: Material Engineering with specialization in Design Technology and Design
My Logo Story
Sign for ‘Breathe’ in Sanskrit as a source for the form
Composition in golden ratio: constructed with circles in relation to each other with the measurement of the golden ratio.
1.
Finding shapes of the Moon inside the circles and adding signs of modest light. Adding a drop falling from above:
A soul coming into live. The Circle at the bottom can be seen as a moon, but it also gives the form a ‘Sanskrit- Look’.
2.
Creating an infinity-sign out of the intertwining circles. A halfmoon appears to be holding the infinity-sign. The drop coming from above is falling into a form reaching out to hold it: A save guidance, a ‘catching hand’ in life. (Yoga, Shiatsu)
3.
Simplifying the form: The full moon in the background, the sign of Infinity growing out of the circle. Something that is bigger than what we can experience with our 5 senses. The infinity-sign appears as an ‘S’ announcing Sahayoga.