KIRSTEN REISS

Kirsten was born in the late 1970s and grew up close to nature in the foothills of the Alps of Southern Germany. After finishing university, she started traveling through Central and South America together with her partner, Burkhard. In this time she also made her first trip to India and there discovered Yoga, spending some time in the Sivananda Ashram of Kerala, South India. However, mainly she spent her 20s in Berlin, Germany, where she studied and worked as an architect, concerned with old buildings and cultural heritage. During this time, she also engaged herself in various social projects, searching for an alternative fulfilling lifestyle and a way to help the world grow into a more beautiful and harmonious place in which to live.

She lived in an alternative community for many years and co-founded a development aid project in Peru, South America, where she worked with clay architecture and organic gardening. It was there that she realized that only a change of consciousness can really improve the quality of life and reduce suffering. She was inspired by the Eastern spiritual traditions, especially by the remarkable teachings of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and by the integral philosophy of Ken Wilber, who gave her a completely new and more holistic understanding of existence.

In 2007 Kirsten went to Asia again. In India she lived in an ashram close to Rishikesh, where she dedicated herself to the studies of Yoga and meditation. Fascinated with this experience she wanted to study Yoga and her Self more deeply. In early 2008 she discovered the great school of Agama Yoga on Koh Phangan, Thailand, which perfectly suited her needs; she found there teachings that have the potency to enact a real change of consciousness. After studying with the school for a few months, she participated in the Teacher Training Course and afterward began teaching on the island.

As a Virgo who loves to act and serve, Kirsten is very thankful for the opportunity to share this amazing knowledge with others through teaching and to contribute to the great Agama community. Next to the profound and powerful teachings of Swami Vivekananda Saraswati, she is deeply touched and influenced by the life-changing Hridaya Retreats for Revelation of the Spiritual Heart led by Claudiu Trandafir, and she is deeply grateful to both of them for helping herself and so many others to evolve.