Lilian’s spiritual journey began in 2001 when she did a ten-day meditation retreat at Suan Mokkh, a Buddhist monastery in the South of Thailand. During the retreat a deep inner transformation of spiritual awakening took place. When she came out she canceled her adventurous backpacker plans, settled on a quiet beach, and proceeded with the insightful journey inward.

Back home she found a little Thai temple in the center of Amsterdam where she continued her practice, guided by Vipassana master Peter Baart. She took up the advice of one of the nuns at Suan Mokkh who said she should do Yoga and voluntary work in addition to meditation. She started giving Dutch language lessons to Christian refugees from Africa in a church, and coming from a Christian background it felt comfortably good to be in touch with that part of society again.

Two years later she was able to take time off from her work as a video editor and went to India for six months. Being in India she took Yoga classes wherever she went. After hearing enthusiastic stories about an intense one-month Yoga course in the Yoga capital of Rishikesh, offered by a Romanian Swami, she was disappointed not to find the school when she arrived there. Instead she took a teacher training at the Sivananda Yoga ashram beautifully and auspiciously situated in the Himalayas right on the river Ganga. Here, with the satsangs, philosophical lectures, and asana classes her spiritual evolution took a second flight. The decision to spend the last month of her travels on Koh Phangan, Thailand, turned out to be rather important because this was exactly where the Yoga school she had been seeking in Rishikeh had moved! The few weeks she spent at Agama were enough for her to fall in love with the depth, completeness, and uniqueness of Swami Vivekananda’s teachings and with Swami himself.

Back in Amsterdam, she gave her first Yoga classes to the African refugees who enthusiastically volunteered and, living hard, stressful lives, significantly benefited from the Yoga. She was thereby greatly encouraged and guided by Sivananda Yoga teacher Susan Nicolas, who remains an influence in her life. Returning annually to Agama since her first visit in 2003, she witnesses with amazement and awe the incredible growth of the school. While the first classes were taught in a “shack” by Swami with the help of a few teachers, there are now four Yoga halls, and the Yoga courses and successful Teacher Training Course have delivered more than a hundred teachers and several centers to all parts of the world.

In 2006 Lilian began teaching for Agama in Thailand. She recently had the experience of teaching in Rishikesh where the school has reopened. As a talented singer and music lover, she has been leading many of Agama’s rocking bhajans. In Amsterdam she has hosted several lectures and workshops for Swami Vivekananda. She partly turned her home into a Yoga studio from where she teaches in the Dutch rainy season. Meanwhile she continues working as a freelance video news editor. She is thankful for her employer who generously keeps hiring her, making it possible for her to follow her dreams. She feels deeply motivated and inspired by all the wonderful gifted fellow teachers and students in the school. Her greatest interest and fascination is Love. To be able to reach God, by loving totally and unconditionally, is what she sees as one of the greatest lessons and accomplishments in life.

“The best kind of love is the kind that awakens the soul, makes us reach for more, plants a fire in our hearts, and brings peace to our minds.” – “The Notebook” (a film)