Paula Band

Stories: Nothing more, nothing less

Just another story with all the colors of the rainbow and all the shades of black.

Paula discovered yoga in 2009, during a challenging period in her life, when she chose to focus on self-development. She first encountered the works of Anthony De Mello and Eckhart Tolle, which eventually led her to books on yoga philosophy. As a “natural robot,” she wasn’t initially drawn to posture-based yoga. However, everything changed in Thailand when she met a 77-year-old yogini standing on her head. Inspired and curious, Paula began practicing asana the very next day.

Thailand and Southeast Asia became her main yoga home for many years. She spent time in Chiang Mai practicing yoga and movement/dance meditation (DanceMandala, BioDanza), traveling, creating illustrations, and finding several home-like communities in local yoga studios. In Vietnam, at the Sivananda Yoga Center in Ho Chi Minh City—the only English-speaking yoga studio at the time—she immediately fell in love with the traditional Sivananda practice. This led her to her first Yoga Teacher Training in Chiang Rai in 2013.

After graduating from her RYT200, Paula moved to Cape Town, South Africa, where she taught yoga to local surfers. Teaching, however, did not unfold as expected due to life circumstances, and she returned to Finland, where she began working as a kindergarten teacher. Life was good, but something still felt missing.

In 2016, she began to dream of living and teaching yoga full-time. She left her job and returned to Thailand to deepen her studies. She found another yoga home on Koh Tao and completed an Advanced Yoga Teacher Training (RYT500) in Chiang Rai. Suddenly, everything fell into place. Back in Finland, teaching yoga became her profession, and she began working at various studios in Helsinki.

In 2017, Paula completed a therapeutic teacher training with J. Brown and met Cat Alip-Douglas, whose Vinyasa style and wisdom deeply inspired her. She went on to study another 200-hour training with Cat, graduating in October 2019.

OVER 750 HOURS OF TEACHER TRAINING

  • 2013: 200 hours TTC Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center, Chiang Rai, Thailand

  • 2016: 300 hours Advanced TTC Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Canter, Chiang Rai, Thailand

  • 2017: 50 hours Vinyasa Slow /Therapeutic Yoga, J.Brown, Helsinki

  • 2019: 200 hours Vinyasa flow, Cat Alip-Douglas, London

Observing and learning – As a Student and a Teacher

As a yoga student, I wish to remain a beginner: curious, open-minded, and intuitive. Ready to unlearn and learn again. I believe that every Adho Mukha Svanasana can be practiced as if it were the first time—paying attention to alignment, detail, and sensation. I love questioning what I know, breaking my understanding into pieces, and rebuilding my yoga puzzle again and again.

I don’t believe in only one teacher or approach that works for everyone. I prefer to explore different perspectives, schools, and lineages in order to remain open and evolve. I’ve studied with traditional Hatha yoga teachers, in the Sivananda lineage, Vinyasa Flow, yoga for back injury prevention, Vinyasa Slow, the Jivamukti tradition, and I continue to explore different approaches to Vinyasa structures and hands-on adjustments. I believe every teacher has something to offer.

As a yoga teacher, I wish to share the knowledge and tools I’ve gained in a way that awakens curiosity in others. I believe yoga is for anyone to benefit from. The practice always adapts to the person—no one needs to change themselves to meet an external standard. Yoga doesn’t judge.

I love creating strong, flowing asana practices that awaken the senses and expand awareness into every cell. At the same time, I value gentleness: counter-poses, undoing, reverse actions, contrasts, and opposites. My aim is to create a loving, supportive space where people can safely connect with themselves. I strive to offer a practice that is challenging but compassionate, free from the pressure to perform or be productive.

To me, bravery means moving toward the unknown—toward fear. Struggle, when held in a loving way, is welcome. Yoga begins when we learn to welcome discomfort. And yet, I wouldn’t be myself without laughter—even when things feel dark, my humor is often darker. I welcome bad jokes, twisted humor, playfulness, irony, and loving sarcasm almost always. Free jokes are available in my classes (requested or not).

As both a student and a teacher, I am interested in building sustainable asana practices through mindful approaches and safe alignment. Yoga may simply be a way to move the body, but for me, it has been much more. My practice has taught me:

  • How to observe the mind and body.

  • How to find gratitude and notice small things that are already perfect as they are.

  • How to remain open, honest, and respectful.

  • How to stay truthful in speech, actions, and thoughts.

  • How to set and respect boundaries.

  • How to judge less.

  • How to take myself more lightly.

  • How to accept and surrender to what is.

  • How to connect with myself, even when things feel unfinished or unresolved.

  • And, not least—patience.