Nicki Forman-Levitan
Nicki Forman-Levitan, 37, is founder of the Yoga Form studio in Antwerp. Her mission is to brighten lives with yogic philosophy
I came to Antwerp 12 years ago and stayed here purely for love. I was working as an attorney in my native South Africa when I met my husband. He’s also South African but was already working in Antwerp.
I followed him here, leaving behind my family and friends, the ocean and sunshine, as well as my career. Love balanced out all the negatives but it was still very difficult to acclimatise, learn the new language and get used to the terrible weather.
I spent my time learning Dutch, lecturing at the University of Antwerp and looking after our children. But I was still in a state of friction and resistance, trying to adapt to life here, and I felt something was missing. When I started practising yoga, I suddenly realised, “This is it!”
Discovering yoga was like a cataclysmic bolt out of the sky. At once I understood the reason I’d ended up here was to spread yoga in whatever way I could. I immersed myself in yogic teachings and practice, trained as a teacher, then opened the Yoga Form studio.
When I got inspired six years ago, there was almost no yoga in Antwerp, just a few classes in gyms and in private homes. I wanted to introduce it not just as a physical practice, but also as a philosophy which can create balance in our lives, improve health and emotional well-being and ultimately lead to a deeper realisation of one’s self. Now I wouldn’t want to go back to live in South Africa. This is a great place to bring up my two children, Tia, 8, and Jay, 6. It’s a beautiful, vibrant, cosmopolitan city full of flair, character and culture. After having looked at Antwerp in shadow for so long, when I finally came to see it in sunshine, I felt really grateful to live here.
Yoga Form has developed organically, starting small and growing naturally with demand, largely from expats. Now I’m delighted by our burgeoning yoga community. We’re growing in so many new directions that sometimes I feel like the Hindu god Shiva with a million arms and legs. We’ve recently moved the studio to a larger space and I’ve launched a range of yoga products. I’m most excited about the new yoga-inspired jewellery.
I grew up surrounded by jewellery because my father, Sid Forman, is one of South Africa’s foremost designers. As a child I used to play at his factory, but I never took much interest in the jewellery. To my mind, it had only monetary value, and that didn’t appeal to me. I didn’t even wear jewellery.
Once I’d had the idea of developing a yoga-inspired line of jewellery, though, it made sense on so many levels. Through developing the yoga collection I could suddenly see a purpose to jewellery. It brought out all that knowledge of the jewellery industry which I’d picked up from my father, but which had lain latent inside me since childhood, and combined that with the passion I have for yoga.
I see it as providing another platform for the awakening consciousness. It has also given me a wonderful opportunity to work with my father, who has personally designed and handmade each item in South Africa. Each piece has its deeper symbolism which I hope will have a special meaning for the people who buy them. And a portion of every sale goes to a South African charity which supports abandoned and orphaned children.
Now all these different strands in my life fit together so perfectly, it feels like magic. Best of all, they still allow me time for my family.
It sounds so New Age, but I really believe that when you open your consciousness, that’s when the magic happens. I’ve learned now that there’s always a reason why we are where we are and our task is to discover our fullest potential.
FOR MORE: www.yogaform.be
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Comments
yoga
Hi, i would love to join your lessons but you are just too far away. I live in essen unfortunately.