Noura is a Kuwaiti yoga instructor and a petroleum engineer. Before starting her yoga journey, Noura was physically active and so drawn into powerlifting. With the busy life she has, all her anxiety and stress were used in her powerlifting and swimming sessions, so training was an essential part of her day. To slow things down, her trainer suggested to switch swimming with lower intensity sport so Noura decided to give yoga a try with absolutely no expectations.

From her first yoga class, Noura noticed a huge difference in her mood, energy level and digestion. Her body was very opened to the practice and her mind was so quiet and relaxed afterwards. It felt so natural to her! What her body was capable of doing was so fascinating to her and made her love and appreciate her body even more. She felt so peaceful and empowered after each yoga class. Little by little she increased the number of yoga classes she attended per week until yoga became her main practice, Ashtanga to be specific. After a year of practicing only Ashtanga, she started practicing Vinyasa and Yin as well. Ashtanga taught her discipline and gave her the mental and physical strength, Vinyasa taught her to be more flexible and fun, while Yin taught her surrender and patience. These three methods helped shaping her personality and provided the key to more peaceful life.

“I was looking for someone to inspire me, motivate me, support me, keep me focused; someone who would effectively love me, cherish me, make me happy and then I realized that all along I was looking for myself.”

 With the constant practice of the yoga poses, the body is supposed to be strong and healthy. This is not the cause with Noura, she started getting pain all over her joints and it was getting worse with practice. She spent a lot of time studying anatomy and going to physiotherapy sessions till she came to the conclusion that she has hypermobile joints and without the proper alignment she is loading her joints instead of the muscles and causing herself harm. The awareness of how the pose should feel instead of how it looks, how to modify the poses to accommodate all was not very well spread. With the knowledge she gained and her eagerness to learn more, Noura decided to take her yoga training from an Iyengar based school and help guide yogis with different body types into a safe and mindful practice.

Till date, Noura holds four yoga certificates; 200hrs ytt, Pregnancy yoga, aerial yoga, and Yin yoga.  She teaches aerial yoga with “Fly High Kuwait”, while her mat yoga classes are on hold for now till she finds the perfect place that speaks to her values.

Throughout the years, Noura picked up few things from the greatest school … LIFE. She learned not to compare her journey with others and to be patient. To always stay authentic and protect her values. To trust the process and have faith in herself. To show compassion towards herself and others. Finally to be perceptive.