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About us
We are Anne, Robert & Mika
Behind Vinayaki-Yoga & Coaching (VYC) stand we as a family - with our experiences, our ideas and the wish to create spaces for encounter, development and community. Anne and Robert bring their different paths and strengths together; with Mika the next generation is now growing into the build-up of the Sahitya platform as well.
What connects us is the joy of sharing knowledge, bringing people together and letting offerings grow with heart, mindfulness and openness. Here we would like to tell you who we are and what carries us on this shared path.
Vinayaki-Anne
Yoga teacher (BYV) · nutritional scientist · singing bowls · Reiki master
Anne
Vinayaki-Anne
I am Vinayaki-Anne – nutritional scientist, mother of five boys and yoga teacher in the tradition of Swami Sivananda. Yoga has been with me for over 20 years: as a path to more awareness, inner calm and connectedness – with myself, with other people and with life.
Even while studying nutritional science I was drawn to alternative ways of eating and living. A vegetarian-vegan diet, a needs-oriented family life and our children's free school are as much part of my path as the question of how we can live mindfully and self-determinedly.
Living with ankylosing spondylitis teaches me again and again to listen to my body and to meet my own needs with patience and kindness. Yoga is not a demand for perfection here, but an invitation to arrive with yourself at your own pace.
In 2023 I completed my yoga teacher training. During that time I received my personal mantra and my spiritual name Vinayaki – the one guided by Ganesha. Ganesha stands for wisdom, new beginnings and the strength to meet obstacles with clarity and trust.
My training in singing-bowl massage and my initiation into the Reiki master degree add sound, touch and energy work to my path. These approaches can create a protected space in which you may pause, perceive and discover for yourself what supports you.
Music comes along quite naturally: I play guitar and harmonium and sing mantras and healing songs with great joy. In my offerings I open a mindful space for encounter, stillness, sound and movement – so that you can remember what is already alive within you.
♪ My personal mantra: Om Gam Ganapataye Namaha →VINAYAKI-ANNE - MY PERSONAL MANTRA
Oṃ gaṃ gaṇapataye namaḥ
ॐ गम गणपतये नमः
Remove all obstacles — reverence to Ganapati, the lord of the hosts
oṃ
ॐ
the cosmic sound
gaṃ
गम
to go, to move, to set out
gaṇapataye
गणपतये
to Ganapati, the lord of the hosts, protector of all good forces
namaḥ
नमः
bow, greeting and reverence
Our logo
One silhouette, two beings
Left in the logo
Ganesha
Crown, ear and the trunk holding the flame - wisdom and a good beginning
Right in the logo
Vinayaki-Anne
the face of the woman with open hair - the feminine, creative force
Our logo unites the two in one silhouette: Ganesha, who removes obstacles, and Vinayaki, his feminine force - namesake of Vinayaki-Anne and of Vinayaki-Yoga & Coaching.
Ganesha
also called Ganapati or Vinayaka · left in our logo
Ganesha is one of the best known and most venerated deities in Hinduism. As an elephant-headed deity he stands for wisdom, learning, prosperity and a good beginning; that is why he is traditionally invoked before new undertakings, journeys or ceremonies.
His role as “remover of obstacles” can also be understood inwardly: Ganesha reminds us to look at doubts, habits or fears with clarity, patience and discernment. His large head and big ears are often read as images of wide thinking and attentive listening, while his mount, the mouse, stands figuratively for consciously guiding even small or restless impulses.
Vinayaki
Vināyakī - his feminine force (Shakti) · right in our logo
Vinayaki (Sanskrit: Vināyakī) is the feminine form, or the Shakti, of Vinayaka – that is, of Ganesha. She is depicted as an elephant-headed goddess: the creative, acting force, linked with wisdom, clarity and the overcoming of obstacles. Her name can be understood as “the one belonging to Ganesha”; in spiritual naming also as “the leading one” or “she who lets herself be guided by Ganesha”.
In the sources Vinayaki is attested far more rarely and described far less uniformly than Ganesha: sometimes she appears as an independent goddess, sometimes as a feminine counterpart or energy form; her origins are also connected with the Yogini and Matrika traditions. We therefore understand her meaning as one possible, tradition-bound reading — and precisely this openness makes her so fascinating: a figure between mythology, symbolism and regional veneration.
Robert
From the desk to the mat
I am Robert – computer scientist, family person and someone who likes to set things in motion: in thinking, with his hands and together with other people. Professionally I work as a lead product manager at a large German online retailer, where I develop automation solutions around customer service.
My work is strongly shaped by analysis, structure and many hours at the computer. I find a soothing balance in yoga, but also in working on our house, in the garden and in woodworking – where thoughts grow quieter and something may take shape with your own hands.
A few years ago a burnout made me look at my life anew. In that difficult time I experienced how hard it can be to find suitable support – and how valuable it is to have people at your side who accompany you; my family carried me through it.
That experience became a turning point. I began a coaching training in order to devote myself to questions such as “Who am I really?” and “Why am I here?” – and to be able to offer people in similar phases of life a mindful space for their own answers.
While supporting Vinayaki-Anne in building up her offerings, the idea arose to connect yoga and coaching more closely. At the same time the growing administrative effort for the yoga groups showed that the existing software did not fit our needs: features were missing, it was too inflexible or simply too expensive.
That is how the idea for VYC Sahitya was born: our own platform with an app that may bring together our offerings, courses, events and the community step by step. Here I can combine my professional experience with what matters to us as a family – sharing knowledge, easing the way and creating spaces in which people can meet and develop.
“There are millions of reasons not to do something. Find the one reason to do it anyway!”
Robert & Mika
Life Trust Coach · lead product manager · computer scientist
Mika & Vinayaki-Anne
Mika
Open systems, shared paths
I am Mika and I am interested in how community, participation and digital solutions come together. I earned my qualifications at a free school and contributed actively over many years – among other things looking after the IT, organising day-to-day school life and taking part in sociocratic and democratic processes.
During my federal volunteer service at the school I obtained the youth leader card (Juleica). Afterwards I stayed on there for a while and completed the basic training in sociocracy privately; that time showed me how valuable responsibility, shared decision-making and a respectful way of being together are.
My interest in IT kept growing along the way. At home I expanded our IT infrastructure with a homelab, router, switch and NAS and worked intensively with networking, servers, artificial intelligence and free operating systems. Open, comprehensible systems and more independence from large, particularly US-American providers matter a great deal to me.
From August 2026 I begin my apprenticeship as an IT specialist for system integration. At Vinayaki-Yoga & Coaching I support the build-up and operation of the Sahitya platform and can thus combine my joy in technology with a project that brings people together, makes knowledge accessible and lets community come alive digitally too.
Family
Behind the scenes
At home we are seven: the two of us and five boys, plus two dogs and a cat in an old house in Lauenburg an der Elbe. Here we practise, sing, build and laugh. Exactly this liveliness is what we bring into yoga, sound and coaching.
Our five boys
Evening round with the dogs
And of course: the cat
In black and white
Our qualifications
Our work is shaped by experience, curiosity and the wish to keep learning. Here we share the training and further education that accompany our path and our offerings.
· 2023
Professional association of Yoga Vidya teachers (BYV) · More than 400 teaching units · Yoga Alliance RYT 200
· 2025
Professional association of Yoga Vidya health advisors, course leaders and therapists (BYVG) · Training with 120 teaching units
· 2025
Initiation by Reiki master Agnieszka Gebert · Reiki Usui system of natural healing
· 2025
Yoga Vidya e.V., Bad Meinberg · Yoga teacher continuing education, live online
· 2026
Robert · certified by Veit Lindau · Online training 2024–2025 · certified according to EASC guidelines
Our journey
“Yoga is my faithful companion on my daily journey to myself - an adventure that never ends.”
Vinayaki-Anne
Get to know us in person
If you have become curious and would like to learn more about us and our work, feel free to get in touch. We look forward to meeting you.