Born in Poland, raised in Canada and having resided in Tokyo (1997-2006), Basia J. Lipska is a yoga advisor/practitioner and an artist-designer (MFA). She has been involved in the yoga industry for over a decade having expanded and developed yoga studios in Japan, Poland and Norway.  She has instructed, trained, modeled and supervised health-related projects appearing in the media as a promoter of yoga and healthy living standards.  The therapeutic and transformative power of yoga became the driving force of her creative interests which range from painting, performance to fashion and design. Basia has been training at the re-knowned KPJAYI in Mysore, India for over 10 years. She is presently foundng director of the MysoreOslo ashtanga yoga studio in Oslo and offers yoga retreats and her art & design services internationally. 

Yoga is a path that I trudge upon daily, as do others worldwide.  Access to the many postures lies not in the physique but in attaining the key to untangle the corresponding knot of the mind. Hence to me, this practice is a symbolic study of the dialectics of knots.  I train to do and undo; to like what I dislike; to be detached from the things I love; to be comfortable in uncomfortable situations - In essence, to resolve opposition. I tackle entering unlikely and challenging situations as to be adept at undoing myself into a state of emancipation. This daily repetitive movement is a practice of observation, a study of the weaving of opposites as to produce a tapestry showing the way to transcend the dualistic nature of life. After many years of practice, this tapestry of knots is my personal map of an art of opposites. Yoga became a lifestyle for me, an art of living. And I, the artist creating my existence, painting my destiny onto the tabula rasa provided – the yoga practice mat.

Photos by Helene Gulaker Hansen from http://www.leicame.com/