Caregiving as a Path to Awarenes

For Monique Siahaya and Ivonne Wopereis, yoga has always been more than postures on a mat. Rather, it’s been a lifeline through the most demanding seasons of care, loss, and renewal. Between them, they have guided countless students and cared for family members, friends, and communities with tenderness and perseverance. In those moments, they discovered a truth that now shapes their work: that self-care is what sustains seva and service. Their book, Kundalini Yoga for Self-Care and Caregivers, grew from that insight. Designed to be practiced even from a chair, it offers gentle, structured tools — kriyas, meditations, and mantras — to help those who give the most reconnect with themselves.

Check below our interview with them

Tell us a bit about yourselves and what inspired you to develop this yoga book for self-care and caregivers.

Monique: Family is an important pillar in my life. I am a partner, mother, and grandmother. Since I started teaching yoga, there have been people around me who needed more than a regular yoga class—people with physical or mental conditions or who were taking care of others. I felt it was my path to help these people with their needs. That is how Yoga on a Chair and Self-Care Yoga took form. Taking care of others was a part of my life, especially when there was illness in my family. I took care and was grateful for that. During this journey, I learned what my needs were. In the beginning, I didn’t respect my boundaries. Yoga was always very supportive during these intense periods in my life.

Ivonne: When I lived in Asia for almost seven years, I started to follow yoga classes and was impressed by Kundalini Yoga from the very first lesson. Soon after, I started teacher training and began teaching yoga as soon as I could. Back in Holland, in my yoga classes, I saw students of different ages who were tired and could not relax. Part of them had to look after a partner or close relative and were constantly questioning themselves. These students were caregivers, and they were the first group that Monique and I focused on. We developed a yoga program and the first draft of this book, enhancing all aspects of self-care. We realized afterwards that the concept of not taking good care of oneself—and therefore this very book—is applicable to a much wider group of people, such as first responders, emergency and healthcare workers, people in overloaded work situations, and people that experience ongoing stress in their daily lives.

How was the process of picking up the yoga set and meditations? 

Monique: During caregiving, I started asking myself, “Where am I at this moment?” “What do I need now?” “What do I want to achieve?” Yoga, for me, is not about the idea that you can only survive life or hold on for a longer period of time. Yoga helps me see things more clearly and supports me in letting go and making changes. During intense times, yoga supports me in finding my own authentic way of living, one that makes me happier. In these periods, I always found a kriya, meditation, or mantra that was supportive at the moment that I needed it. After my own process, Ivonne and I sat together and compared what the needs and themes for self-care were. By then, a list of themes and needs for taking good care of oneself had emerged. We organized the themes and needs. After that, we asked caregivers what their needs were during times of caregiving. We searched for a way to structure all this information for self-care. We discovered that the self-care themes and the chakras fit wonderfully together. We could use the chakras as a structure for most of the chapters. After this process, we picked the kriyas, meditations, and mantras that were supportive during our own process of seeking more self-care.

Ivonne: Monique and I did research among caregivers in our yoga classes and with other caregivers who were not familiar with yoga. The outcome showed similar pitfalls, needs, and expectations. Out of this, we derived themes as the basis for the chapters in the book. Our journey into pranayamas, kriyas, and meditations began here. Monique came up with suggestions. We both worked with the selected material ourselves and in our yoga groups. We observed the students and listened to their responses. Sometimes we changed a selected pranayama, kriya, or meditation into one that made the whole chapter feel perfectly aligned with its theme.

What new things did you learn selecting the yoga sets and meditations for the book? 

Monique: First, I noticed what was supportive as self-care for me during intense times of life. I learned that the chakras and their themes are a wonderful system to work with in a way that all caregivers’ needs can be addressed. Another beautiful experience was that you don’t have to chase material like kriyas, meditations, or mantras; they will come to you in a way.

Ivonne: It is good to feel the sets ourselves first by practicing them and then see, by teaching them to our yoga students, whether the different parts in each chapter are supporting the themes or whether they are complementing them. For us, intuition was the starting point, and we checked the outcome by practicing it. Most important to us was finding yoga sets and meditations that could serve people with special needs, whether this was little flexibility, low endurance, or being bound to your wheelchair. In this book, the original kriya with maximum time and challenge is meant for the fit and young, whereas the small adaptations and time reduction make the yoga accessible to a far larger group of people.

Which of the yoga practices is (are) your favorite?

Monique: I cannot say that just one of them is my favorite, because sometimes I need a meditation and sometimes I feel the need to move my body and relax.

Ivonne: First and foremost is the kriya Take Away Fear and Sadness. I feel like it helps a lot with going deep inside and letting go. Also, the Kriya to Become Intuitive belongs to my list of favorites. Being connected and in contact with my own infinity is crucial to me. Without this, I lose confidence and get stressed. This kriya brings me back to a state of surrender and connection to my higher self, and it gives me energy to act. Another favorite is Meditation for a Calm Heart. The breath rhythm brings relaxation, and by touching my heart, I feel a deep connection to my Self. This results in more self-confidence and makes it possible to step back and overlook a situation.

Tell us about an inspiring and/ortransformative experience you have had with one of the meditations.

Monique: I love the meditation Becoming Aware of Your Breath for its benefits. It’s calming and relaxing, and it brings you back to your breath and to yourself without pressure. I find it so beautiful because of its simplicity. The Aad Naad Kriya helped a lot when I had the feeling that I could not bring over my message. When I practiced this meditation, I was really surprised at what changed in the way I spoke and how my message reached the other person. Also, the Kriya for the Electromagnetic Field was and is very supportive.

Ivonne: In a period of relational struggling, I really felt supported by my yoga practice, which in the morning was the kriya Take Away Fear and Sadness, and before bedtime I practiced the Meditation for a Calm Heart. Gradually, more acceptance arose. I could look at myself and see what was going on. I learned to step back and give space. Meanwhile, I continued the heart meditation, which felt like a great support. After some time, my loosening in the relationship—in fact, giving space instead of claiming based on insecurity—resulted in my becoming more independent and trusting my self-worth. As there was more freedom, continuing to give space resulted in receiving more attention and, finally, in a deeper connection. I am deeply grateful for this.

Has the writing of this yoga book changed the way you relate to your yoga practice or even with your own self-care routine?

Monique: The whole process did a lot for me; I am more and more aware of what is going well and what makes me feel good. And I am more aware of the need to set healthy boundaries. I learned that my ego is not a bad thing, but it is very important to stay in my power and can be used to set boundaries. And it made me realize that setting boundaries has nothing to do with loving a person. When you are having a hard time, it is really good to support and love yourself, for instance, by practicing yoga and meditation. Making time for yourself, taking a break, and experiencing peace is a gift.

Ivonne: We took a long time putting together this book. During the process, I practiced the kriyas and meditations from the book several times. It brought insight into my own situation: how I also disrespected my boundaries and neglected self-care, and that I was working on a book and program that could support me as well. I feel privileged to be able to pick, at any time in my life, an item from the book that supports me in that specific situation. In yoga therapy, I learned that it is important to have action followed by relaxation. Therefore, it is good to realize that daily self-care can be a basic breath exercise, an eleven-minute meditation, or lying down for fifteen minutes. These short moments of inner attention bring calmness and relaxation at times when I feel challenged, overwhelmed, or stressed, or when I want to prepare myself for the next challenge.

How do you expect this yoga book to be used or inspire people with their practice?

Monique: I wish that more people could experience that just a conscious breath or a kriya, perhaps a mantra or meditation, can really make the difference between surviving and living life. This book may offer an opportunity to be more aware of the process of finding more self-care. I hope that people can find peace within themselves even during difficult times.

Ivonne: This book is a great resource for yoga practice for people who are healthy or have conditions. The topics in the different chapters and your personal situation will lead you to what to choose at that specific moment. Practicing a whole chapter brings you a set that is in tune, but you can also choose only one part, such as meditation or breath exercise, when time or energy limits you. Practicing all of the chapters, the entire program, will be motivating and can provide insight into your own situation. If you have never practiced kundalini yoga before, you might want to attend some lessons to have the instructions brought to you personally, and you can ask any questions you may have.