From my heart to yours: Welcome!
What Else?
I’m married to Kasper Skårhøj and we have 3 kids. We live in Copenhagen, Denmark.
I have a University degree (Masters) in Social Science and two years of Theology training.
I’m the (main) author of several books, including “Meditative Movements” (see below) and “Learning CrossYoga; A Guide to Christian Yoga.” Both books can be found on Amazon.
You can stay in contact with me by signing up for my newsletter called “Moment” (see up above), and make sure to find my Youtube channel: CrossYoga with Rie where I post videos weekly of different lengths and styles.
My name is Rie and I’m the founder of CrossYoga. This is my story
I did my first yoga class online in a small hotel hall in Malta
Since 2010 I have been self-employed as a speaker and consultant on the subject of Volunteer Management. This went well and I thought I had my carrier planned out for me. Besides giving presentations and the like, I was teaching fitness classes and Zumba (!) too.
I felt like my body was super stiff from all the strength classes I was doing and I knew I enjoyed moving the body in new ways - so "Why not try yoga?" I thought one day. I had three small kids during that time and was super busy with that, trying to take care of my family, my business, and myself
So one summer day in 2014, being tired from meeting everybody's needs and not my own, I went online and found a free yoga class. I had 30 minutes by myself so I went to the hotel hall outside my family room with my computer.
Immediately I was surprised by how hard it was and how not flexible my body was. I felt a bit silly standing in a public space doing all of these weird postures. As the class came to an end, we were asked to rest on the floor so I was laying flat in the hotel hall.
I remember that peaceful feeling in my body and mind. It was like my mind had slowed down and I knew that there was something here. I thought: "What an awesome time this is for meditation and prayer. Somebody must have connected this with faith."
Immediately I went online and found Yoga Faith. I took their online training during the fall of 2014 and taught yoga as soon as I had the first postures down. CrossYoga became a Network and my business in 2016.
As for yoga '‘credentials I am a lead trainer in CrossYoga and in Yoga Alliance E-RYT500 with +3000 teaching hours.
I have specialized in Yoga history and Philosophy as well as anatomy. In 2023 I’ll gain my 2nd +300hr certification so I have about 1000hr of yoga-related training.
Meditative Movements by Rie
I’m bad at meditating. My thoughts are all over the place.
I rarely have time for meditation or devotional time.
I can’t sit still and pray for a long period of time.
Honestly, I often find it boring to read the Bible and pray.
Maybe your world looks a bit like mine has?
If this is the case, this book is for you. It’s written for you, if you want to meditate but don’t want to spend hours and hours every week doing it. It’s written for you, if you long for more tangible and concrete elements in your prayer life. It’s written for you if you long for God’s love but find it difficult getting it from the “head” to the heart. In this book you’ll have devotions with themes that most people encounter throughout life.
Each devotion begins with slow movements - trying to get from mind-chatter into calmness as you focus on breath and movement. There are both easy and advanced sequences you can use for 3 to 15 minutes. All are illustrated in the back of the book.
When you are ready, you can continue and read a prayer and a short passage from the Bible. The next step is the “interlude,” where you are invited to engage your body, place your hands on your chest or lean into a wall, or picture something with your eyes closed. The purpose of this to emphasize the theme and let faith and prayer become tangible. If you want to try meditation, you can finish with “breath meditations” or “mantras” on Bible verses.
I welcome you to use any or all of the steps of the devotions that make sense to you! I hope that your heart will be blessed by the readings and this completely new way of opening body, soul and mind to God.
Price: 19€/$19
Learning CrossYoga. A guide to Christian Yoga
“This book is a gem! With an extensive breadth and depth into the philosophy of yoga, one can learn yoga’s rich history and understand how it can benefit each individual’s yoga journey, whether it be your Christian faith walk or simply understanding how the science and art of yoga can be applied to your holistic well-being. Thank you.” (Josephine Lau. Founder of Grace x Strength. Australia)
“The book is easy to read. It provides answers to common questions and debates related to yoga as a Christian practice. It goes into depth with the history, development and philosophy of yoga. In addition, it has devoted a lot of space to concrete learnings on how to plan and execute a Christ-centred yoga class. This is a valuable contribution to the development of Christian yoga, and a gift to the church.” (Sunniva Gylver. Pastor. Norway)
“Learning CrossYoga - A Guide to Christian Yoga” is a book that I personally would have loved to have had during my years of journeying with Christian yoga. A book that goes into depth with Yoga Philosophy and Christian theology, offering a lot of inspiration, and intended to be idea and thought provoking. All this is in the WHAT part of the book.
This book is not only theoretical, it is also practical and “hands on.” This is the HOW part of the book. You’ll learn about structuring, cueing and theming a Christ-centred yoga class, and be introduced to a variety of topics e.g., Yoga for stress and trauma, the elderly, kids and teens.
“Learning CrossYoga” is a faith based book written by people with academic mindsets, coupled with a lot of practical experience in teaching upcoming yoga instructors.
Together: “Learning CrossYoga,” along with “The CrossYoga Manual- Learning the Postures” will give you all you need to know, in order to teach CrossYoga or Christ-centred yoga.