Location: Qatar
Profession: Health Care Worker
Social Profiles
About
I'm originally from Brazil, where I earned a postgraduate degree in nursing and worked in a hospital for 10 years. In 2004, I moved to China with my husband, an airline pilot, and during our time there, I transitioned from nursing to yoga, eventually becoming an Iyengar Yoga instructor. Our journey took us to Qatar in 2013 due to my husband's job with Qatar Airways, and I've been teaching yoga full-time here ever since.
In 2019, I learned how to make sourdough bread from my student, Julia, who's from Hungary (we both live in Qatar), and I've been passionate about baking it ever since. I mainly bake for my family and friends but sometimes sell an extra loaf. My favorite breakfast is bread with butter, egg, and avocado. Just give me some good bread and butter, and I'm happy. By the way, Julia, who taught me how to bake bread, is also joining me for the workshop.
My Work
Currently, I'm based in Doha, Qatar, but we own a house in Banbury, UK, where my son lives; he works in Abingdon as an engineer. We're planning to stay in Qatar for another 3-4 years before possibly moving to the UK (my husband is from Spain) or back to Brazil. I teach yoga both online and in person, which allows me to continue my work wherever I go. My baking practice comes with me too; I bring my sourdough starter when I travel and stay at someone's house, so I can bake and teach them if they're interested. I've even shared my starter with my mom in Brazil, and she now bakes every week.
Passionate about Baking as Lifestyle Medicine
My priority is to keep myself healthy so that I can help others lead a healthy lifestyle. I aim to be an example for my two kids, family, and friends. I believe we can't be healthy if we don't pay attention to what we eat. I will not preach what I don't practice. I had thyroid cancer 15 years ago, and it was not a good experience.
My Community
I know that having more information about what is good and bad allows us to make better choices; awareness is crucial for making changes. Most of the people I interact with are my family, friends, and my yoga students. Yoga helps us become more aware of our body, mind, and breath, but I find making changes to food habits harder. Since I am not a professional nutritionist and can only lead by example, I feel that if I focus on studying more about health and food, I will be more qualified to give advice.
How I use BALM Protocol
I don't know yet; I think once I start my studies, one thing will lead to another. I'm sure opportunities will arise for how to share the knowledge. I would love to be able to prescribe and teach baking. Let's see what unfolds. So far, just learning to make my first bread and having your books brought me here, wanting to study more.
