There was a time when yoga was simply a means of keeping the stress and fear of living under Apartheid at bay for South African Bridgette Horszowski. Now living in Ireland, she has turned it into a career
South African-born Bridgette Horszowski is a great example of how people can turn a negative into a positive when it comes to the cards they are dealt in life. While living through the oppressive days of Apartheid, she discovered the benefits of yoga as a means to destress from the social unrest around her, and later transformed her devotion into a solid source of income in Ireland.
Looking back, Horszowski says Apartheid had a massive impact on her family in terms of stress. “We were raised as equality supporters; therefore we never really understood the importance of skin colour when it came to whom we befriended. Neighbours used to report us to the police, for example, if we had any Indian or Chinese friends in our house. They would call to the door telling us there was a curfew, and if our guests didn’t return to their townships, they faced imprisonment. I was always proud of my principles of equality and fairness, so I had to leave the country. My only other option was to end up dead, or in jail.”
Horszowski took the painful decision to leave her friends and family 20 years ago for a better quality of life abroad. After a short spell in France and the UK she settled in Ireland in 1993, and decided to study the principles of Pilates (invented by German Joseph Pilates in 1912), and yoga (a group of ancient spiritual practices that originated in India) further. From there, things began to look up.
“I wanted to help people overcome their disadvantages and be their motivator in life, so it was always my calling to become a teacher,” she says.
Horszowski completed a Bodyfirm Pilates course in Dublin in 1999, before embarking on yoga teacher-training courses in 2001 and 2005 in the disciplines of Iyengar and Ashtanga, two different styles of Hatha yoga. She says both forms are great for chakra balancing and relieving stress in the endocrinal system.
For those not familiar with these exercises, Horszowski explains: “Ashtanga is a lot more dynamic and athletic, whereas Iyengar concentrates on asana (posture) in a specifically aligned manner. Both are great for flexibility and relieving stress and also improve strength, stamina, balance and muscle tone. The mental benefits include an improvement of concentration and an increased sense of calm. Pilates, on the other hand, focuses on the core postural muscles to help maintain balance in the body, which is essential in providing support for the spine. It also lengthens short muscles and shortens long, weak muscles, so it’s excellent for correct alignment.”
For the past five years, Horszowski has taught yoga and Pilates at Yoga Dublin. She is also a qualified acupuncturist and reflexologist, and believes these approaches combined are a great natural means of combating workplace stress.
“I teach in the corporate market and think yoga and Pilates are great for keeping bums on seats,” she says. “Stress counts for at least 70pc of all injuries, as well as increased absenteeism at work. These exercises are great for preventing shoulder and neck pressure or lower-back pain caused by heavy lifting or sitting down all day.”
Horszowski teaches clients on a one-to-one or class basis in both the city-centre studio and in Ranelagh. She also recently devised a 21-day holistic detoxification course (including Pilates, yoga, reflexology and acupuncture) to cleanse, rejuvenate and lose weight. “If someone doesn’t comment on how great you are looking within two weeks, you’re cheating,” she says.
Her career in Ireland to date has enabled Horszowski to raise her 14-year-old daughter Kara in much calmer circumstances and with the same principles of fairness she fought to maintain during Apartheid. “Kara has grown up Irish and goes to a multi-cultural school in Dublin, so she is going out into the world on the right footing.”
Horszowski says the only downside to living here is the climate, and her long-term goal is to open a holistic healing centre in Portugal and reunite with her family. “My folks have moved to Portugal, which I’m pleased about, as I believe there might be a civil war when Mandela dies.”
