Iceland review - 2016, Qupperneq 56

54 ICELAND REVIEW
and lower back. We do balance poses,
breathing and meditation. It’s surprising
how you can help people experience
[the benefits of a full-length yoga ses-
sion] without actually going any farther
than just standing up.” Managers seem
to have no gripe with the short classes,
and the workers are craving more, Eygló
says. “The question we get every time is:
‘When are you coming back?’”
BALANCE IS KEY
While Eygló’s new career has kept her
within the realm of the business world,
albeit playing a different role, for Sólveig
becoming a yoga teacher meant leaving
the world of high finance behind for
good. In her view, the crash afforded
society an opening for change on a fun-
damental level and she describes how the
crisis in the financial sector led to a crisis
in her own way of life. “For me it was a
big transformation. Only a few months
before [the crash], I could not see myself
in any other [environment] than in the
bank because it was really addictive. In
the end I was kind of happy that the
market broke down so that I didn’t have
to leave it myself. The bank just broke
up with me.” Eygló nods knowingly as
Sólveig speaks about the addictive quality
of working in finance at that time. “The
high life,” she adds, reflectively.
While Sólveig’s transformation may
have required a total renunciation of the
consumeristic aspects of operating in
the business world, it’s clear she brings
a wealth of corporate experience to run-
ning her business. She says, laughing,
that she has been putting in 14-18 hour
workdays at Sólir, and the success of her
studio is due to her diligence. But she
insists that it’s not really ‘work’ because
she loves what she does. Maintaining a
balance is key, Eygló agrees, with regard
to the hardcore work ethic that seems
LIFESTYLE