Meet the newest member of our fit-fam, Elena

MEET elena!

Tell us a little about yourself

I am originally from the beautiful city of St Petersburg, Russia, and have been in marketing for almost 8 years working for international companies. I wasn’t very happy with the industry that I worked in at the time. I was curious about the wellness business and wanted to finally do my yoga teacher training. I had a perfect opportunity to do so when I moved to Hong Kong at the beginning of 2019 and joined the amazing H-Kore team.

I am part of the front-of-the-house team and also involved with corporate wellness programs and marketing at H-Kore. Since March I am also happy to be offering my yoga classes in the Quarry Bay location.

Yoga has been a big part of my life for some time now and I am honored to be able to share the practice and my experience with the wonderful H-Kore community.

Do you remember your first Yoga class, what was it like for you?

My true love of yoga started from a hot room. I remember that I walked out of the class having a “WOW” feeling and a huge smile on my face.

I had no idea what it was, but it felt amazing and so I came back the next day and the day after and the day after...

Any advice for new students who are feeling nervous to try yoga?

I heard so many times that people are afraid to start yoga because they are “not flexible enough”, particularly from men. And Instagram is not helping, as yoga is mostly imaged as a perfect handstand or a pretzel pose somewhere on the beach with a beautiful sunset in the background.

But it is not about an advanced pose. It is about moving, breathing and actually noticing the difference in how you feel.

Yoga classes at H-Kore are a perfectly safe place to start your practice. We run small group classes and chat with each student beforehand to understand the level. There are always adjustments provided and we do our best to really give an individual approach to each student, which is not often available in other studios.

What’s your favourite Yoga pose and why?

Ardha Chandrasana (Half Moon Pose). I love to feel how my whole body opens in this pose.

Do you have a least favourite pose or one you struggle with?

Utkatasana (chair pose) and Pincha Mayurasana (Forearm stand) . No matter how much I do these two poses, they always bring so many emotions, I am always amazed. But when you have such a strong reaction to a pose, you just gotta keep doing it. I’m still working on getting in the place of calm in these poses...

How do you motivate yourself on days when you don’t feel like moving your body?

On those days I just agree with myself that I do at least something - go for a bit longer walk with my dog or do a 15 min yoga flow where I just allow my body to move in a way that feels good.

What foods are always in your fridge?

Cheese, greek olives, fruit, and vegetables. Oh, and wine.

Favourite thing to do in your downtime?

Going on a hike with my husband and our dog, being on the beach, having a delicious meal with friends.

What can people expect from your classes?

I teach dynamic and engaging classes with a focus on alignment and constantly connecting movement with breath. It is my greatest joy to see students progressing, discovering the capabilities of their bodies, and seeing that they feel good after practice.