ABOUT MARK DOWE
Teacher.
Mover.
"I get why things feel hard."
25+ years of teaching, dancing, laughing & learning...
and firmly believing that its all much simpler than we think
and that a good laugh is as important as a good stretch.
Here's my story:
I grew up moving. As a young man I trained as a state-certified gymnastics teacher in Düsseldorf,
then fell completely in love with dance — which led to a 15-year professional dance career that took me across Europe and eventually brought me to the Netherlands.
I started teaching yoga over two decades ago, initially to complement my dance work, and then discovered that this was it. This was what I wanted to do. The combination of the physical intelligence of movement, the depth of philosophy, the absolute human joy of being in a room (or a Zoom call) full of people trying their best — I was hooked.
Since then I've completed thousands of hours of training across multiple yoga traditions, spent time in ashrams, studied with some extraordinary teachers, and taught everywhere from corporate offices and festival stages to intimate studio sessions and weekly online classes. The learning never stops — and I wouldn't want it to.
Today I teach yoga, offer massage and bodywork, and coach people who want to build a sustainable movement practice. I'm based in Amsterdam, I run regular pop-ups in Rotterdam, and I teach online to students all over the world.
I'm also a proud Out-fluencer, a joyous philosophy expounder, and — my personal favourite title — a professional hugger.
Come to a class and you'll understand.
I believe 'practice' is any activity you use regularly to work on yourself — physically, mentally, spiritually.
It could be yoga. It could be running... or dancing.
It could be cooking, journalling, laughing with your friends or sitting quietly with a cup of tea for five minutes before the day swallows you whole.
Finding the right practice —
the one that genuinely works for YOU and brings you actual joy — is one of the most important things you can do.
And then, once you've found it: don't make it into a burden. Don't turn it into another thing to be perfect at.
Find what rings true to you. Doesn't matter the source.
Don't get too stuck in what it's all supposed to look like.
MY PHILOSOPHY
"Take the practice serious, but don't take
yourself so serious."
PEOPLE WHO INFLUENCE ME
SOME INSPIRATIONS
Ram Dass
His teachings changed how I think about presence, practice, and what it means to serve from the heart and with loving awareness.
Dolly Parton
Proof that you can be deeply wise, wildly joyful, and completely yourself — all at once,
while staying
humble & grateful.
ALAN WATTS
Made Eastern philosophy feel alive, accessible, and genuinely funny.
A model for how to teach and how "to groove with
the eternal now"
Martha Graham
"Dance is the
hidden language
of the soul."
Thats why it's all
just "a dance":
every move,
every practice...
every day of your life.
rUPAUL
"If you can't love yourself, how in the hell are you gonna love somebody else?"
That's the work, right?
TRAINING & QUALIFICATIONS
The credentials
for those who want them.
EDUCATIONS
-
Katchie Ananda ( 200h (RYA) TT @Ganeshas Barn, Cologne 2019
-
Rusty Wells (100h (RYA) TT "Bhakti Flow", @Urban Flow, San Francisco, USA (2018)
-
Clive Sheridan ( several Immersions in India, France, Germany 2013-2019 )
-
Anat Geiger ( 200h (RYA) TT "Yin Yoga" @Yogagarden, Amsterdam 2015/2016 )
-
Svaha Yoga( 500h TT "Vinyasa Krama Yoga",@ Svaha Yoga Shala, Amsterdam 2011 - 2012 )
-
Sivananda Yoga ( 200h TT, @Neuville-Aux-Bois Ashram, Orleans 2010 )
-
Swedish Massage, Mood Massage, NL (2022)
-
licensed trainer for orthopaedic spine health @KddR, D (2015)
-
Thai Massage, @International Thai Massage School Thai Hand, NL (2014);
-
15years professional dance career in Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Italy (2000 - 2014);
-
Codarts Academy of Music and Dance, Rotterdam, NL (2000-2002);
-
state-certified gymnastics teacher, @Weber School, Düsseldorf D (1996-1999);
Places I worked & Clients
-
Gasteiner Yoga Festival , Austria (2022 - currently)
-
Sportcity NL (2022 - currently)
-
“HAPPINEZ” Festival 2019; NL
-
“International Day of Yoga”, by Indian embassy, 2018 & 2019
-
“Yoga Festival Terschelling” 2017 & 2018; NL
-
Präha Bildungszentrum Düsseldorf (2002-2018) Faculty member & member board of examiners
-
“JULIDANS” Stadshouwburg Amsterdam (2014 & 2015) Teacher
-
Svaha Yoga Shala, Amsterdam (2012 - 2020)
-
"Amsterdam University of the Arts";
-
"Royal Dance Conservatory", The Hague;
-
"Codarts Academy of Music & Dance", Rotterdam;
-
Präha Bildungszentrum Düsseldorf
-
"Stadswild Secret Yoga Club”
-
” Yin Yoga TT 2018 ”Yoga Garden”, Amsterdam;
-
”H&M”; ”Victor & Rolf"; Shape All In, Deep House Yoga Club; Conservatorium Hotel Amsterdam; Stadswild Secret Yoga Club; Medico Vision; Splash Healthclub; Natural High Yoga; Squash City; Volksbank NL; Babette Labeij Music Academy; Fit4Free; You Can Yoga; Yoga Yatra and more