Halina
1) Name: Halina Karetas
2) Lives in: I live in an area of Athens called Lofos Skouze.
3) From: I was born in Leamington Spa in England, known as the ‘Garden Town’ of the Midlands. Leamington Spa has beautiful public gardens and two rivers running through it–always a nice place to go back to for a visit. 🙂
4) Occupation: After working in shipping for over two decades, I was made redundant and forced to take an early retirement, not necessarily a bad thing! I now do some voluntary work and concentrate more on my hobbies which include photography, gardening and travel.
5) First three jobs (ever!): My first paid ‘job’ was taking my neighbour’s small son to school and back home – I must have been about 10 at the time! After working many part-time jobs while studying, my first full-time job was as PA to the Entertainments & Events Manager at the local council arranging public events. Following that I worked in the Special Promotions Department of a UK travel agency, the job that inspired me to travel and ultimately led me to Greece.
6) Zodiac: Virgo. I’m happy to say I’m not quite the perfectionist I used to be!
7) Enneagram: Peacemaker Type 9. It took me some time to figure it out as I have traits of a few of the types, but after attending Lynn’s Enneagram Panel evening about 9, it finally clicked.
8) What do you love about Athens and Greece? I love the vibrancy and diversity of Athens and its mix of ancient and modern. It’s really coming into its own now in terms of nightlife, cuisine and culture. Athens is a city of opposites and extremes but one thing is for sure, it’s never boring! Greece is a beautiful country, both the mainland and the islands. I love exploring it – it’s truly the land of the Gods.
9) Tell us something most people don’t know about you. I used to be in an amateur dramatics group and love acting and performing. I still attend an acting class – I consider it my ‘therapy’. I also have two dogs – both rescues.
10) Where are we most likely to find you in Lynn’s Kundalini Yoga community? Whenever I can make it, you’ll find me at Lynn’s evening classes and occasionally at her night rooftop events with that beautiful view of the Acropolis. I’ve also attended the Gong evenings but I’ve yet to try the SUP yoga – maybe this summer!
11) When was the first time you tried Kundalini Yoga? With Lynn at her very first Kundalini classes in Athens at Bhavana Yoga. I hadn’t heard of it before and was intrigued to learn more. I found Lynn to be a great teacher and really enjoyed the energy I felt after each class and in the days that followed.