Traditional Hatha Yoga

Dr. Olav Aarts has 30 years of Traditional Hatha Yoga experience, offering classes, masterclasses, intensives, and teacher trainings worldwide. Olav teaches Hatha Yoga and lectures on the origins of various yoga traditions and Asian religions. In 2013, Yoga Magazine named him “yogi of the year” for best yoga teacher in the Netherlands and Belgium.

Trained by yogis in the Netherlands and India, he has profound experience and knowledge of asana, pranayama, mudra and bandha, dhauti and kriya. Practicing Vipassana meditation since he was 17, and living as a monk or ascetic in Burma, Nepal and India. In addition to his own exclusive studio he leads teacher trainings worldwide, teaching on Hatha and its techniques, various histories and philosophies of yoga.

Holding a PhD as a sociologist of religion Olav worked at the Department of Sociology at Radboud University Nijmegen. Olav travels regularly to the Middle and Far East and has lived in England, India and Indonesia. He is an experienced senior teacher with Yoga Alliance (E-RYT500).

Yoga Teacher Training by Olav
A refined 200‑hour Yoga Teacher Training, rooted in classical Hatha Yoga and thoughtfully adapted for contemporary practice and teaching.
Held in Amstelveen, just outside Amsterdam, this boutique programme offers small‑scale learning, personal mentorship, and a calm setting. Ideal for yoga practitioners seeking depth and clarity.

Yoga Alliance–Recognised | Limited Places | More Info | Apply

“Yoga needs time. All wisdom is within. There are no mysteries.”

The Hatha yoga classes are taught following the traditional method. Characteristic is a personal approach. The traditional method implies that techniques are being done for longer periods at a stretch, depending on the student’s level. This intensifies and unlocks more subtle experiences – physically, emotionally, mentally. Additionally, we discuss, and integrate yoga philosophy.

All yoga sessions begin with meditation and dynamic techniques (pawanmuktasana), to bring your body and mind in a receptive state for practicing Hatha yoga. This is important because the Hatha techniques require bodily awareness and an attentive mind. During the yoga session, students are adjusted, verbally and manually. No props are used.

This lucid and sometimes confrontational Hatha path towards self-insight requires effort and time. Habitual patterns are rooted deeply, and are not always visible. The Hatha sessions make the unconscious conscious.

“Among the many thousands of men, only a rare one strives for perfection.“