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About Olga Kalinina
Olga Kalinina is the grounding heart behind ALGSO’s Yoga sessions, both online (Zoom) and in person in Walferdange.
Trained through an immersive 300-hour yoga teacher training in India, Olga now teaches yoga full-time in Luxembourg, bringing an approach that is gentle, adaptable, and deeply human.
Her classes blend mindful movement, breathwork, and body awareness, with a strong focus on self-kindness and learning to reconnect with your body at your own pace.
As Olga says, a big part of the journey is learning to be kinder to ourselves:
“Being happy with ourselves, loving our own body, loving ourselves.”
Her Teaching Style
Meet the Coach 📸
An Interview with Olga Kalinina
Olga’s journey to yoga is as international as it is inspiring: Russia to Spain, an intense training chapter in India, and now Luxembourg. Through it all, what stands out is her love for people, her calm confidence, and her belief that yoga is about connection, not comparison.
She’s the kind of coach who makes people feel safe and seen, whether they join online or in person.
How did your journey bring you here?
It started in 2006 when I moved to Spain (after studying in Germany for a year as part of an Erasmus year). I graduated, and my background is in travel, tourism and marketing. In Spain I taught a bit of yoga, but not full-time yet.
I lived there for 10 years between Barcelona and Mallorca… and then we came to Luxembourg for my ex-husband’s job in 2017.
What made you go from tourism to yoga?
Spain. I mean, there’s the beach (at least where I was living), so I started doing a lot more sport than I did in Russia, and I fell in love with yoga. I had my first coach, someone who really introduced me to yoga, and I started developing from there. But I officially became a coach many years later in India.
What did you do in India?
It was only for yoga. I did a 300-hour TTC certification.
You live in a sort of ashram and follow the routine there. You wake up at 5 o’clock, do the cleanings, then lectures (theory and practice) and by 9pm it’s lights off. It was the best time of my life. I absolutely loved it.
Of course it was hard. We were about 100 and not everyone passed… around 70 of us remained. For some people it was too hard, or the living conditions were not comfortable enough by European standards. We had one toilet for 50 people, no separate rooms…
But that was part of the yogi approach: learning to be okay with different situations, living in a community, and not being broken by discomfort.
Learning to grow through it and grow as a person.
Is yoga what you do full-time now?
Yes, I do it full-time. I have my own company, so of course there’s a price to it… it’s not always easy. Sometimes you ask yourself: why don’t I just work for a company like a bank? But then, you’re free. And you do something you really love, you dedicate your time to it… and it makes your life, in a way, a dream.
It’s very enriching. I love what I do. I see the change in people: I bring something good and valuable to them.
On my little level, I change people’s lives, and I love that.
Is teaching people affected by cancer different?
It really depends. There are people who are in remission for many years, so they are pretty active and like to challenge themselves. And then there are people who are currently going through therapy, so you have to be very versatile.
But in general, it is a gentle approach. I try to implement a lot of body therapy: awareness of the body, awareness of the mind, mindfulness ideas. Also breathing and the importance of breath, so it’s very gentle.
And we talk a lot about being happy with ourselves, loving our own body, loving ourselves.
She also describes yoga as something bigger than “just exercise”, where the coach isn’t just teaching, but serves more as a form of connection:
I don’t think it’s me, personally, I’m just transmitting. I think there’s something bigger in me. We call it being part of the source… and the information that people need in the class is transmitted through us. That’s how we represent yoga.
How do you adapt the class to everyone’s situation?
When I see a new face, I always approach them and ask what their status is, so they update me. It’s all about communication. They tell me: I have pain here, or I cannot do this, and I make sure they don’t do those poses.
The groups are not so big (around 5–6 people), so I can give everyone full attention and guide them through every moment, adapting to everyone’s needs.
How do you run yoga online?
With Zoom! It’s like an online meeting. I can see everyone with the camera (those who want to keep their camera off can, of course) and I trust they do what they can.
There are advantages and disadvantages. The advantages are transport and the comfort of being in your own place. The disadvantage is that I can’t physically adjust people, although not everyone likes physical adjustment anyway, and if the class is gentle, I don’t need to place you into the pose. As long as I see everyone, and we communicate, it works very well.
My class is structured in two parts. We start with standing poses, so the camera is set for that. After half the class we move to sitting poses, then relaxation. So people know what to expect, and we only need to change the camera position once, so it’s very easy.
What is a fun fact about you?
I’m a mum of three kids… people usually don’t expect that. The image of a yogi is often someone travelling the world, not in a relationship, a free spirit… but yes, I’m a mum of three kids.
While that sounds like it requires a lot of energy, Olga explains that yoga helps her to recharge her batteries:
Yoga gives me a lot of energy. People often think yoga is only relaxing and you’ll feel sleepy, but it’s very energising. After Savasana it regenerates you and gives you so much energy, similar to 4–5 hours of quality sleep. You’re relaxed and calm, but not tired. It’s the other way around: you’re in a calm, productive state.
A personal message from Olga:
My guru used to say: “When you’ve tried everything, then comes yoga.” So if you already tried everything and you didn’t find your thing yet, please try yoga.
Olga’s Class Schedule
Activity: Yoga in Walferdange and online
When: Every Wednesday (6:30pm – 7:30pm), Friday (3:30pm – 5pm) and Sunday (10am – 11am)
Where: Wednesday and Sunday: online (with Zoom) and Fridays: Club Haus am Becheler
Who for: Open to all ALGSO members and resident patients of the centre
Shared with: Online sessions occasionally shared with Anastasia Sharipova