Lien Mei

Lien Mei (Rute Joaquim) was born in Lisbon where she lived for 23 years and since 2006 she doesn't spend more than six months at the same place. She lived in Spain, England, Andorra, India, Nepal, Australia, Mexico, Peru, Guinea-Bissau and traveled around the globe, mainly Asia.
She began practicing Yoga in 2009, in her first visit to India and she claims that travel to India was the start of a life changing for her. Also because of her nomadic life she started to understand that happiness doesn't depend on outward conditions: "It isn’t where you are, what you have or what you do that makes you happy or unhappy. The way we perceive the world is largely dependent on our inner state of mind".
A deeply inner transformation started that would change the path of her life for good.
The following year she returned to India and she undertook a Yoga teacher training course in order to further her understanding of Yoga philosophy. This exploration has allowed her to start healing her heart and changing her lifestyle to a more mindful one, a internal journey of self reflection and exploration began.
Because her life start to be deeply and benignly affected by this change, in 2012, she decides to embark on a spiritual journey, and she flies back to India. It turns to be the beginning of an intense inward odyssey.

She returned to Yoga Vidya Gurukul ashram where she completed the Yoga therapy course and volunteered for 4 months. In Nepal she came in contact with Tibetan Buddhism through FPMT (the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition), which awoken her interest for this amazing and ancient yogic philosophy. She also volunteered and attended various teachings at FPMT's centers in India and Australia. In total she would pass more than 90 days in silence by participating in different types of Yoga & Buddhist retreats.
Lien was introduced and initiated into Reiki, a joyful shift into the Beingness of spiritual Love, and eventually became a Master.
The wisdom that started to flow from within, guided Lien Mei to explore some new terrain- Thai Massage. Just to find out that Thai massage was always considered to be a spiritual practice closely connected with the teachings of the Buddha and that has its roots in the Indian systems of Yoga and Ayurveda.

For the last few years Lien has devoted herself to the contemplation of the ancient traditions of Yoga and Eastern philosophy. Not only to the study but also by integrating and deepening the practices and disciplines.

Despite the fascination for this traditions, she continues to be inspired by other philosophies and teachings that are concerning with the mysteries of Humanity, the Universe and the nature of Divinity.