Petra Schwager

Over the past 20 years, she is been working for the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) building up innovative environment and energy related programmes and networks around the globe. Her current position is Chief of the Energy Technologies and Industrial Applications Division of UNIDO. She holds a Master Degree in Economics from the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration and Social Sciences (Austria) and a Postgraduate in Environmental Management from the University of London (United Kingdom). And, she is a passionate Yoga teacher.

Her UN job is very rewarding and interesting. However, and throughout the years, she also experienced many challenges and obstacles that women encounter when moving up the career leader. Trying to fully perform in her work and private life, she fells into the “multi-tasking trap” and lost her creativity and concentration.  
At that stage, she had been practicing Yoga for many years, mainly to maintain the physical fitness. She started to intensify her training and, over time, her focus at work improved, I regained balance and self-consciousness. As she moved on in her job, she also became more and more aware of the increasing and often “hidden” obstacles that women face at work. She began to engage in professional women networks, coaching of young professional women and embedded gender awareness in all her work activities and projects. But, she wanted to do more… 

A breaking point was when she attended the “Leadership, Women and the UN Training” in summer 2019. Every morning, before coming to the training sessions, she joined a Yoga boot camp practice on “Warrior instead of Worrier”, designed by her wonderful teacher and friend Beate McLatchie. It was fascinating to see how the two trainings resembled each other. 

This is when she started to realize the full power of Yoga in supporting and training women leaders. She created a special Yoga sequence “Moving towards Strength and Focus with Ease” to support women to overcome many of the challenges that they face in their daily work life. She hopes to inspire women to engage in regular Yoga practice and to become strong, thoughtful and authentic leaders, bringing the so much needed positive change to their lives.  
In March 2020, She launched her free on-line YOGAP programme to support colleagues, friends and everyone who needs it during the COVID-19 crisis. For more information, please consult her homepage: www.yogap.net

She is a certified Yoga teacher (RYS 200, Yoga Alliance) with additional trainings on yoga&anatomy.