Ivana has always been dedicated to sports, since her childhood. First, she took up skiing and was racing for a local ski club. After that she used to play a junior basketball league. Thus in 2000, when she took up fitness, she’d already had discipline, strong will and the passion for sports in her blood. She took part in various aerobic events and marathons in Slovakia.
In 2002, Ivana became an aerobic instructor in Slovakia. In 2005, she gained IFAA licence B which has opened her the opportunities to work abroad. She accomplished her studies of Human Nutrition at Slovak Agricultural University in Nitra in 2007, getting a Master´s degree.
From 2007 to 2010 Ivana worked in Dublin as a fitness instructor in the club of Crunch Fitness Tallaght. In 2011 - 2012, she ran her own Cardio Fit spinning studio in Ružomberok, Slovakia, where she coached group classes as well as individual fitness trainings. Besides her education focused on nutrition and fitness-aerobics, she is interested in gym and athletic sports in nature such as running, cycling and hiking. After years of practice, Ivana made use of these experiences and knowledge in a professional preparation for National Slovak Bodyfitness Championship in April 2012.
Ivana worked as a personal trainer in Bahrain for Her Highness Sh. Zain Al Khalifa from October 2012 until May 2014.
This experience in an Islamic country enriched her not only professionally, but also personally. The work with her client was based on mutually gained trust. Apart from professionally tailored-made fitness and nutritional programme, attributes like joy, mutual understanding, discipline, patience and motivation played a key role in reaching the client´s dream target.
During the stay in Bahrain, Ivana simultaneously worked on her personal development. She was fascinated by an Islamic culture and she studied Arabic language. She enhanced her personal fitness by learning proper swimming techniques and after a few months of practicing she took part in an amateur swimming Challenge competition. The encounter with yoga was a milestone and crossroads in her career and lifestyle. It seemed like a punishment for her to practice yoga asanas (because of her stiff muscles) after the years of hard fitness trainings. Paradoxically, she enjoyed it and knew it was for her best. Simultaneously, she started to develop her spirituality. She started to train her mind to be in control of both, her body and emotions. She started to convert everything into energy, she consciously worked with energy except the time she was sleeping. Suddenly, everything got the meaning. In a short time, she accepted a position of a Fitness supervisor in the newly-open Banana island resort Doha by Anantara. This was a very enriching experience, especially in the first months of a resort pre-opening, where she could see and learn how to build a structural network among all departments of the resort with hundreds of employees, and how to create one functional interdepended unit. Shortly after the opening of the resort, she went to Bali to participate in an International Yoga Teacher training.
EDUCATION
- 2015 May: Yoga instructor course, Vidya yoga school, Slovakia
- 2015 February: Vinyasa Flow Yoga Teacher Training, Frog Lotus Yoga in Bali, 200 hrs yoga Alliance
- 2014 December: Yoga Spine Therapy, Core Essence workshop with Tiffany Cruikshank, Doha, Qatar
- 2014 October: Vinyasa yoga workshop with Michael Gannon, Doha, Qatar
- Aerobic Trainer in Slovakia
- IFAA licence B (International Fitness and Aerobic Academy)
- I.C.E. Trainer Basic (indoor cycling education)
- Workshops: Interval Aerobic, Bodywork
- Master degree in Human Nutrition at Slovak Agricultural University, Nitra, Slovakia
COMPETITIONS/ACHIEVEMENTS:
- 1st place in aerobic marathon, Ružomberok, Slovakia, 2000
- 1st place in aerobic marathon, Zlaté Moravce, Slovakia, 2002
- Taking part in 2 half marathons, Geretsried, Germany, 2002
- 2nd place in aerobic marathon, Senica, Slovakia, 2003
- 3rd place in aerobic marathon, Ružomberok, Slovakia, 2003
- Taking part in Dublin Half Marathon, Ireland 2009
- 4th place in Bodyfitness, Trenčianské Teplice, Slovakia, 2012
- 3rd place in Ritz Carlton Bahrain Aquathlon, Bahrain, 2014
