Born in the 60’s in Innsbruck, Austria, as Beate, my friends quickly re-named me Billy. I find that two names actually go well with a multi-faceted Gemini. At 18 a full athletic tennis scholarship opened up my court to study in Florida and New York for four years, which happened to be just a natural extension of my sporty childhood dreams and a strong urge to travel since the age of three. When a pure coincidence dropped me at The Plaza Hotel after graduation from Pace University, while pounding the Manhattan pavement for interviews, I emerged working for the Trumps. Exciting times and yes, me and the city never slept. Back in Vienna, a head hunter decided, that politics was my new bee-hive, buzzing around the offices of Dr. Thomas Klestil. The moment he became president of Austria, a series of very fortunate events and the “bestest” girlfriend brought me to Bali. Ah, did I deserve a holiday and did I instantly fall in love with the smells, the faces and the feeling of this magical island. Destiny was written. I had arrived … home. The “Island of the Gods” blessed me with a family and the deepest loves of my life, Chiana and Davina, were born. Mother Bali awakened a palette of lush and colourful passions in me: interior design, villa construction & management, holistic health & well-being, alternative healing modalities, vital nutrition, study of ancient languages and of course and above all … Yoga!
Temuku, Bali’s first health food shop, was my first enterprise, together with my husband from New Zealand, followed by the real estate venture Bali Villa Management. My third business, Bali Yoga & Wellness was Indonesia’s first legal yoga company, created in 2005 with the mission to bring yoga and the healing arts into private homes, villas and hotels in Bali.
After 22 years of Bali Magic, I moved with my daughter Chiana to Vienna, Austria, in 2013. Bali Yoga Wien sprouted out of the middle-aged cobblestone of this picturesque city – a flourishing yoga studio in the heart of Vienna on the legendary Schwarzenbergplatz. The studio was the center of daily yoga practices for a thriving heartfelt yoga community, seeking more than a handstand and a trendy outfit. Bali Yoga Wien bridged the East and the West, bringing the Asian heart to the European mind, with an array of yoga practices, free weekly community classes, workshops, regular mantra chanting evenings and yoga teacher trainings & retreats in Vienna and Bali. During periods of worldwide lockdowns, Bali Yoga Wien morphed into an international online yoga platform featuring daily live practices and workshops with Beate empowering herself and students worldwide to find stability and balance during times of isolation and uncertainty until today! The studio sold to Alkemy Yoga & Healing in September 2021 as Beate moved back home to Bali and rebranded Bali Yoga Wien under Yoga Bali in September 2021.
