About myself:
Born 1960 in Dortmund, West-Germany, and growing up in one of its suburbs embraced by the challenging romance of coal mines and steal-works, dear sarcastic people surviving both over-pollution and -population, I was predestined to love nature – and somehow always managed to be close to it, finding meadows between motor-way crosses and woods hidden behind the rubbish disposal tips.
I finished my social (- worker) studies in Münster in the 1980es with various experiences from work in social services, psychiatric clinics with 900 patients, a prison for young male offenders and a wonderful time with autistic children in a small home run by the “Steiner/Waldorf” – community.
From my early teens the longing to work with stone sculptures had lived within me, yet I did not allow myself to study art therapy at that time, rather choosing a Steiner School teacher education in the area my partner was working.
Later I once again managed to take the wrong turn: instead of beginning at an art academy I decided I needed to “get down to earth” even more: I moved to Norway in 1985, got three children and basically crash-landed, first during 10 years of marriage, after that during 10 years of divorce related court-cases. These two decades were elegantly joint by two years I spend at Lancaster University in England during my divorce, studying to my surprise with success and finding fulfillment in using photography again during a presentation about xenophobia and racism in independent studies. Later on I finally took up art studies during a period of retraining.
The impact that ongoing court cases and non-beneficial interferences from the support system related to this had on my health, led to my retirement, which I decided to establish as a new beginning: I began the life I wanted to live and there this story begins…
I love to share it with you under the headline: “if I can do it, anybody can!”
Once I entered into a sacred pact with myself, daring to hear the by then screams of my inner voice, my life started to unfold in beautiful ways. It enabled me to work with and learn ancient energy-medicine-ways of healing and I created a “space”, both for healing, living and as a workshop for sculptures. Right now I feel that the initial “pregnancy-period” is over and I am born into my life. Welcome to its manifestations, whatever they might be hereafter, and the experience of its surprises!
About the name “Yra”:
I believe it is very helpful to choose a new name to assist oneself to step into one’s becoming.
“Yra” I choose already in 1994, yet was not allowed to use it as it was not on the “list” . I had found it through its sound and liked its meaning which is (amongst others as I later learnt): “the fine rain and mist that creeps up the mountains”, fresh, cooling, mysteriously embracing and exploring the unknown, the invisible veil that is only to be seen when it reflects light.
When I bought this place I registered it as “Yra”, which turned out to fit it very well as there is hardly a day when the house isn’t dripping from the mists rising from the river. After that I was allowed to call myself after the name of my house…there is a right time and place for everything!
(The surname “Våge” by the way means “to dare”, I definitely needed that one at the time!)