An unexpected journey from Denmark to the world of music, meditation, Ayurveda, and healing. And the many experiences that brought me to the work I love today.
If you had told me as a teenager growing up in the Danish countryside that one day I would build my life around Ayurveda, yoga, meditation, Tibetan Cranial, and spiritual healing, I probably would have smiled and wondered what you were talking about.
I certainly didn't have a master plan.
In fact, some of the most meaningful chapters of my life began with things I wasn't particularly interested in, decisions I couldn't fully explain, and experiences that only revealed their significance many years later.
Looking back, I can see that my journey has been anything but conventional. It has taken me across continents, through music academies, meditation traditions, ancient healing systems, university studies, and thousands of personal encounters.
But underneath all these experiences, there has always been one common thread: a deep curiosity about life, the human experience, and our extraordinary capacity to heal, grow, and reconnect with ourselves.
And perhaps, more than anything, a lifelong desire to discover what it truly means to feel at home within ourselves.
This is the story behind the woman you see today, and how a little girl in Denmark eventually became the founder of Namaskar Healing.
It all began with a seed planted long before I was ready to embrace it
I grew up in the Danish countryside with my mother and my Bonus Dad. My childhood was filled with outdoor adventures. I loved horseback riding, swimming, bicycling, and going to soccer practice. I was an active child who loved being outside and exploring the world.
There was already a little seed of yoga in my family, although I had no idea how important it would eventually become.
My grandmother taught swimming, ballet, and yoga. She had given my mother a yoga book, and when I was thirteen, my mother passed it on to me, encouraging me to begin practicing.
I wasn't particularly interested!
I had plenty of other things to keep me busy, and yoga wasn't exactly what I imagined myself doing.
Around that same time, a scoliosis in my back was discovered. I had a significant curvature in my spine, and my Bonus Dad was actually the one who first noticed that something wasn't quite right with my back.
I was given physical therapy exercises to help support my spine. What I didn't realize then was that many of those exercises were actually yoga-based.
Looking back, I find it quite extraordinary. Yoga had already found its way into my life through my grandmother, my mother, and even the exercises I was given to help my body.
But I wasn't ready to embrace it just yet.
Sometimes the seeds of our future are planted long before we recognize them.
1995–1997: Two years of saying yes to the world
After high school, I felt a strong desire to explore the world beyond Denmark.
Between 1995 and 1997, I traveled around the world. I was young, curious, and eager to experience different cultures, meet people, and discover ways of living that were very different from the one I had grown up with.
Those years opened something in me.
I became fascinated by the diversity of human experience, different spiritual traditions, ancient wisdom, and the many ways people approach health and life.
I didn't have a clear destination in mind. I simply wanted to experience as much as possible.
And somewhere along the way, I began realizing that there was so much more to life than what I had previously imagined.
I was becoming a seeker, although I probably wouldn't have used that word at the time.
1997–1998: Australia, yoga, and an encounter in Nepal that changed everything
In 1997, while traveling in Australia, I began studying yoga.
Remember that yoga book my mother had given me years earlier? Well, the seed was finally beginning to grow!
I was drawn to something beyond the physical postures. Yoga offered a way to explore the relationship between body, breath, mind, and consciousness. It gave me a glimpse into a much deeper knowing of myself and the human experience.
Then, in 1998, something happened that would have a profound influence on the direction of my life.
While traveling in Nepal, I visited an Ayurvedic physician in Pokhara. At the time, I was experiencing my own health challenges, and I was curious about the traditional healing practices of the region.
The physician recommended changes to my diet and prescribed Ayurvedic herbs. I followed his guidance, and within three months, I experienced a remarkable improvement in my health and overall well-being.
I was amazed.
Here was an ancient system of medicine that approached health in such a different way. Rather than focusing only on symptoms, Ayurveda looked at the whole person, including digestion, nutrition, daily routines, constitution, and our relationship with nature.
I wanted to learn more. I wanted to study Ayurveda and discover how this wisdom could be applied to support others.
Unfortunately, there weren't accessible opportunities to pursue Ayurvedic studies in Denmark at that time.
So the seed was planted, and I carried it with me.
I had no idea that this encounter in Nepal would eventually lead me to years of study, thousands of clients, and the creation of my own healing practice.
But I knew I had discovered something special.
1999: A spiritual path that became my lifelong devotion
In 1999, another important chapter began when I was initiated into Kriya Yoga.
I had already been exploring meditation and spirituality, but this initiation opened a much deeper dimension of my life.
I traveled to Florida several times to study with Paramahamsa Hariharananda, a direct disciple of Paramahansa Yogananda.
His teachings and presence left a lasting impression on me. During one of our conversations, I shared my intention to study at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen. He blessed my intention, and I carried that blessing with me.
My Kriya Yoga practice has remained one of the most important foundations of my life for more than twenty-seven years.
It has shaped how I meet life's challenges, how I relate to myself, and how I hold space for others.
For me, spirituality has never been about escaping the human experience. It has been about becoming more present within it.
It has been a lifelong journey of discovering the stillness beneath the noise, the light beneath the layers, and the possibility of living from a deeper connection with ourselves.
2000–2002: Music, family, and the path I thought I was meant to follow
In 2000, I began studying at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen.
This chapter of my life was also deeply connected to family.
I had grown up in the countryside with my mother and my Bonus Dad, but when I moved to Copenhagen, I went to live with my biological father.
My father had a tremendous passion for music and, especially, for creating opportunities for children to experience the joy of playing together. He worked to establish orchestras for young children, giving them a place to learn music, develop friendships, experience community, and grow up with music as an essential part of their lives.
I became involved in his work, and it felt quite natural to work alongside him while living in Copenhagen.
Several of the children who participated in his orchestras eventually went on to become professional musicians. I always admired the heart behind what he was creating. He wasn't simply teaching children to play instruments. He was giving them an opportunity to belong, to express themselves, and to discover the joy of creating something together.
At the same time, I was studying music at the academy.
In many ways, I was walking a familiar path. Music was something I knew, something I had grown up around, and perhaps I simply couldn't imagine myself doing anything else.
But if I am honest, music was never quite my calling.
I appreciated its beauty, creativity, discipline, and ability to express what words cannot. Yet somewhere inside, I knew I was searching for something different.
I didn't know what that something was. I just knew that the path I was following didn't quite feel like my own.
Looking back, I don't see those years as a wrong turn. They were an important part of my unfolding. They taught me about dedication, creativity, and the power of community. They also taught me something about listening to that quiet inner voice, even when it takes years to find the courage to follow it.
In 2001, I also began teaching yoga in Copenhagen.
And perhaps without fully realizing it, I was already moving closer to the work that would eventually become my life's devotion.
2002–2005: A new continent, a new chapter, and a leap of faith
In 2002, at the age of twenty-seven, I made another life-changing decision.
I moved from Denmark to Boulder, Colorado, to deepen my studies at Naropa University.
It was a big leap. I was leaving behind my family, my familiar surroundings, and the life I had known to begin again in a new country.
At Naropa, I enrolled in the Contemplative Psychology program.
I was fascinated by the meeting point between psychology, spirituality, meditation, and the human experience. I wanted to explore what shapes us, how our experiences influence the way we relate to ourselves, and how we can cultivate a deeper connection with life.
While studying, I continued teaching yoga in Boulder.
The different pieces of my life were beginning to come together. My personal spiritual practice, my interest in psychology, my experience with yoga, and my fascination with holistic health were no longer separate interests. They were becoming part of a much bigger picture.
In 2005, I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Contemplative Psychology, with a minor in Music.
I had come to Boulder to study, but I was also discovering a direction for my life that I hadn't been able to see before.
2006: Ayurveda, Tibetan Cranial, and another doorway opens
In 2006, I began a new chapter of formal Ayurvedic studies.
I had carried the memory of my experience in Nepal for years. The profound changes I had experienced through Ayurveda had never left me, and I was ready to explore this ancient healing tradition more deeply.
I began studying at the Ayurvedic Institute for Yoga and Ayurveda with Dr. Sarasvati Buhrman and attended summer intensives at the Ayurvedic Institute with Vasant Lad.
I was captivated by the depth of this tradition. Ayurveda offered a way of looking at health that included not only the physical body, but also digestion, daily rhythms, the senses, the mind, emotions, and our relationship with nature.
That same year, another unexpected doorway opened.
I began an apprenticeship in Tibetan Cranial with Shar Lee Lee, whom I had the privilege of learning from.
This work introduced me to an entirely different way of listening to the body.
Rather than trying to fix, force, or manipulate change, Tibetan Cranial invited me to develop a subtle awareness through my hands. It taught me to listen, to feel, and to recognize the body's own intelligence.
During the apprenticeship, I worked with thousands of people. It was an extraordinary period of hands-on experience that taught me so much about human connection, the nervous system, and the many ways people carry tension, experiences, and patterns within their bodies.
In 2008, I was released as a Tibetan Cranial Practitioner.
Those years gave me a foundation that no classroom alone could have provided. I was learning not only a healing art, but also the importance of presence, sensitivity, and meeting each person as an individual.
2007: The birth of Namaskar Healing
By 2007, several important pieces of my journey had come together.
I had been teaching yoga for years, graduated in Contemplative Psychology, and spent years exploring meditation and spiritual practice.
I was also immersed in Ayurvedic studies and completing internships and training as an Ayurvedic Practitioner, Panchakarma Technician, Ayurvedic Postpartum Specialist, and Yoga Therapist.
My Tibetan Cranial apprenticeship was giving me extensive practical experience with people and their individual healing journeys.
I began to feel that these different traditions and approaches belonged together.
I didn't want to offer just a yoga class, a treatment, or a nutritional recommendation. I wanted to create a space where people could be met as whole human beings, where physical health, emotional well-being, inner life, and spirituality could all have a place.
And so, in 2007, Namaskar Healing was born.
What began as a small offering grew into a lifelong commitment to supporting people through different stages of healing and transformation.
In 2008, I enrolled in the four-year Ayurvedic Doctor-Level Practitioner training at Alandi Ashram in Boulder, studying with Alakananda Ma and Dr. Bharat Vaidya.
This deepened my foundation in Ayurveda and allowed me to continue developing the clinical knowledge and skills that would become central to my practice.
My learning never really stopped. In many ways, it still hasn't.
More than twenty-five years of practice: What thousands of encounters have taught me
Over the years, I have had the privilege of working with thousands of people through Ayurveda, Yoga Therapy, Tibetan Cranial, meditation, breathwork, and spiritual healing.
More than twenty-five years of practice have given me countless opportunities to witness the complexity and beauty of the human experience.
I have worked with people navigating physical discomfort, chronic stress, exhaustion, grief, life transitions, and deep emotional challenges.
I have met people who have spent years searching for answers, people who have tried many different approaches, and people who simply long to feel at home in themselves again.
And every person has taught me something.
I have learned that healing is rarely a straight line. It doesn't always happen through one treatment, one realization, or one breakthrough.
Sometimes it unfolds through small, seemingly ordinary changes. Sometimes it asks us to slow down, soften, and begin listening to what we have been too busy or too overwhelmed to hear.
I have also learned that knowledge alone is not enough.
We can read the books, attend the workshops, learn the techniques, and collect the tools. But there is a difference between knowing something intellectually and allowing it to become part of how we live, breathe, relate, and move through the world.
That distinction has become increasingly important in my work.
From knowing to embodying: The emergence of Soul Renewal
Over time, my work has continued to evolve.
The different traditions I have studied have given me a rich foundation, but the heart of what I offer today reaches beyond any single modality.
I have become increasingly interested in what happens when the insights we have gained through years of personal growth and healing begin to take root in our everyday lives.
What does it mean to feel safe within ourselves? To listen to our bodies? To meet our emotions without abandoning ourselves? To live from a place of greater presence, connection, and inner freedom?
This is where Soul Renewal and Embodied Healing has emerged.
For me, Soul Renewal is the movement from knowing to embodying.
It is about bringing the wisdom we have gathered into the lived experience of being human.
It is not about becoming someone else, endlessly fixing ourselves, or searching for another breakthrough.
It is about remembering who we are beneath the layers of conditioning, expectations, old patterns, and the ways we may have learned to disconnect from ourselves.
It is about coming home.
Today, my work brings together the wisdom of Ayurveda, Yoga, Tibetan Cranial, meditation, breathwork, intuitive healing, and Soul Renewal practices.
Each has its place, but the intention is always to meet the person in front of me, rather than trying to fit them into a particular method.
I am still the curious woman who wants to explore, learn, and discover. I am still devoted to my spiritual practice. And I remain deeply grateful for every teacher, every tradition, every client, and every experience that has shaped the person I am today.
And the woman behind all of this?
She is not someone who always knew exactly where she was going.
She is a woman who has followed many paths, changed direction, taken leaps of faith, and learned to listen more closely to the quiet voice within.
She is a daughter, a student, a traveler, a musician, a meditator, a teacher, and a healer.
She is someone who has experienced her own challenges and has spent much of her life exploring what it means to heal, to grow, and to live with an open heart.
She is someone who has sat with teachers, studied ancient traditions, worked with thousands of people, and continues to be humbled by how much there is still to learn.
I don't believe we ever arrive at a point where we are finished learning or becoming. Life continues to invite us into deeper layers of ourselves.
And perhaps that is one of the greatest gifts of this journey: the realization that we don't need to have everything figured out to take the next step.
Sometimes we simply need the courage to follow what feels true, even when we cannot yet see where it will lead.
When I look back, I can see how every chapter contributed something.
The little girl in Denmark who wasn't interested in yoga. The young woman traveling the world. The student of music who was searching for her own path. The devoted practitioner of Kriya Yoga. The student of Ayurveda. The apprentice of Tibetan Cranial. The woman who crossed an ocean and eventually founded Namaskar Healing.
They are all part of me.
And the work continues to evolve.
Perhaps our paths are meant to cross
If something in my story resonates with you, I would love to hear yours.
Perhaps you have spent years learning, growing, and exploring your own healing journey. Perhaps you have tried many approaches and are now longing for something that reaches a little deeper. Maybe you are at a point where you don't need another breakthrough, but would love to begin embodying what you already know.
Or perhaps you are simply curious about the work I do and wondering whether it might be a good fit for you.
Whatever brings you here, I welcome you.
I would love to invite you to schedule a personal Connection Call with me.
It is an opportunity for us to meet, share a little about where you are in life, and explore what you are longing for at this point in your journey.
There is no pressure and no expectation. Just a genuine conversation, a chance to connect, and an opportunity to see whether something meaningful might unfold from there.
Because while I can share my story with you, I would much rather hear yours.
Perhaps this is where our paths meet.
With Love & Gratitude,
Heidi Nordlund
Founder of Namaskar Healing
Soul Renewal & Embodied Healing
From knowing to embodying. From seeking to remembering. From self-abandonment to coming home.
1999: The beginning of a lifelong spiritual journey.
Today: More than 25 years of practice, learning, and sharing.
