Thomas Mathias

About Thomas Mathias

THOMAS MATHIAS

Thomas is an international facilitator of yoga and meditation, a bodyworker, and a coach, sharing a deep passion for yoga, meditation, and ancient wisdom traditions.

He is known for his collaborations with renowned international platforms, including his role as co-creator and head teacher of the Meditation Instructor Training with Yogalap, faculty member of the mystery school Awaken as Love, creator of a modern silent retreat concept.

To groups, Thomas offers energetic and meditative yoga, pranayama breathwork sessions, deep meditations, and insightful teachings on ancient philosophies and scriptures.

To individuals, he offers coaching for deep self-transformation and healing, as well as bodywork sessions combining Ayurvedic massage and yogic energy work.

His work is shaped by years of direct experience and a sincere personal search for awakening and overcoming suffering—through solitude, committed practice, and long travels to Himalayan mountains and Thai forests. He is deeply influenced by many inspiring teachers and teachings of Hatha Yoga, Tibetan and Theravada Buddhism, Classical- and Neo-Tantra, and Non-duality. He is currently based in South-Portugal.

PERSONAL WORDS

My journey began with a difficult childhood. Losing my mother at an early age, being bullied, and leaving my parental home at 15 left me traumatized, sad and confused. I suffered a lot and searched for a way out of my suffering—first looking in all the wrong places at first.

As young as age 12, I started smoking weed, and at 18, I entered my wildest years, discovering the techno rave scene in Amsterdam. I used cocktails of substances at weekend-long techno raves, warehouses and festivals. If I wasn't partying I was spending endless nights getting drunk with my colleagues in restaurant and nightlife industry.

Where partying at first seemed like the solution, I noticed my problems were only getting worse. I got more anxious, more depressed, and had suicidal thoughts. I felt with my back against the wall, and didn't know where to go. Deep down I knew that there was an answer, somewhere.

In some way, a first big transformative spiritual awakening happened on MDMA and XTC on the techno dance floor, which opened doors in my heart that I before didn't realize could be so open. It was quite a revelation to become aware of the vast amount of love I was able to feel. It felt more important than anything else. But of course, drugs weren't sustainable.

The turning point came in 2015 when I stumbled upon a YouTube video on Buddhism and meditation by Koi Fresco (now Vishudda Das).

The Youtube thumbnail showed not an old monk in robes, which would have probably kept me scrolling and uninterested. Instead, it showed a trendy, tattooed young man from L.A. talking about meditation, which is how it sparked my curiosity.

As I started watching the video and he spoke about Buddhist monks using techniques to go inside their minds to resolve suffering, something clicked, like a remembrance. I felt like I had found the answer I had been searching for.

A few months later, I booked a one-way flight to Thailand and after some traveling through SE-Asia, I found myself finally meditating in a traditional Thai monastery under the guidance of a local monk and the strict schedule and discipline of monastic Buddhist life.

The first four days, nothing happened, and I struggled and struggled. I had no clue what I was doing. I was tempted to leave. When I was close to giving up and dropped my expectations, on day four, something happened. Sitting in front of the big Buddha in the meditation hall, I suddenly heard the jungle sounds, felt my body relax, and started to feel at peace for no reason. It was a perfectly mundane moment and, at the same time, the most powerful experience of my life. Causeless joy. The feeling stayed with me but faded after some weeks.

I had a temporary relapse into my old life in Amsterdam afterwards, after which I left again with a one-way flight to the East. This time, with no plan to return.

Ever since, I have traveled and lived around the world, seeking a deepening of what I had tasted. This led me to spend time and study with countless teachers, monks, monasteries, and schools from various traditions: Yoga, Neo Tantra, Classical Tantra, Neo Advaita, Classical Advaita Vedanta, Tibetan Buddhism and Dzogchen, mystery schools, coaching modalities, Jungian psychology, men's work, shamanism, sacred sexuality, qigong, Ayurveda, plant medicine, pranayama/breathwork, energy work, reiki, satsangs, and coaches—I've tried everything I could find, went to every guru, tried every technique, every variety of disciplines.

Out of all these modalities, the essence of my journey has been meditation, yoga, silent retreats, solitude, renunciation, and personal practice. Some of these years were in India, Australia, and since 2020, Portugal. I started an intense process of deep purging and cleansing and self exposure, on all levels of my being, which is an ever on-going process.

Over time, people around me told me to share my passion for spiritual practice. Slowly, I've started to explore my own abilities in sharing spiritual work through social media, coaching, meditation, yoga, retreats, and bodywork. I received feedback of deep transformation and gratitude in those I worked with, and so I proceeded. Since 2021, this has been my full-time occupation, and I dedicate every day of my life to this.

Teachers

I am not part of any official lineage. Nor have I ever had a classical master-disciple relationship that went on for years. I did have the blessing to spent a significant amount of my time however with a wide variety of teachers. Sometimes in community, sometimes becoming friends. Many of my important teachers lead back to the unofficial lineage of Ramana Maharshi, a teacher who isn't alive anymore. His picture stands alone on my altar as a reminder of my true nature.

As there have been so many beautiful teachers in my life, I won't list them all. These are some people that made some of the most significant impact on my work and journey: Mooji, Adyashanti, Swami Atmananda Udasin from Ajatananda Ashram in Rishikesh, Michaël Bijker (qi-gong and pranayama), Surinder Singh (Hatha Yoga) from Swasti Yoga in Rishikesh, Lama Lena (Dzogchen & Mahamudra), Christopher 'Hareesh' Wallis (Classical Tantra), Ganga Mira (Disciple of papaji-Ramana Maharshi), and Ty Landrum (Black Lotus Yoga).

I have also spend a significant amount of my time with the Vipassana school of S.N. Goenka, which trained me in intense Vipassana meditation, which was a powerful journey but a phase that clearly ended for me in 2022.

As well as Awaken as Love, where I have been trained as a facilitator of the mystery school trainings and tantra festivals, where I am part of the faculty.

And mother India and her teachings. A place I deeply love, with traditions I deeply love, which has been a significant part of my growth and to which I return yearly if possible.

These days, I am half-based in Portugal and half-nomadic, sharing silent retreats, 1:1 mentorships, a Meditation Teacher Training, weekly Sunday live meditations, and various courses and retreats with different organizations listed on the homepage of my website. Feel most welcome to join me some time for any of these offerings.