MY STORY - FINDING THE INNER DANCER
‘I believe that everything we do in life is valuable and every experience gives us an opportunity to learn and grow.’
Since childhood I’ve found joy in creative expression. Spending school breaktimes in the music room and singing, dancing or performing at any opportunity. When I went to university, somehow that magic got lost. I'm not a natural academic and throughout those years found myself indulging in creative adventures such as djing, cooking and knitting hats.
My first step towards an inner awareness was in my mid-20’s. University days had been a challenge and I intuitively sought meditation practices to support my mental health. It wasn’t until I took my teacher training that I realised I’d been practicing yoga all this time.
My 20’s were spent working in hospitality, and it wasn’t until I was 28 when I found my first yoga class. I remember it well… a full room, feeling awkward doing lions breath as my eyes met another, but her commitment to the roar made me feel at ease. We used straps to attempt a messy forearmstand against the wall and I came away so pleased that I’d finally gone to class!
At the same time I found yoga, I discovered acro yoga. Bought to me by a search for some new hobbies, having let work and a difficult relationship take over my life. Instantly hooked, I felt empowered and excited and it became another weekly sanctuary for me.
Yoga and acro yoga are powerful practices that helped me connect to my body, find purpose, joy and space. Making some powerful shifts, I wrapped up my life in Bristol and travelled to Sydney, Australia to experience life in a new place and shortly started looking for a teacher training, inspired to offer Yoga classes myself. I came across Yoga Beyond, local acro yoga teachers that were offering a Vinyasa training and I knew instantly it was the one for me.
Yoga and acro yoga helped re-light that childhood flame and started a conversation with my body. It opened up the doors to doing inner work, letting go of conditioning and reconnecting with Self energy. I now continue this journey practicing more advanced skills of handstands and standing acrobatics that continually offer opportunities to grow.
I love getting geeky with anatomy and alignment, finding creative ways to condition. Training handstands has helped me access parts of my body that feel stuck and imbalanced and I use a variety of complementary therapies to release tension and move more freely.
My offerings draw on the wisdom from the many disciplines that have supported me personally, from mobility work, to strength training to yin yoga. I deeply understand the need to balance the yang, both in movement practice and in life, and I move from a place of compassionate, embodied awareness. Choice is always welcome and I invite my students to listen to thier needs above anything else.
I believe that everything we do in life is valuable and every experience gives us an opportunity to learn and grow. When I was younger I wanted to be a ballet dancer and a Blue Peter presenter, and I honestly feel like I’ve done it. Yoga brings out the inner dancer and my time in hospitality kept me walking the path to consistently bringing out the ‘here’s one I made earlier’ at the dinner table.
Cooking for and organising wellness events and retreats combines all of my passions. I’ve spent over 20 years in the hospitality industry, front of house, looking after guests and honing my organisational skills with weddings, events and management. Working daily with a kitchen team, these years were a joyful time of developing a deeper relationship with food, learning about flavour, texture, techniques, and presentation.
I love sharing food and I believe that when the food is good, conversation flows and new, exciting experiences are created. Inviting guests to the table reconnects my heart to childhood memories of big family dinners that I miss so dearly. When I worked a Sunday lunch shift, the best part was the smell coming out the kitchen when I arrived at work, reminiscent of my nans over-boiled veg and potatoes that I can only dream of eating again; I was lucky to have this memory recreated for me when I visited Heston Blumental’s Fat Duck. My work is in gratitude to life and every being and teaching that helps me carve my way.
One of my biggest learnings after I more recently dove into the rich teachings of Ayurveda and spent a year rebalancing my health, is that the body is always looking for balance and has the capacity to heal so long as we can give it the right environment; wholesome relationships, a nutritious diet, minimising stress, physical and emotional resilience and time with nature, creativity, joy and love. All these things take a huge amount of consistent dedication to keep showing up, to keep doing the work, to keep trusting your gut, to keep stepping into the uncomfortable and the unknown, all in an act of self love. The meaning of self love is something that gets re-defined in every moment, depending on our needs. Yet we cannot know our needs without taking time to listen to the body, and thus the practice of yoga begins.