High above the clouds 

This morning I awoke at 5am in London and as I typed this I was on a plane to Berlin, where I currently sit in the most amazing hotel (but that’s a story for another time).

The weather is a ridiculous -11 degrees Celsius.  The last few days in London have been cold and rainy, yet everyone keeps telling me that the 9-11 degree temperatures there are mild for this time of year and while that may be true – I am from Queensland, Australia I just left 30 degrees so let me tell you this is not mild to me.

Boring weather story I know  –  bear with me there is a point 🙂 
As I sat on the plane, high above the clouds, the sun on my face, I was filling in an intention journal for 2016.

I used the journey to complete the reflection part on 2015 and to keep up with my weather theme here if I had to pick a word or two to describe 2015 it would be cloudy with several storms.

Yet as I wrote I realised that the bad times have already started to fade in my mind, I struggled to remember the challenges with emotion and details attached and I can already start to really focus on the good memories.

So as I sat on the plane lapping up the warmth of the sun on my face, I can hand on my heart tell you all, that even though it may be cloudy to you right now, even though you may not be able to see the sun – it is there patiently waiting for you – high above the clouds.

I can tell you that no matter what is going on in your life right now – the sun will most certainly come out again.

So hang in there my friends – you got this! 

11 things you may not know about me (does the 11 not 10 indicate my randomness)

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  1. I am a sponge for people’s energy – I feel this is both a blessing and curse.  It is both a weakness and a strength.  At times I absorb too much, I allow other peoples energy to weigh me down, yet this is also a blessing when I surround myself around positive like-minded people I can feed off their energy, as I know people feed off mine.
  2. I am a walking contradiction – I love to find moments of calmness, yet I attract crazy; crazy situations, people and moments and I also thrive on the randomness of this and the good crazy that I and my life is. I teach body balance, I have excellent balance, yet I am ridiculously clumsy and trip over nothing several times a day. I don’t spend a lot of time doing my hair and I rarely wear makeup or do other “girly” things, yet look out world if my nail polish is chipped on my toes it seriously distresses me to epic proportions.
  3. I am a great cook but terrible at baking. I heard once that cooking is an art and baking is a science and if that is true then it makes perfect sense to me.  I love to throw things together and create. I hate having to have exact measurement s and stir for the exact time I am told to.  I love the challenge of having a few random edible items at home and making them into something amazing.
  4. I am messy, no really I am for a tiny little person I can create mess of cyclonic proportions in about two minutes – I truly don’t know how I do it, it’s quite amazing.  My house can go from spotless to war zone in about 5 minutes.  I don’t know what I do but man I do it well.
  5. I sometimes feel like a yogi imposter – #secretnownotsosecretconfessionsofayogi – I do yoga and I eat meat, drink coffee and drink alcohol – there I said it – I do it all!
  6. I love to write, but I hate punctuation; I just finished a job in communications and marketing and don’t get me wrong I understand the importance of punctuation but I love to just let my fingers fly across a keyboard and unleash an unconscious stream of thoughts onto my laptop and see what appears (kind of like I am doing right now).
  7. I have an irrational fear of bees and birds.  Birds make me nervous – seriously I just do not trust them and always feel like they are plotting against me.
  8. I try really hard to like olives – I really dislike them – but feel like it’s something I should love, so keep trying them with not much success so far.
  9. I love it when people are kind and authentic – no really I looooove it. The world needs more of it and when I see it my heart swells open like you would not believe.
  10. I am a witch – a good witch not an evil one – I see things coming an hour, a day, a week before things happen, I sense it, I feel it, I predict it.  I don’t try to do it – it just happens.  Sometimes I wonder if I am just one of those in-tune people, other times I wonder if I am from the future – true story! I can’t switch it on or off, it is just on the whole time.
  11. I love the beach, sunsets, full moons, rainbows and anything beautiful that comes from nature – this is probably something most of you would already know – but the energy and excitement I get is something that only a few of you really would understand.  Those friends who I have literally yelled at to get ready faster as the sun is setting, my poor husband who has been bitten by mosquitos on numerous occasions as I race out for just one last look at the full moon. The work that I left in my inbox as I just knew a rainbow would appear and I had to leave the office immediately. People think I am weird but I don’t care – and something that makes me more happy than any of you would ever know is the people who send me a pic of any of these things, who know I would appreciate it, who now appreciate these things because of me, who have just stopped for a moment to appreciate – that to me is the most amazing thing.

Follow your dreams

Live the life you always imagined.  If something in your life doesn’t feel right, then it probably isn’t.

If you are questioning your job then it may not be the right job for you.

If your relationship doesn’t feel right then it probably is not.

Don’t let fear stop you from living the life you dreamt for yourself.

We were born to dream and be courageous.

The only thing stopping you is you!

Dream big friends!

 

Capture the daylight – find the magic

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The last few months I have been juggling a communications job, while still teaching yoga, pilates and body balance.  It has been hectic and I have felt tired and stressed.

Finding the time to write with a clear mind has been challenging to say the least.

My communications job and teaching job could not be two worlds further apart.

Instead of writing (even though it pains me to have put it on hold) I have been focussing on finding beautiful moments in the edges of my days.

Capturing moments of fresh air and daylight.

 

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I have discovered that when I can live outside these two worlds, when I can sit and enjoy the edges of the day, that is when the magic really happens.

Where possible I will get ready for work even three minutes earlier and using those three minutes to sit outside and just breathe.

What has been getting me through is taking a ten minute walk at lunch time, or leaving the office in time to see the last fifteen minutes of a sunset.

In the edges of the day, surrounded by nature, my brain is momentarily clear and focussed.

I can write my class plans, I can reflect and I can re-energise.

In the edges of the day that is where all the magic happens.

To those of you who have been reading my blog when I have not been updating nearly as frequently as I should, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

x

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I am a yoga instructor and here are my truths

Sometimes I awake at silly o’clock at times to teach a class, I boil the kettle and jump in a quick wake up shower.

Occasionally I internally battle with my NEED for morning coffee.

Occasionally hearing my yoga teacher in my head (let’s protect his identity and call him Mr M)  telling me how bad caffeine is, I have read the studies and he is an intelligent guy so I am pretty confident the studies and he is right.

Yet that voice is always quickly quieted by the louder “get out of the shower so you have time to slam that morning coffee down” voice screeching at me from under the soothing refreshing water pouring over my head, calming me from the evil alarm that made me want to forget about the Ahimsa Yama and instead of being a non violent person, sometimes I just want to punch that beeping alarm in its beeping face.

I lapse into a happy serene daydream under that shower, momentarily forgetting the world, blissfully euphoric under a cascade of soothing water, until the screeching coffee need inner voice returns with a jolt yelling “now you idiot- get out now!”

So I reluctantly get out of the shower I throw on my yoga gear, I almost never do my hair, yogis don’t do hair and makeup right – we are natural and beautiful and content with our natural beauty.

Riiiiiiight?

Hellllllooooo????

Anyone?????

Now don’t be too shocked I do smear a bit of moisturizer and sunscreen on my face –  I’m not an animal.

Anyway where was I?

Coffee/Yoga
Yoga/Yamas
Yoga/Coffee

Anyway coffee…..

That beautiful liquid that allows me to regularly practice Ahimsa and be non violent to myself or others 🙂

See I also practice Satya as you can see my the many truths revealed in this story.

Yes I slam my coffee down – I say slam as I couldn’t possibly set my alarm 5 minutes earlier to allow me to sip my morning coffee like a civilized human.

I eat a tiny bit of toast normally with peanut butter that nine times out of ten I am wiping off my pants during the journey to class – Don’t ask I am as baffled as you are!

I race to my class feeling tired and slightly disheveled.

I am sometimes still angry at my alarm for making me wake so early – I have forgotten all about the 4th Niyama – non judgement.

I arrive at class, I roll my mat out and a strange peaceful calm transcends over my body.

I step onto my yoga mat and sit peacefully awaiting (secretly hoping) (sometimes worrying) that someone will actually turn up at this ungdly hour.

The people file in they are subdued, undoubtedly as tired as me.

I smile at them knowingly, I smile at them compassionately.

I smile, as being a yoga instructor is the most rewarding fulfilling job I can have imagined myself living. It can also be a lonely world as a self-employed instructor so I smile for me, for the simple fact that I am sharing my space with another human.

I smile in appreciation that they too got up early for me or for themselves, they choose my class out of all the many classes and I feel honoured.

I smile as for that next hour my life exists purely for them – my thoughts are no longer my own, my being is a vehicle to inspire others, to motivate, to exist for them and them alone.

My thoughts, doubts, fears, insecurities, excitement, preoccupied dreams can be mine again maybe ten minutes after class but for that moment and for every class that I teach, my thoughts are not my own.  For during this time, I practice and I honour all the Yamas, the Niyamas, prana, I honour my teachers, I honour myself and I honour each and every person in that room.

I am an instructor I am watching people grow; mentally, physically and emotionally.

I momentarily feel silly for my alarm induced rage.

My feelings of tiredness have vanished.

I am ok with my decision to drink coffee (sorry Mr M) I don’t do drugs, I don’t drink excessively, I don’t even eat a lot of meat I am mostly a vegetarian without even being vegetarian.

I am kind to others and I try to always be kind to myself.

I believe in energy and I vow to beam all the positive energy I have inside out of my heart and into my students.

I am a coffee drinking yoga instructor I sometimes have crazy hair and I always have awesome yoga pants.

I am a loving yoga instructor who loves life, who loves to help others and chooses to hate nothing except for alarms.

I am a walking contradiction of mayhem and calm.

I am a yoga instructor and these are my truths.

 

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Breathe in, Breathe out and escape

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When life starts to become hectic, as it always will; sometimes we need to just stop!

Stop and find solitude.

Inhale  new peaceful calm energy.

Exhale the drama, the negativity, the pressure, the tension.

Sometimes you just need to let go and escape.

After what can only be described as a hectic crazy year, I am doing exactly that, I am escaping for 2 short weeks to London.

I am running an event there to help others escape so if you live in London and you need a little break, then check out the events page of this site and let me help you escape through yoga and mediation to relax, to take some time out for you.

For those not in London, I hope you can find some time in your busy lives to find some inner peace, to find solitude and happiness.

You owe it to yourselves.

x

 

The storm before the calm

~ excerpt from a journal written last month on a 4 day yoga retreat~

I am currently into day 4 of a 4 day yoga retreat. I am currently into 2 or so hours of a 4 hour requested silence.

It is morning, it is cold in the shade, so I sit in silence with the sun warming my skin.

All around me are tired little yogi’s reflecting, struggling to be quiet, loving the silence; I don’t know.

All I know is how I feel, and how I feel is emotional.

What I can’t figure out is why.

Being alone is nothing new, being silent and alone with my thoughts is a frequent and welcomed practice for me.

Yet being amongst 50 other people moving about not saying a word is definitely something new for me.

These past 4 days have pushed me mentally, physically and emotionally – I can’t even say why, but I can say that I feel we all need to step outside of our comfort zones several times in life, in order to feel more, be more and achieve more.

We NEED to experience some storms before the calm, the storms help us to appreciate the calm times in life.

We need to push the outer limits of our learnt and habitual behaviors.

As one of my teachers said (and is a favorite quote of mine) ‘if we keep doing what we have always done, we will keep getting what we have always got’.

I believe that nothing great was ever achieved by sitting comfortably, and not stepping outside your comfort zone.

After every storm the dust settles, the rain clears and new life is felt. You can literally feel it in the air, that change,that freshness, that vitality.

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Could we perhaps not say the same of ourselves; we go through hardships, the dust clears, the metaphorical storm clouds disappear and we survive and feel re-born, re-awakened.

We emerge stronger, more resilient.

If we are constantly surrounded by chatter, can we ever find our own words?

If we are constantly filling the silences with noise, will the noise in our heads continue to grow?

If we don’t embrace the storms, will we ever be able to appreciate the calm?

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As I said, this was written in my journal over a month ago now, and without really knowing why, I opened my retreat journal this afternoon, and as I read over my words I am amazing at the timing.

Last week was a bit intense and emotional for me, and it would appear I was not alone.

Sometimes we really do receive and read things at the exact time we are meant to, and even though these words came from me, they have helped me by re-reading them today, and my heartfelt wish for anyone reading this who is also in the midst of a storm is to trust that this will pass, the calmness will re-appear and know that you will emerge stronger than ever before.

Xxx

Who am I?

Today; in between getting up at 5am teaching two morning fitness classes, doing remedial work with a lady at a nursing home, learning choreography, doing my invoices, meditating for 20 minutes and mentally preparing for the next two classes of the evening, I caught my reflection in my blender and wondered who the frick am I ?

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I mean seriously, look at this blender filled with green goodness, when did I turn from the KFC eating high school punk to the exercising, spiritual, kale drinking smoothie I have become?

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Who is this fit, flexible girl I see staring back at me from the pictures, this same girl who used to hate the gym who now teaches at them promoting fitness on a regular basis.

This small framed girl who is suddenly (without warning it feels ) is covered on muscles.

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This girl who is still me, who is still the same but is also completely different.

This girl who just went to Perth with her girlfriends and ate her body weight in cheese, bread, chocolate, coffee and wine~
~ and would do that every weekend if she could 🙂

This girl who teaches yoga to people to relax, then blurts out words excitedly, quickly in an anything but relaxed manner.

This girl who teaches body balance, then trips over nothing on the way out of class.

This pilates trainer who has a strong core but can not do a handstand.

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This girl who lives life with reckless abandon who craves adventure yet yearns for serenity.

This girl who feels so young at heart, yet knows she is growing older.

Who am I ?

A walking contradiction, or simply a girl wanting to experience everything, to be everything, to feel everything.

To be the best person I can be inside and out.

To be who I am without even really knowing who I am myself!
So my advice to you all, should you find yourself staring at your reflection through a green mush of kale, don’t question, don’t stress, don’t judge – just be!

A full milky moon, a full grateful heart.

I am sitting outside by myself, rugged up in a warm wooly hoody and ugg boots.

I am trying to be still so as not to jolt my sensor light and destroy the magic of the night.

I gaze up at the stars not covered by clouds and I type quickly as a full, milky moon is rising, currently it is partially hidden my trees.

I am alone, I am happy, I am content!

My husband just left to play football and for a brief moment I was lost, until that is I came outside.

Now I am lost in the happiest, peaceful of ways.

There is something so incredible about being apart of something so large as the universe.

Watching a sunset, looking at the stars, witnessing a full, super, milky, rare moon is a gift that no technology, person or possession can ever provide.

When you can allow yourself to just simply be; to switch off, to just appreciate everything the world has to offer then I believe you can find true happiness anywhere.

As the moon now makes it way above the trees, I am signing off to appreciate this moment with a grateful heart and a happy soul.