SOUL SISTER. When the universe sends you a friend for life. As you know from my last post I am currently living in Cambodia teaching at my favourite place @vagabondtemple Put together a bunch of 70 people all focused on levelling up to become the best versions of themselves the energy here is full power, you can feel it the moment you walk in the gates. I've seen miracles happen here and been bought to tears with what people have shared & contributed. It is such an hour to facilitate people through this process. At times its FULL ON and I am beyond thankful for the team of teachers and volunteers that I get to experience this with. THANK YOU @marysarahyoga for the laughs, the encouragement, the teaching, the friendship, the honesty and the love. To find out that I was sharing this space with you for six months is the biggest blessing! I didn't no what I was in for 🙏🏼❤️
ASK FOR WHAT YOU WANT AND BE UNAPOLOGETIC ABOUT IT. ⠀ Spending 6 months living in a spiritual community out in the middle of the jungle means there is no escape from your own escapades. Self reflection is at an all time high. With no distractions or vices around my self sabotaging behaviour has become very obvious. Each week here I have what seems like life changing ephifanies and aha moments (I've gotten used to it). ⠀ After speaking with several people recently I made the realisation that it is actually very rare that I ask for what I want. My personality is pretty bold but I always seem to side step it and instead assume that people are mind readers. So this week I did it and shesshhhh it feels good. ⠀ ⠀ The worst someone can say is no... and I think most of the time people want to say yes... especially when faced with someone who is empowered enough to know what they deserve.
My favourite book. #everytime ✨🙏🏼✨
✨DELVE DEEPER INTO YOUR PRACTICE ✨ RETREAT 2019 ✨ @rachelwalsh and I have been cooking up something super special for this October💥 we will be sharing our knowledge of yoga, movement and meditation & specifically workshop ways you can create your own home practice. Treat yourself to 6 days and 5 nights with us at @shambalagatherings in the surroundings of the Scandinavian Forrest. Think sunsets, canoeing, lake swims, horse riding and plenty of time to recharge 💗 we have a only a few spaces left so get in quick to snap up your spot. Hit the link in my bio for more info.
MOVE YOUR ASANA Pinch myself that I get to wake up and teach what I love most to 60 yogis out in the Cambodian jungle every morning 😵. Life seems so simple out here, it’s a huge blessing to have space to let go of the hustle of teaching in the city, to go slow, and really reflect on how I can make some sort of difference with this work....levelling up my own practice and teaching with nature supporting and surrounding me has given me a huge amount of clarity. So grateful!
YOGA = UNION. ⠀ The meaning of yoga is union. Union with yourself and union with that which is all around... they are really one in the same. ⠀ ⠀ This is what underpins my self practice. When I started out doing yoga I thought there was a right and wrong way to move. However the further I get along the journey the more I am forgetting what I thought were the rules and starting to explore the way my body wants to move. When I listen harmony starts to come into play and glimpses of union naturally occur....the union is always there but sometimes I am just not still enough to recognise it. ⠀ ⠀ For me, exploring my body has been the best way to get to know my surroundings. The journey has lead me to many different corners of the world, to so many teachers and friends, shown me I could do things that once seemed impossible, and made me see that my reality is a combination of everything that has lead up to each moment.
SHEDDING I believe that life is always giving us what we need, it often just doesn’t look the way we expect it to. If I don’t make time to listen and observe then I am guilty of skipping the blessings all around me. Spending three days hooked up to an IV in a Cambodian hospital with typhoid fever is a sure way to get some proper reflection in. So many things to be greatful for, crazy to think that the sickness can be the healing. When the body forces you to loose your mind the important things become clearer and life feels a lot more simple. YES 2019.
I want to get me a new pair of wings for the new year ❤️ @warriorsofthedivine and the amazing astrologist @flowersfordais are doing an awesome give away of one of their beautiful silk kimonos and a reading to bring in the new year. Spread the LOVE 💖
ALWAYS.
UNSTOPPABLE. ⠀ I love a good Kimono, they always make me feel protected and safe, like there is an invisible light around me. ⠀ ⠀ Thank you @warriorsofthedevine for this master piece. I have so much fun wearing it! ⠀ Check these guys out, their story is super interesting and all their pieces are made ethically made by skilled Balinese workers. ⠀ ⠀ One min in this silky number and you wont want to take it off.
HOME PRACTICE. ⠀ I get so many people asking me about my home practice. What do I do, how often do I practice and for how long?⠀ ⠀ My home practice usually looks nothing like classical "yoga". ⠀ I love a lot of standard postures and sequences and will always get some sun salutations and a bendy free flow of vinyasa. I am also a huge fan of trikonasana and a lot of hip openers and inversions. ⠀ ⠀ But for the most part I start on the floor and roll around listening to hip hop or house music breathing, creating shapes, putting myself in inversions and being super curious and experimental. ⠀ ⠀ When I go through intense periods of teaching I practice 6 days a week for 40mins - an hour. When I am away travelling or training my practice tends to be much shorter and I usually make it to the mat for about 20mins several times a week. ⠀ ⠀ At the moment I am coaching a lot of private clients on how to create a self practice. It has really made me think a lot about the roots of yoga, why do we get on the mat? How can we create more self awareness within self practice and move in a way that is right for us... everybody is different and what works for one won't always work for another.⠀ ⠀ Stay tuned more on this to come...
18 MONTHS ON THE ROAD. ⠀ Amsterdam Berlin India Cambodia New Zealand New York London Cambodia. ⠀ ⠀ Im on the move with so many new projects happening I can't seem to sit still, it's so exciting. Every spare moment there seems to be something to be done. The difference is that this time around I am creating my own dream and not working to create someone else's #beyourownboss. ⠀ ⠀ I had a beautiful conversation with two of my gfs last night @marysarahyoga @tiedyeallday, we were speaking about all the things we want to achieve and then realised that actually we are in the midst of achieving them, they are happening right before us. #PINCHMYSELF
"Drop the idea of becoming someone, because you are already a masterpiece. You cannot be improved. You only have to come to it, to know it, to realise it" Osho. ⠀ ⠀ I am constantly on the improve... always studying something new, reading about a different theory, doing another course, researching another method, training to reach a new goal. Whilst this is a sure way to keep me inspired & learning I sometimes forget that the best part of me is the part that just is.. the bit where I don't have to try I am just me and that that will always be enough.
#introvert
GET MOVING.⠀ The intelligence of the body is so simple yet so profound. Just by moving your body you can move your emotions.
MAKING SHAPES & TELLING STORIES. ⠀ Your body has been with you through everything you have ever experienced. There is SO much wisdom in the body. Through movement you can consciously explore all you own little secrets that make you unique. ⠀ ⠀ Getting the know the spaces within your body whether it be through yoga, dance, martial arts, tantra, exercise or any kind of mindful movement can create a huge gateway to expand intuition and awareness. To know your body in space and plant yourself firmly on the ground gives you a sense of purpose, pleasure and presence.
HUSTLE vs ALIGN⠀ There is a difference. Ive been in the hustle many times, teaching back to back classes, designing on super tight deadlines, waking up at 3am to send emails and take conference calls, turning up to training or class exhausted and unable to give it my all, catching up with friends and not able to be fully present. BURNT OUT. ⠀ ⠀ I have been a perfectionist, work addict, and been beyond my edge and depleted many times in the past. ⠀ ⠀ However I am learning to SLOW down and enjoy the ride. When I feel the anxiety of being pulled in a million different directions I now sit with it, go into my body and ask myself, how does this make me feel? Is this in action in alignment with love or is this coming from a place of fear/ people pleasing? ⠀ ⠀ When you are living a life that is in alignment with you, there are still extremely busy days, there is still tiredness and fear that comes up BUT you can create space around it, see the bigger picture and know that you are working towards something much higher than yourself. ⠀ ⠀ Recently I have been really careful to check in with my intentions and priorities daily so that I can be more present and watch the dreams that are in alignment with my real truth come to life.
TO LET GO AND BE SEEN. ⠀ To let yourself be fully seen, and to see another is one of the most powerful gifts we can give. ⠀ To witness another requires full presence, compassion and patience. To let yourself be seen requires courage, faith, and the ability to laugh.⠀ TBT the Still Movement workshop in Auckland. Shout out to @julzglover on the lens.
✨EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT✨ I have teamed up with the one and only @rachelhwalsh to bring you the Delve Deeper retreat at the beautiful @shambalagatherings , not far from Stockholm, Sweden in September 2019. 6 days and 5 nights of yoga, movement, mediation, delicious food, sunsets, swimming, nature walks and of course the best company! ✨ The retreat will include 2 daily practices and involve a mix of yoga, movement, meditation and breath work. We will also be giving a two part workshop series on developing your own self practice. ✨ The rest of your time can be spent exploring the surrounding Scandinavian countryside, horse riding through the forest, canoeing on the lake or taking time out to reflect and recharge. Hit the link in my bio to find out more 💖 Can’t wait to see you there!
The last 4 months of my life have been crazy, beautiful, full of growth, new and old connections, decisions, transformations and plenty of pinch myself moments. ⠀ I have been so in it I haven't had a moment to reflect let alone share my experience with all of you on the gram. ⠀ Studying dance in NYC embarking on a life changing Tantra training in the UK teaching my Still Movement Workshop in London and spending time exploring the alleyways of Paris and the countryside of France. ⠀ A week ago I landed in Cambodia to continue on my journey teaching at the beautiful @vagabondtemple. I am SO blessed to be here sharing my passion. As I write this, looking out upon the beauty that surrounds, my heart feels HUGE and touched by all the people I have met on the way. I AM SMILING.