To yoga I say: thank you again and again for always being ready for me. For receiving me with open arms and gracefully illuminating the path before me. You are the map I have followed for self-knowledge and self trust. Your energy and good teachings have fuelled my humanness and reminds me that time spent with you is the sacredness I yearn for.
How did I come to find yoga? I was a pent-up, stressed out, know it all 19 years old art student when I stumbled into my first yoga class. A cohort just about pushed me into my first class. My stress levels where about to burst my sanity, which had pretty much crippled my capacity to maintain friendships. I’d never heard of '‘yoga’ before, but I guess when you’re desperate you’ll try anything to feel normal again. Right from that very first class, I got it. Stress became easier to manage and I felt happier. One class a week turned into two and then before I knew it I was doing yoga daily at home.
I can honestly say that everyday since that first class I have been practicing yoga. I think this makes it my 37th year as a yogi. It’s my sanctuary that returns me back to peace each time. I have followed many lineages on my yoga path including Iyengar, Tantra, Ashtanga, Yoga Synergy and have trained as a teacher in all of them. There is a very special gift to training in many different lineages that steeps you closer to finding just that one practice that resonates with every aspect of who you are shaping into. And for me it is Ashtanga Yoga.
Ashtanga yoga is my daily practice, that brings me home each time. For more on Ashtanga Yoga
What was my career before yoga? For many years I taught yoga along side working my day job as Creative Director of Marie Claire Magazine Australia. It was exhilarating, creative, fun and hugely stressful. I travelled and got to meet some amazing people that I still call my friends today. Before that I worked at Cleo magazine and before that I was a freelance designer. Yoga came well before my career and when the time came to let go of the magazine world, yoga was right there to hold me together as I forged forward with only yoga as my focus.
What I’ve learnt? Being a teacher means I’m a constant student. I’ve taught a variety of people from all walks of life, from high schools to high security inmates. I’m the first to admit that I don’t know everything and my biggest lessons come each time I step up to teach. I definitely learn something new every time I teach. There is no one perfect way to teach yoga, it’s not a one glove fits all system. The one perfect sure bet system I rely on is my intuitive inner voice. It assists me to look, listen and feel what the needs are of anyone that attends a class with me.