It has taken me many years to learn that caring about what other people thought of me more than what I thought about myself wasn’t the way to inner peace and happiness. Bit by bit I let go of relying on others to make me happy and found that once I loved, forgave and accepted myself and everything I had gone through, an enjoyable life began to fall into place with seemingly no effort. Along with this realisation became the ability to let go of judgement and expectations of others, which in turn, increased my inner peace and happiness.
I have always been an active person to a certain extent. I spent many years dancing – 10 years of ballet as a young girl before making the switch to hip hop for a further 10 years. As an adult I forced myself to go to the gym at least 3 times a week because I knew I should, not because I wanted too. I did pretty much the same routine week in and week out. I was bored, and exercising didn’t feel like it made much of a difference. I was never really into sports, mainly because of my insecurities and emotional scarring from school experiences. If anyone told me 10 years ago that I was going to become a yoga teacher and personal trainer, I would have laughed! As a teenager, I ended up getting heavily into the party scene which attracted me in a big way because suddenly I felt like I was popular and part of something, and I was shown that life could be so much fun! For many years my weekends consisted of stumbling home when the sun came up, sleeping until midday and repeating it all over again. I let myself be consumed by drama which inevitably caused a lot of heartbreak. Eventually my body and my mental health began to send me undeniable signals that this lifestyle wasn’t going to be sustainable long term and I had to sort my s**t out. Traveling has always been one of my deep rooted passions and driving factors and even though I was caught in the whirl wind of life (describing it as one big ball of complexity), I still managed to listen to my soul crying out for exploration and adventure. I moved to London for a year, travelled around Europe for 3 months, and then moved home for a year to save up to do it all again. It was at this point where I finally felt like I was starting to balance myself out internally. I moved to Canada to work a snow season and ended up meeting the man that is now my husband. I have always been a spiritual person underneath my past demons, but his calming and accepting nature let my inner light shine and allowed me to become the best version of myself. We travelled South America together for 5 months, lived in New Zealand (where I’m from) for a year and a half, travelled Asia for 3 months then moved to Australia (where he’s from) where we are now settled and happily married with a baby on the way. Almost 2 years ago now I had an epiphany. I thought this sort of thing only happened in the movies, but I actually woke up in the middle of the night as though a light bulb just turned on in my head! I suddenly thought to myself – what would I be doing if I didn’t HAVE to work to survive. That opened the door to listen to my intuition and to discover my inner calling. I began to see flashing signs pointing the way and if it made my soul sing with excitement, then I followed it despite any fear, and my journey just kept getting better and clearer with every step. I began meditating almost daily and I naturally started enjoying eating healthier and exercising regularly. I always enjoyed yoga but I didn’t really understand its true purpose until this point. Once my mind and heart had been opened, the many levels of the wisdom of yoga began to flood in. The PT Academy also provided me with the valuable knowledge of the body’s workings during exercise in a way that resonated within. I decided that I wanted to share my passion that has brought me incredible inner peace, love and happiness by helping people on their health and wellness journeys. I completed a diploma in Nutritional Therapy and became a certified yoga teacher (YT200) in 2015 and a certified personal trainer in 2016, and I don’t plan to stop there. Mark Twain’s quote “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines, Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover” has always rung true in my heart, particularly given my endless love of travelling. Explore and Discover felt ingrained in the fabric of my being – I want to see everything this world has to offer and the more I travel, the more I want to see! You would think that my wish list of places to see would get shorter as I go (I’ve been to 46 countries now!) but it actually gets longer. However, I am at a stage of life where my priorities have changed and I am focused on my family and starting my own business. Explore and Discover still fits perfectly as a motto for this stage of life – in fact it fits all stages of life including discovering the benefits of ultimate health and wellness – which is why I chose it as my business name. I am very grateful for all of my life experiences and lessons which have led me to this point and I am incredibly grateful for all of the people that have touched my life. I am very excited to follow my calling and to have the opportunity to help others. I have let go of worrying about the destination and I am in love with the journey! Thank you for being a part of it. x
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