This is who I am

Since the studio reopening in September providing a space in which people can return to their yoga practice in a socially distanced, face-to-face group setting in comfort, class sizes have been a lot more intimate than in my previous teaching settings.

People have been desperate to return to their community, to experience the magic of shared yoga practice and group relaxation, to move their bodies in a structured way that feels good, to let go of the endless chatter of sometimes anxious thoughts where they can follow simple, nurturing and caring instructions from a voice at the front of the room. (Mine).

But do you know what I’ve really noticed that people are glad to be doing? Talking.

PEOPLE WANT TO SPEAK AND TO BE HEARD

I want to speak and be heard.

This is one of the many reasons I find so much comfort in writing my blog posts, hosting my beautiful Women’s Circle and going live on my Facebook page.

I want to speak and be heard and feel valued and share my experiences. And I know that you do, too.

I have absolutely delighted in conversations I’ve been part of this week at the studio (please know that nobody is hanging around chatting in a social capacity, which would contravene the guidelines that I am strictly adhering to, these snippets of conversations have taken place around the practice).

There are some people I have known for as long as I’ve been teaching and I’m only just learning about them.

Of course, how people earn a living does not define them but within our community at the studio, we have incredibly talented musicians, mothers, poets, nature enthusiasts, doctors, psychiatrists, therapists, teachers, detectives, consultants, social workers, scientists - and this list is just one that I’ve pulled from the top of my head - there are so, so many interesting people in our community. Such a wide range of diverse characters that make up this beautiful patchwork that we will in.

This prompts me to open up a new Guest Blogging series

THIS IS WHO I AM

Do you have something interesting that you would like to share with this community? Maybe your yoga supports your ultra marathon running training regime? Perhaps you come to your yoga mat for some headspace after a busy day of performing neurosurgery. Maybe the group yoga class is the perfect way to counter the solitude of your work studying antique brickwork of ancient chimneys (I know nothing about brickwork nor chimneys, but you get my gist).

I know that you are busy and you have a lot to fit into the hours of your day. But don’t you think your story needs to be voiced?

The theme of this months Women’s Circle was the Triple Goddess because I really wanted to hear the stories of those valuable lessons we’ve been gifted from influential female figures in our lives. (I have to tell you, I have a lot more to say about this, so watch this space because there’s more blogs coming your way about it.)

I’ll go first

THIS IS WHO I AM

I’ve been writing my blog for five years using social media, so I feel like I’m a bit of an open book and I wonder what you don’t know about me.

I live in a beautiful village in Nottingham with my family and my gorgeous little Furface, Lola. She’s a Spanish Water Dog and if you’ve watched any of my yoga tutorials in my membership area or on Facebook, you’ll probably have seen her furry little face popping up whenever she’s allowed in the room. If she hears me speaking, she thinks there are visitors. She does love visitors and she hates it when they leave!

I have not always lived in Nottingham, I grew up in Southend-on-Sea, a stone’s throw away from the longest pleasure pier in the world - my hometown’s claim to fame. I don’t go home nearly as often as I’d like but whenever I do, I take my running shoes to have a jog along the seafront, whatever the weather.

Living in Southend, I created the most wonderful nest of a home in my flat. When most of my friends were going to university or travelling to exotic places, I brought a two-bedroomed flat in between the two main train lines leading to Fenchurch Street and Liverpool Street so I was perfectly placed for a life of commuting for my career in corporate banking in London, which I really loved. Until I took some time out, to live and work in Rhodes, Greece.

I lived in the most quintessentially rustic Greek village away from the hustle and bustle of the tourist area. It had narrow, windy, cobbled & hilly roads and a communal ‘square’ in the centre with baker, butcher and grocer shops. everybody shopped local, everybody shopped small. Plastic packaging wasn’t really here and Best Before Dates on produce weren’t needed - you bought and ate fresh everyday. This is where I got engaged and later married in the most beautiful little chapel atop a hill overlooking the Aegean Sea. Dreamy.

I’ve always felt a pull to be near the sea and the one thing I couldn’t possibly live without; music.

As a child, my Dad was a DJ, my first serious boyfriend was a DJ and I married a DJ. I absolutely adore music and moving my body - even better if there is sunshine, warmth and blue skies around me - queue my love affair with holidaying in Ibiza - O Beach has hosted some of my most joyous memories memories of vitality and freedom that I can conjour up and re-visit whenever I close my eyes.

Having my wings clipped as so many of us have this year, I haven’t been able to travel to sunny climes in 2020, which is one of my favourite things to do. Best of all, I love to take my yoga mat with me and head to the edge of the sea for a sunrise yoga practice - it really does fill me with joy.

I love being near to the sea, but there’s not so much of that in Nottingham, so during lockdown I set off from my house at 2am to drive to my nearest coastal shore of Skegness. I arrived and rolled out my mat on the sand in perfect time for to watch the sunrise at 4:38am. It was truly such a joy - although it was bloody cold, despite being June! Being cold is one of my least favourite things. It has always been a desire of mine to one day relocate to be near warm sun, blue skies and smiling faces.

Life for me, is an ever-developing learning experience and I love to study. I’m embarking on some very exciting study soon, so I’ll share more of that in another post for you.

The philosophy of yoga is dear to me and as my practice has developed, I find my yoga in so many more places than just my mat for the physical practice, and I find joy and pleasure in so many surprising places, not least in helping people feel good in their own bodies. So I think I finally know what I want to do when I grow up.

I hope you‘ve enjoyed finding out a little bit more about me, I’ll be sharing more soon in my social media posts etc, but now,

I WANT TO GET TO KNOW YOU

I would love for you to contribute to my blog so that I and the whole world can learn how wonderful you are. Submissions of guest blogs can be anywhere between 400 and 800 words, but don’t let the numbers worry you. Let me know how you want to be credited as the author of your story; “Lee-ann, Nottingham”, “LC, United Kingdom” etc. Of course, if you would rather not be identified that’s fine too, we can call you Anonymous, because hiding can be fun too, right?

If you enjoyed this, you might also like to read

How can I help you during these crazy times?

5 of my Teaching Bloopers that will make you laugh

I’m so yoga-ish