Launching the NEW LOOK Yoga Freedom Website! And a new journey for me...

Hello Yogis.

I wanted to take a moment to say a huge thank you for your love and continued support of Yoga Freedom and all the wonderful classes, therapies and events that I offer to you!

As a lot of you have been with me for many years, you have seen my practice change and develop throughout the changing landscapes of my life.

I have survived Covid, menopause, and the painful break-up of a long-term relationship.

During all of these life changing events, my practices have remained consistent but I have allowed them to be adapted and to grow as I have grown and changed.

A common misconception is that spirituality and its disciplines are rigid and can ‘get in the way’ of one living a fulfilled life by restricting the things we want to do, as we dedicate our time to a practice.

I would not be this healthy in both body and mind, if I had not allowed my practices to grow and develop as I did, so it is important when going through tough times that you allow your practices to support you and not to stress you further.

The harbour of life!

Looking back, I can see that my initial interest was born from a place of personal enquiry. I felt the existence of something Divine around me as a child, I felt connected and whole when I allowed myself to work in harmony with the intuition and energy I connected with naturally.

Life isn’t always serene; as it went on to prove to me, so how did I keep that spiritual spark of personal growth and inner understanding, when facing some of life’s most challenging and changeable situations?

I looked upon my spiritual life, its practices and disciplines as a kind of harbour; where the practices and initiations I could connect with, would ‘bring me back home’ to my safe place and to a place where I could process and heal.

I also looked upon this ‘harbour’ as a place that I could gain insight into how I would move through the obstacles I faced.

What does this ‘harbour’ actually look like to me?

It is more a feeling. It feels like love, wholeness, flow, inspiration, somewhere I can breathe and feel expansive, reflective and connected.

How do I access it?

For me the point of access has changed over the years. It used to be that I would have to sit quietly in silence, usually out in nature or in a place where I felt safe and undisturbed. Here I would allow my thoughts to drift, my awareness to move around at will and my breath to take me deeper into the moment.

This then progressed to doing a physical yoga practice, where I used the movement and stillness, the feedback of my senses when attuned to my body and everything it was sharing with me, to unite myself with what is both in physical form and also the great intelligence that is my spiritual self or the unseen consciousness that everything comes from and returns to.

Now I have the ability to find my ‘harbour’ at will. I use it daily when making decisions and when facing challenges, to keep me centred as much as possible.

I believe when connected to my harbour I am accessing the intelligence of the whole. It speaks to me through the heart space. I can connect through pleasurable feelings, such as unity with like minded souls, special places of Devotion such as a temple or walking in nature and reading sacred texts and the sacred act of doing yoga through this body of mine. But equally I can connect when in great suffering and my heart is opened through the pain and rawness of a situation.

How do I discern this place from my ego centred wants and desires?

For me, the understandings of these two aspects of self, feel completely different.

Try thinking of it this way…

If you tell a lie of some kind, or you speak of something that you know is not in alignment with a truth you hold, you will feel this energetically or maybe physically as a feeling of closing down, a block or stoppage in your flow or energy. It’s like your inspiration hits a brick wall.

If you are speaking a truth, you will feel open and uplifted, even excited or full of conviction. I am not talking about hammering home a point in an argument, I am merely reflecting on the quiet truths we tell ourselves.

You know this to be true!

You instinctively know when you are in true alignment with a higher part of yourself and when you are not.

If you are doing something and it feels there is a restriction within in some way, take a moment and reflect on what that restriction is. You may need to look beyond the initial and immediate call of pleasure that your earthly body is asking for, or that hit of dopamine; so go deeper into your sense of what you know to be good for you!

Where is it centred in your body? There may be a belief that you have been programmed to fulfil, that you know isn’t actually your true belief. Or you may be avoiding a belief you know to be in alignment with your truth but you don’t want to hold what the journey will bring! It is easy to zone out of the truths we hold and focus on something easier to manage.

These lessons help you to discern the path that is right for you!

Sometimes you may need to feel resistance in life; in order to progress because you have fears and concerns for things you can’t yet see! When you are on the right path, you will feel an inner wind propelling you into the fear and you will HAVE to do it anyway!

These micro messages are what have guided me and continue to guide me on my spiritual journey.

I am now embarking on a new path, one of Krishna Consciousness, where I will be learning new mantras to bring to my sound baths, but primarily this is a personal journey of evolution and unfoldment. I now have the space and clarity in my life and within my heart, to be able to focus my attention on some of the most ancient philosophies and to allow the guidance I am learning through, alongside my own inner discernment, as described above; to both deepen my practice and my knowledge.

I am not getting any younger but I truly feel excited about the next few years and where this journey will continue to take me!

Thank you again for keeping Yoga Freedom on the map, for being loving and supportive throughout the years and I hope that we continue to grow together for many years to come! 

I love you all! x