My Top Ten Experiences In 2017
I'm a big advocate of reflecting on the year that's just passed as we turn over into the next. I've done it for the past two years and it's so interesting as a keepsake to look back on over the years to come. Plus it creates a beautiful reminder to appreciate all the amazing things that have happened.
This is by no means everything but I am trying to be conscise....
1. Completing The Liberate & Elevate Mentorship
For 6 months between 2016/7 I spent one Friday each month gathering with the most incredible group of women. We were all yoga teachers, each walking an individual path at our individual phases of the journey, yet we all shared a common desire; to offer more depth to our teaching. It looked different for everyone but my main question was how to ensure what I offered was authentic and not getting in the way of the individual's experience. The big take-away for me from the whole mentoring was to make sure I was practising regularly. I used to spend a lot of time planning each class, then practising it, then going to a public class then teaching said class on top of doing a separate practice for me. It felt like I was trying to do it all. In fact I needed to simplify. Now I teach what I practice in the context of a group class. It works a lot better and feels much more natural aka authentic.
2. Teaching My First Solo Workshop At Stretch
Part of Naomi's advice, from above mentioned mentoring, was to start offering workshops. They are wonderful opportunities to really dive deep into a subject and offer students a chance to explore within a larger time frame. It felt right to start at the beginning and so 'Starting Your Yoga Journey' was born. It went really well and I relished the time to study the practice right back to the eight limbed path so that the students had a contextual understanding of where yoga originates from and why.
3. Launching This Website
I call this website a labour of love (mostly because it was a pain in the ass). I'm stubborn and wanted a customised template so opted for a wordpress site. Although it took me about 1.5 years to finally make it I'm really pleased with the result. One of the big joys is having a space to write freely and connect with people. Thank you for reading this!
4. Teaching The Seniors
Early this year I was offered the chance to teach a yoga class for the over 60's. I immediately said yes and when I arrived, I'll be honest, I thought 'what have I let myself in for?'. Everyone was new to me, they were used to their former teacher and had totally different needs to what I was used to. Luckily about 5 minutes into the class I knew we were going to get on well. They are the best bunch with the wickedest sense of humour. It was a true gift to teach them and I learnt a LOT from our classes together. It was fascinating to work with people whose bodies had different movement patterns and needs. They are testament to the fact that yoga is for everyone. Every week it was a joy to get them all comfy and offer a little head rub with oils. I miss them!
5. Turning 30
I'll admit I was kinda dreading turning 30, scratching my head wondering how it was happening. Where did my twenties go?? I guess there's a part of me that feels once you hit the thirties things start to become more serious. Part of this year has been embracing 'growing up' and enjoying this new period of my life. My 30th was wonderful with beautiful gatherings with family and friends. Gerard rented an amazing 16th century home with my besties and we had a really fun weekend away together in Devon. Turning 30 wasn't so bad after all and I'm embracing my grey stripe on the daily.
6. Creating The First Positive Body Image Workshop
Ever since I started practising yoga with more regularity I started to wonder how could I merge yoga and body positivity? I have to thank social media as it introduced me to Becky Farbstein who had written a really interesting article on the role of the yoga teacher and body image. We got chatting and decided to create something together. In March this year we ran a positive body image discussion workshop in collaboration with Fold Yoga and Supply Yoga. We hoped to ignite some critical thinking and give people new tools to help with fostering better relationships to their bodies. This is certainly something I will do more of in the future so get in touch if you'd like to know more.
7. Moving To BARCELONA
This is without doubt the biggest achievement of 2017. Sitting with indecision earlier this year was SO uncomfortable. The umming and ahhhing, the questioning, the what ifs, they were all pretty exhausting. Being in limbo is tricky, wondering if you're throwing away your current reality is hard. Yet I had faith in what I was doing and my desire to leave London. I'd actually sat on the dream of leaving London for about 7 years, I pushed it aside time and time again. Part of my daily practice of writing really helped to solidify that this was the right decision. Now as we move into 2018 I am so happy we moved and feel incredibly lucky to now have two wonderful homes to live, teach and love in.
8. Starting Yoga Classes On Our Roof
The non-negotaible when we were looking for a place in Barcelona was that it would have a roof top, and boy did we luck out. Pretty soon after I arrived in Barca I set up the charity donation class on the roof and it opened up a new avenue to meet lots of wonderful people here. It's been the stepping stone to creating more classes and starting to build a community here. They will be back as soon as the evenings are light again!
9. Barcelona Women's Retreat
I kinda can't even believe this happened this year. When Soph asked me if I wanted to do a women's yoga retreat together of course I said YES. The women who came were fantastic, they made it an absolute dream. Having four days together meant we could dive deeper into the practice and enjoy a little bit of winter sunshine on the rooftop each day. Last year I wrote that I'd like to do a retreat in 2017 and it blooming happened. I learnt a lot from the experience and can't wait to create more in 2018. I highly recommend co-teaching a retreat with a friend, it means you can bounce ideas off each other and offer support throughout the whole process.
10. Embracing Newness & Growth
The past six months of living in Barcelona have been testing, all in good ways (not always obvious at first!). The amount of growth I feel is phenomenal. The lessons in patience and trust have been overwhelming at times. Some days I've felt great, some days I've felt so low. Now I feel like I'm turning a corner. I sat in meditation today at the water's edge on the beach, ever so grateful. I'd like to offer out a HUGE thank you to Gerard for always being a constant support. Thank you to each and everyone of you who have come to a class or workshop this year. Thank you to my family and friends, old and new for always being there and offering words of wisdom in hard times and hugs and badgers at all times. Thank you to my yoga families Stretch and Supply Yoga who keep taking me back when I come to visit. Thank you to my new community Zentro Urban Yoga, I look forward to creating more with you in 2018.
I wish you all a very happy and healthy 2018.
Alice
xx