What does wellness mean to you?
For me wellness starts from within, and with having that self awareness, it then radiates out into other aspects of your well-being and life. Like the way you eat, fitness, relationships, friendships, and your interaction and perception with the world around you. It also includes having that awareness to honour the days where you feel a bit slow or down and to let yourself rest and really listen to your body. Wellness is really taking that personal responsibility of self!
You trained as a dancer, what disciplines of dance help you maintain a healthy mind, body and spirit?
My training as a dancer has helped me in many aspects of my life. From learning how to work with others and also showing up for myself. Having commitment and drive. My dance training has also given me great awareness of my self and my physical body and being in tune with it. There are days where I don’t dance and I can really feel it! Both physically and mentally. I always need to move as I know its healthy for my body but also more importantly for my mind and spirit. Through my exploration through dance/movement there’s this beautiful aspect of being so completely present while you’re dancing. As you're moving through the space around you, you are 100% there with that movement. You’re not thinking of anything before that movement or after that movement. You’re completely present and there with that moment in time. That observation brought me to my yoga practice.
How did you discover yoga and meditation?
I discovered yoga when I was about 17 years old, but always approached it purely as a physical exercise and something to do to stay in shape when I wasn’t dancing. Not realising how much more depth there was to the practice. My mum had recently returned from spending time in India where she did her Yoga Teacher training and I noticed this beautiful unspoken shift within her. I saw this shift and was intrigued. In 2018 I found myself in a really stagnant part of my life. I needed a shift within myself. There was always something in me which knew there was much more to self than what we experience on a day to day basis. Something so subtle but yet so powerful. I then found myself signing up to the same yoga training my mum did in India at Sattva Yoga Academy and spent 3 weeks at the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains doing my 200 hour teacher training. Studying practices which stem from the Himalayan Lineage in India. Sattva Yoga practice is an integrated practice through Pranayama, Meditation, Kriya, Hatha, Mantra, and Wisdom. Sattva Yoga’s roots are from ancient yogic teachings and techniques, but also absorbs ever new ways of being. As the practice and state of yoga is timeless and forever relevant. Since my first training I’ve been back twice to do courses and to finish my 500 HR Teacher Training. Hopefully I will be able to go back this year to complete my master training!
There is much more to yoga than just posture, which other elements do you implement into your daily life?
Yoga is the union of self. A full aspect of looking into your own nature and your own system. So yes! Yoga is so much more than just the postures. There are many entry points for people to get into yoga and the postures is one of them, that’s how I started!
I try to implement all aspects of yoga into my daily life, on and off the mat. I start my day off in the morning with my Sadhana (a practice that is consistent over a length of time). It incorporates Pranayama (breath), Meditation (becoming an observer of the mind), Kriya (Energy), Hatha (moving the physical body through postures) and Mantra (invoking the voice and a vibration within). Which completely sets me up for the day or it confronts me with some shit I need to deal with! Haha. That’s the beautiful aspect about yoga, is that you’re forever evolving. You’re constantly refining and aligning yourself. Pushing through many walls! Becoming more consciously aware of the self and the world around you and moving continuously in the direction of your infinite potential. There’s no doubt I have days where I can’t be bothered to sit down and do a practice. I think when we we’re resisting something and coming up with reasons and excuses not to do it, we know its good for us!
When I first started meditating I thought the whole point was to sit and not think of anything. I was very quickly corrected of that during my time at Sattva Yoga Academy. I’ve only been continuously meditating for a year now, but every time I’m about to sit down for a meditation I remind myself to hold no judgement. There are days where I will sit down and my mind goes off for a wonder. Thoughts arise like, did I leave the iron on? Or how excited I am to get through this meditation so I can have my morning coffee! As I sit there with my eyes closed I just have to giggle! And then there’s days where the mind is still. There’s still of course thoughts that rise and fall, but you hold no reaction or attachment to them. They just eventually fall away. Through this practice of meditation what I have begun to realise and still practice, is that through meditation our awareness begins to expand beyond the fluctuations of the mind. Instead of reacting to them we naturally become an observer and witness of the content that arises. What we are mastering is our centre point.
Are there any nutritional products that support your daily practice? For example, to aid concentration, help with supple joints etc.
I take cold showers in the morning, Not only does it immediately wake me up, but cold showers have wonderful benefits. It improves circulation, boost immunity and drains the lymphatic system. I also sit down and do my Sadhana every morning which includes Pranayama, Kriya, meditation, Hatha and mantra. Supplements and vitamins I’m on and off with! I have moments where I get really into them but it only lasts a couple weeks. So I try to mainly get all my nutrients through my intake of food, but I do take Vitamin D everyday. Other than that, that’s it!
Within the world of wellbeing, who inspires you? Could you recommend any books, classes, podcasts?
I would recommend listening to Sadhguru. He is a realised Yogi and Mystic, back in 2015 I did his Inner Engineering Course which was my first introduction into meditation. He has also been holding live talks on Facebook everyday during the Coronavirus pandemic.
Anand Mehrotra is Himalayan Yogi, he shares incredible wisdom. You can find his podcast which is called Sattva Himalayan Wisdom. The podcast is a journey through developing the self and awakening states of consciousness. He is also the founder of Sattva Yoga Academy where I did my 500 HR teacher training.
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You have been modelling many years, have you seen the fashion industry adopt more sustainable practices in that time?
I’ve never really seen myself as a model as the majority of the jobs that come through are wanting to book me because I’m a dancer or based on wanting movement. I absolutely love being on set and the collaborative environment it brings with makeup, hair, creative, clothes, director or photographer. I love working with movement and fabric and being able to have it captured by someone else’s eye and perspective is so cool! I’ve absolutely seen a change in sustainability in the fashion industry. Especially in sportswear which is what I spend a lot of my time in and gets used a lot! It’s wonderful to see people becoming more consciously aware of these things.
Being a city dweller you know how a fast, convenient lifestyle is ingrained in our society. Are there any steps, big or small, you have taken to live a more laid-back way of life?
I think it’s so important to have a moment of stillness everyday. Just taking a couple minutes each day where you can centre yourself, bring yourself inward, connect to the breath, and connect to that intelligence within you. When you connect to that centre point everything which felt fast and rushed actually seems manageable and in flow.
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Finally, you teach in London, where can our readers find you?
I usually hold Sunday Sattva Yoga Classes at FieldWorks Dance in Hackney, but at the moment due to the pandemic those classes are on hold until we can resume normal classes under the governments rules and advice. So for now my yoga studio is online! I’ve been teaching IG LIVE Breath-work and Meditation Journeys on Thursdays 9:00am GMT and I teach for a yoga studio based in Australia called State of Sahaja Yoga on Tuesdays at 10:30am GMT via zoom. It has been amazing to connect and teach so many people through teaching online, but I do miss teaching my classes in person! I’m in the process of creating a platform where I can hold live classes as well as offering memberships so people can sign up and can access on demand classes of mine that will be updated monthly. So in the meantime just keep up to date on my Instagram and website!
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