The Well-being Garden
A seemingly perfect life
Let’s rewind a few years (more than a few actually!). I was lucky enough to have a fantastic Spanish teacher at college and she inspired me to continue studying languages at University and later to train as a teacher. During my year abroad, I’d fallen in love with Italy and so with my suitcase in hand, I got a job teaching English over there after I graduated. What I thought was going to be one year abroad turned into twelve and I was fully immersed in the Italian way of life.
On the outside my life seemed pretty perfect: I was working in an international school, where I’d worked my way up and was coordinating a team of fifteen teachers, had an amazing group of friends and social life...it really was la dolce vita!
But I got to a point where my day to day work didn’t challenge me anymore. I felt stuck and bored with my work and it left me yearning for something more.
This manifested physically in severe eczema covering parts of my body and despite numerous visits to dermatologists and hundreds of euros spent on creams, I still woke up everyday with my skin red and scratchy.
What was wrong with me?
Many people would have been envious of my life – great job, lovely friends, Italian sunshine....
The life-changing retreat
Then my sister encouraged me to go on a yoga retreat so I packed my suitcase in the Easter holidays and off I flew to a rural retreat in Ibiza.
I spent most of it in tears, journalling in a hammock or rubbing fresh aloe vera into my sore skin.
That retreat changed my life.
I will always remember my ‘light-bulb moment’ on the yoga shala after a healing meditation. I walked off that shala with a spring in my step and shared with my teacher what I’d realised.
I understood that it was up to ME to change my life.
Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t an overnight transformation.
I realised it was time to move back to the UK to be surrounded by family once again. It took me months of “umming” and “ahhing” to make the decision to leave but deep down I knew it was right for me. My skin also showed me I was making the right decision as the sore, blotchy patches healed and I started to feel more confident and reassured.
I moved back and retrained as a secondary school teacher. I couldn’t have chosen a more frantic and stressful plan for my first two years back in the UK!
The demands of secondary school teaching quickly left me feeling overwhelmed and exhausted. The lack of work-life balance and huge workload was having an impact on my personal life and I knew that it wasn’t what I wanted to be doing.
I’d been living in ‘victim mode’ for quite some time, looking outside for the answers but I now realised.
I had the power within myself to change my life.
And that’s just what I did.
I used the tools that my yoga and meditation practice had taught me to listen in to my intuition and I knew that I wanted to share the tools I’d learnt along the way with others. I plunged myself into self-development books and invested in a variety of coaches who guided me to re-connect with my soul’s purpose.
With over fifteen years’ experience of helping others in the education sector, I knew that I wanted to take my love of supporting others and blend it with my other passions: yoga and meditation.
I put my heart and soul into re-training as a yoga teacher and life coach, while working as a full-time teacher. It was hard work! But it was also what I looked forward to the most in my week! I was excited to write my coaching assignments and try out new coaching methods with my peers. It gave me my zest back and I knew I was on the right track.
Finding my true purpose
I now wake up each day with that same zest for my career and look forward to empowering people just like you to turn what you love doing into your career.
When I’m not sharing my love of wellness, you can probably find me with a cup of tea at home in Yorkshire with a fleece on and multiple pairs of socks.
I can happily spend a day roaming around second hand book shops and vintage fairs, on the look out for an Ercol bargain or a vintage floral dress.
Or I’ll be at the allotment, digging up weeds, maybe even harvesting some home grown vegetables and flowers that have survived the slugs!
Being outdoors brings me a great deal of inspiration and I believe nature can offer us so many valuable insights. It’s been in nature where I’ve had my biggest reflections and ideas. I love the process of nurturing bulbs and seeds and seeing what can grow from a tiny seed when given care, soil and water. I believe it’s like this for your hopes and dreams: plant the seeds, nurture them each and every day and they will grow into beautiful, abundant blooms.
So if you've made it to the end of my story and your tea cup is empty, I'd love to help you on your path.
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I've struggled with stress on a physical and emotional level and have first hand experience of how it feels and how to manage it
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I know the importance of finding a career that brings you joy and purpose
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I've spent years weaving self care practices into my lifestyle and love sharing these with others
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I know how scary it feels to step out of your comfort zone and change careers and I will support you every step of the way
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I'm passionate about all things wellness, having had first hand experience of the huge impact well-being practices can have on your health
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I thrive on helping people just like you find more joy and purpose in your lives. After all, life is too short!
