As I was saying, I started teaching in the sun room of a house we were renting, and that is why the original name of the studio was The Sun Room! Because of COVID, I had to close down and then we moved, so I ended up renting a few venues until serendipity and destiny brought me to a lovely room in Baker´s Corner, thanks to Raju, a lovely Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy practitioner who works there. Click here if you would like to try his magic! He really gives amazing massages!
Through various lockdowns I tried to keep the studio afloat until we finally got going again, and I am honoured that some people stuck with me from the start and are still practising in the studio, now called Yoga and Pilates for Everyone.
In time, I also became certified to teach Prenatal and Mum&Baby Yoga, Restorative Yoga, Yoga for People Living with and beyond Cancer, Trauma-Sensitive Yoga and Pilates. I have discovered that, when you love your job, you just want to learn more and more. It is never enough and it is actually fun. All I need is a 30-hour day!
Something else also happened. A community started to form, and these people were all a certain type of people ... that is, the kind, non-competitive, mindful type who is interested in health, wellbeing and connection rather than in showing off poses just for the sake of it. I did not make this happen, it just did. It found me and I could not be happier about it.
I love the studio. Raju has made it beautiful with a nice wooden floor, a covered ceiling and plants. I added lights, candles and props. Also, lately, weights and bands to work on bone density during our Pilates classes.
There is no better feeling that smelling the incense on my way in and know that soon people will be traipsing up the stairs, chatting to each other and laughing, preparing for an hour of mindfullness, movement and relaxation.
Since then, we have made several workshops happen, and organised a wonderful summer retreat in Sardinia (my homeland), which is now, incredibly, sold out. One of the workshops was in collaboration with my friend and fellow teacher Anna, whose practice I warmly recommend. Anna specialises in Hormone Yoga, and you can find her page here.
The other workshops and the retreat are lead by myself and my friend Brendan Reid. Brendan is a Hypnotherapist. Together, we have developed Hypnoga, a wellbeing and relaxation technique that unites Yoga and Hypnotherapy. We have a lot of fun at our workshops, and always end up eating cake all together!
I also work in two really nice gyms, Westwood Leopardstown and Dartry. These are great places to work, especially because of the amazingly kind members.
So now my day is over full, I get to bed exhausted but, when I get up, I have a hopeful feeling. I know I will be doing things I like, meeting kind people and bringing wellbeing and relaxation to whoever needs them. This is so much more than I had ever thought possible and I feel truly blessed.
At the start I was so nervous (and still am, but a little less). What made it better were the comments people were making: "I am so glad I came," "I feel so much better now," "That was just what I needed," "I found your voice so relaxing." Really, my cartoon voice, relaxing? I could not believe it, but positive comments kept coming, surprising me again and again, and making me feel that yes, I could do this properly. I strive to keep improving, bringing new knowledge to our practices and find (sometimes write) better scripts for our relaxation.
During my teacher´s training, I had also encountered Yoga Nidra. A truly magical technique ... more to come in the next post!