ABOUT ME
I always feel conflicted about writing
Who would want to know about what I do?
Who even am l? What's my reason what's my purpose?
How do I leave this world better than I found it?
I asked a few people to help me write my bio……they all felt like they were not me because they weren't. I’ve always prided myself on being unapologetically, authentically me. This is more a life story but it’s me, so enjoy.
From a young age I always knew I was different. I didn't fit in, I was picked on for being many things. But the patterns were consistent, I wasn't the one who fitted in with any group. Growing up in Norwich I had a regular family life, mother, older brother a father who loved trains...maybe a bit more than his kids!!
I loved to dance and perform. That has always lit me up. I started dancing when I was 3 at JudyHabbits school of Dance.
This was my happy place. Movement in my body has always been a must, a non negotiable. Movement has always been my medicine.
The problem with dancing was, I wasn't good enough to make it as a professional dancer. Sure, I performed on many stages with many people. But as I grew I learnt that it wasn't going to be the life on stage that I had dreamed of as a little girl.
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School was incredibly hard, for so many reasons. Not fitting in to any group, I never felt that I had a person who really understood me.
I had friends but I wouldn’t be invited to play dates or sleep overs as I wasn’t the flavour for others. Also being dyslexic in the 1980's... you were just labelled as stupid.
I spent a lot of time in my room dancing about.
Even at dancing there were groups.. none of which I fitted into . I was the floater! I guess that’s what made my leaving school to start working so easy. There wasn’t really anyone to miss. I definitely didn’t miss the bully’s.
I started my hairdressing aged 15 at Steiner in Jarolds department store in Norwich. As a junior wearing a grey and pink dress. The stylists wore pink with grey and as soon as I entered the salon and smelt the ammonia and saw the girls in their pink dresses looking so freaking cool I knew what I wanted.
I had a great time being a junior. I actually had friends for once. I had found a group of people who accepted me. Oh it felt so good! I loved hair and there were lots of competitions we could do. Travelling down to London to the Wella Academy. Life was good. I won lots and created a little bit of a name for myself within Steiner.
1 year and 6 months later I had my own pink dress and was let loose on clients. 6 months later I was the assistant manager. But Norwich was just not enough for me. London called. Steiner had been taken over by Regis and they had a salon in Selfridges, Oxford Street, so I asked for a transfer. 3 months later I moved to London.
My years at Selfridges where AMAZING. So many different types of people and we all fitted. I felt at home in the home for misfits!
The first person I got introduced to Julianne AKA Jay, who took me under her wing. Jay was the most amazing person I had ever met. Beautiful, kind, loving and warm. Everything this broken girl from Norwich needed. She was my big sis. We moved in together we did everything together. We were inseparable.
But like everything it changes. I moved to another salon as I was hell bent on making a name for myself in hairdressing.
I had worked for lots of magazines and publications over the years. Traveled to many countries to do hair shows finding the stage life I had craved as a child but not dancing doing hair.
This time I’m my life I partied HARD!!!! I mean every night I loved the night life London had to offer. I knew everyone, we never had to wait in line, I knew the door men, free drinks...we didn’t pay.. I knew the bar men. Life was FUCKING FABULOUS !!!!!
Finally I had really good friends PARTY friends.
But as we all know party’s come to an end and we need different things to help us along out journey. It was then that I met my soul mate Darren. I’ll never forget the smile and mullet it got me straight away.
We became friends working together we partied together, but I think the thing that really bonded us was out love of health wellness and growth. In the early days of our relationship we gave up drinking and just ran everywhere together. Along the canal, to and from work. Sunday runs. I think we saw ourselves in each other. We grew together.
2 or so years later I was expecting our first baby. We moved south 3 months after Buster was born. We also had Beck 10 and Willem 9 who lived with us. Still to this day, there are a lot of people in the hair industry who never thought we would last, let alone that we would thrive together.
Life moved on quickly in these years I think due to the kids and lack of sleep. Pregnant again, Floyd arrives and it was after he was born I found Breeze Yoga in Beckenham.
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I remember going in with the double buggy booking the class for the next morning 6:30am. After one class I was hooked.
I would sleep in my yoga clothes so I could ease the getting up to the classes. Dianne, the main teacher was such an inspirational person in my yoga journey, she was an incredibly gifted teacher. I still miss her teaching.
Then my Dad….cancer……CANCER IS A CUNT.
Yoga helped me grieve, no one can see your tears in the hot room. Breeze and the fantastic community really helped me heal my broken heart. My mat was the place I felt I could feel the sorrow, I could feel the gratitude. My mat became my metiphor for my life.
About 3 years into my yoga practice I took the plunge to do my teacher training with Claire Missingham. I plunged myself down the yoga rabbit hole. It became my answer to everything. I’m sure my family and friends thought I was really annoying. It was all I would talk about. It consumed me. I really felt I had found on my mat, what I loved on the dance floor. Getting out of my head and the child like movement that my body needed for its medicine. I’d found the home in my body.
During this time I was building up my private clients for hairdressing, doing clients at home or travelling round when Darren would come home from work. I was still teaching at the Academy in Camden’s hair course one day a week but I became increasing hard to keep all the plates spinning.
After working in salons in London for 17 years, I found it hard to give up. I still get slightly jealous of my husband - he works in Liberty. The salon is beautiful and the vibe of working with other creatives is just such a buzz.
But, I was increasingly busy with clients at home and naturally a space was created in our home for my growing demand in services.
I was also now teaching at Breeze and loving the combination of having my hair clients and yoga students.
Lots of yoga leggings and a few hair styles later, I became interested in sound. Sound healing...vibrational stuff. I’d played with chanting on my yoga training, but always felt way too conscious of my voice and being dyslexic so I was concerned I would say it all wrong!!!! But the Crystal bowls WELL YES they could sing for me. They could carry the messages and the intention. Oh these bowls are the most incredible teachers.
Me, myself and I have, in my adult years struggled with my yang side. Busy energy, masculine, doing energy. People comment on my energy levels all the time. I’m not going to lie.. this I found hard. But the bowls helped me understand the power of stillness the grace in feminine power in the rest. These multi dimentional crystal bowls are a huge blessing to my life. I feel such a privilege that I can share them with my community.
At this stage of my journey I feel really content. YES life happens all around us and that’s good and bad. Finding a spiritual path doesn’t mean you don’t go through shit. We WILL be hurt, we will hurt people we love, we will be misunderstood and misunderstand others we will loose people we love……. But I feel my connection to my own spirituality and the ever changing life showing us new ways to deal with everything that comes our way. Yoga practices have held together. These lessons and teachings I love to share in which ever way I can.
I hope to see you soon so we can share our experience.
TESTIMONIALS
