“We are the sum of all people , we have ever met ; you change the tribe and the tribe changes you” – Dirk Wittenborn
Being a teacher is something I have always done, but being a Yoga teacher has been one of the most fulfilling parts of my life. One of my teachers once said to me that Yoga teaching was all about creating community or tribe and I really didn’t know what that meant up until now. It is through the sense of community that I have come to make so many beautiful friends- Jazz being one of them. Beautiful friendships and understandings are made in yoga classes. If you’ve had a good class, your heart is burst right open and you cant help but be compassionate and make new friends.
I’m a girl who spent her childhood growing up in a Dance Studio working my body especially through my teenage years to places I can only remember now. The memory of holding my leg close to my face or flying through the air or working so hard during a routine I fell to the floor in a heaving sweaty mess- was the norm. I’m a girl who followed her path into Yoga and loved that it gave me what Dance couldn’t. It gave me the opportunity to breathe and relax through movement, which is something I never mastered in my Dance Technique. It showed me how to be gentle with myself and how to approach my body in a loving way.
That girl is gone now and I’ve changed. I’m a woman- (insert roar noise). My body has birthed three boys and as my husband describes, it has been the vehicle for the glue that holds us all together. So physically I’m not the stereotypical Instagram yoga teacher. But I do Yoga and so can you. It is always a joy to hear people love their Yoga practice and find something that they thought they could never do.
I studied Dru Yoga which was an amazing course that is studied over three years. I have a degree in Dance and Education. I’ve studied massage, Kinesiology and Pranic healing. Much of my Saturdays over the last few years have been filled with time in our local Organic Market community where I learnt so much from many different specialists in chemical free living, gardening, food production and nutrition. I teach Dance at high school now, am the mum to 3 beautiful boys and have a Young Living Essential Oil Business. My life is full and fabulous.
I’m very much on the journey to learning and don’t profess to be a guru especially when it comes to the history of Yoga. Gawd I haven’t even been to India! Not this life anyway …….YET!
I hope to bring a practical and grounded spirituality to Yoga practice that will inspire women to be kind to themselves and trust their bodies. So many times I have spoken to women who wouldn’t try a yoga class because they think they couldn’t do it due to their body shape or their physical limitations. It is my joy to bring women to yoga who thought they couldn’t. Often I hear “I’ve tried Yoga and I hated it but I really like THIS yoga”. Sometimes I don’t hear anything at all and people don’t come back, because I’m not for them. That’s ok too.
You know what? I’m all about being at peace with our perceived imperfections. When we do that, we give space for other people to do the same for themselves and others. People often say to me but you’re so calm and peaceful and I say- “well ask my neighbours if that’s true”. Raising three boys with a husband that works shift- I’m no levitating monk. I can yell and lose my shit as much as any mum. I still eat meat, not a lot but I do. I enjoy the occasional lovely glass of wine and I don’t practice yoga everyday. I’m a regular person on the journey just like everyone else. I guess we can either high five ourselves for how far we’ve come or we can berate ourselves for what we are not. Comparison is the thief of joy the say – so I’m not going to go down that path either!
It takes a crew, a community, a tribe to hold and evolve a good woman. I believe that as a human race we are evolving and great things are happening. However we need some support to help peel off those layers of hurt and grit so we can evolve and prosper in this new time we are moving into.
I would not be the person I am today without my tribe. Over the years it has changed and evolved but right now I just want to pay homage to my crew: Nicole from ‘That Food Connection’- who has taught me HEAPS about cooking and is also my bestie. Joey from ‘Tastes To Share’- another amazing foodie. Simorne from ‘S.A Organics’. Robyn Palmer from ‘The Refresh Project’. Joy from ‘Joyful Fair’ and Maria Jones from ‘Maria Jones Young Living Oils’. These women and many more are responsible for my evolution as a human being! Find your crew and love them hard.
So anyway- I love to find practical, simple and sustainable changes for my students to incorporate into their lives to be aware of their own power and healing abilities. I might teach the poses and the sequences but in the end – it is the individual that does the work. Good yoga teachers create the space and the class creates the community.
I really do love Yoga! Let go of your preconceived ideas and give it a go!
Ditch the lycra and do it in your Pyjamas!
Thanks for reading.
Namaste
Dani- Inspiring Change From Within
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