Let's begin

So, I should probably preface this post by saying that I have been writing in some form or another since I was very young. I have early memories of spending hours at a time on our old desktop computer that took twenty minutes to switch on, writing long, imaginary stories about princesses, adventures, romance and big scary castles. My mother was a language teacher before she retired, so I was always brought up to have this deep-found respect for and fascination with the written word and spoken language. I studied languages myself at school and have always loved travelling and speaking to new people, learning their life stories and communicating with them in their own language. Of course, as a yoga practitioner and dancer, I have also learned over the years that communication exists in many forms beyond that of the written or spoken word and I have a deep love and passion for the visual arts and all the forms of expression that fall within that bracket, too.

So, you could say I'm somewhat of a communication enthusiast. All of this is basically a long way of saying that I have been meaning to start writing a blog for years. It's one of those things that's been on my long-haul 'To Do' list, but never actually been ticked off. My family have been telling me it's something I might be good at for a very long time and my answer to them was always simply that I didn't really know what I would write about if I started a blog. Excuses, excuses... and not a very original excuse, at that. Of course, it's utter rubbish. I am someone who prides themselves on being well-read, on having a variety of opinions on different subjects, on being personable but always up for a friendly debate and - most-of-all - I am quite well-travelled. Evidently, I have plenty to say! Someone wise once said that everyone has a book in them; I think that I probably have about twenty books in me. In reality, I think that the reason I always avoided the act of sitting down to write something so personal and putting it out there into the world was because I was afraid of the vulnerability involved in so-doing.

It's scary putting yourself out there, sending your note in a tiny little bottle out into the big, wide, blue sea and never knowing if you might get anything back. Scarier still, what if you do get a response, but it isn't what you'd hoped for? I'm sure I'm not the only one who has felt these things, but I've realised something recently, as I've embarked upon the scary task of starting up my own yoga business: it's the scary things in life that are worth doing. Nothing truly exceptional was ever achieved by someone playing it safe; it's the rule-breakers like Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr, Amelia Earhart & Rosa Parks who carved the way for all us free-thinkers and radical dreamers to find themselves living in a world where free speech is celebrated and encouraged (at least, in the Western World). Any old person can set up a blog and get writing, so who am I to sit back and say that it's too scary for me to give it a try?

So, here I am. Doing it. I'm pulling my shoes off and taking my first shaky step across those burning hot coals. And, d'you know what? The heat is fading with every word I write.

Thank you so much for reading. This blog doesn't have any structure or particular form - I will be writing when the mood strikes me, about subjects that feel meaningful and important to me at the point of writing. Some of my posts will talk about my yogic path and spiritual journey, some will talk about my experiences of travelling across the world and others will be based around subjects for which I have a great passion. Read the ones that strike you and skip the ones that don't. This is a platform for me to share every part of myself openly, without shame or fear, and I know that my opinions and feelings won't speak to everyone. That's fine and necessary; I'm not trying to appeal to everyone, I'm trying to be authentically myself.

"And one day she discovered that she was fierce, and strong, and full of fire, and that not even she could hold herself back because her passion burned brighter than her fears." - Mark Anthony