My story
In 2010, I was hungry for a life of more meaning and purpose.
After developing and committing to a regular yoga self practice since 2003, the seeds were watered and growing. It had become clear to me there was more to life, and I wanted it! I understood “success” and happiness didn’t lie in external things, but instead in inner purpose and meaning.
I wanted to sow more seeds of internal growth.
Up until that point, I’d never taken any extended time or space to contemplate what it is I really wanted to do with my life. I’d spent so much time in the hamster wheel of “achieving” that I’d forgotten who I was and what mattered to me—and why.
On my 40th birthday, I gifted myself something new: one month of time out, doing things I loved, (like practicing yoga) in a beautiful place with more possibility of meeting like-minded people.
While I was there, I started to observe how other people were flowing in their lives, living and working from a place of doing what they loved. This had a real sense of freedom and authenticity to me. It ignited the fuse of change.
After that month I decided to really let go and follow my heart, my truth, and what brought meaning.
I designed a plan for “soft launching” myself into a fresh life (wasn’t quite ready to jump off the cliff without some kind of parachute!). I saved everything I earned for 2 years, then sold or gave away almost everything I owned and set out to travel with the intention of finding my other passions.
Leaving the career and lifestyle I’d hung onto for so long and letting go of the financial “security” that came with it—combined with the feeling that I had no transferable skills!!—was scary but liberating.
I followed the one thing that had brought me the most meaning and inspiration—my daily yoga practice—and through that, I found my other passions.
First I discovered Ayurveda, which helped me understand who I was at my core, and how to best align my life with my true nature.
And then I found Permaculture, which just completely blew me away and opened my eyes to a more positive way of living in the world, in harmony with nature and especially with community and endless collaborations.
The more I integrated these three frameworks into my life, the more I began to experience a deeper sense of connectivity with myself, with others and the world around me.
Things started to just drop in. Life seemed to get richer, easier, and more joyful.
Through my own experience of applying Yoga, Ayurveda and Permaculture, their combined fruits have provided a much stronger foundation to not just understand myself and my environment, but to design a sustainable way of living that’s true to me, in collaboration with the world around me.
