As most of us do, I play many roles. I am a wife, mother, animal lover, employee, business owner, friend, confidant, Yoga teacher and a flow artist. I grew up in the Adelaide hills riding horses and learnt to fire twirl in the Nimbin hills.  I currently live in the Barossa Valley, in a beautiful old cottage nested among iconic gum trees and frequently visited by the resident kangaroo family.

Five years living with my husband and daughter in a rustic off-grid dwelling in the rainforest effectively recalibrated my priorities and refocused my energies. I source strength in the embodied memories of this time.  I love spending time outdoors, preferably surrounded by animals and plants, so found our outdoor shower to be divine – I miss it.

Animal behaviour fascinates me and spending time in nature grounds me. Somehow I managed to survive the city (if you can call Adelaide of the 90’s & 2000’s the city), to obtain a Bachelor of Management and subsequently built careers in Human Resources and Technology Services.  I have practiced Yoga for over 20 years and hold a Diploma of Integral Yoga.  I love travelling so it’s no wonder my first Yoga studio is a mobile one, 

I embrace Yoga and Play because they contribute significantly to my well-being and capacity to remain resilient. My favourite toy is the hula hoop. It helped me learn how to let go. As Yoga is a delicate balance of holding on & letting go, I find the two practices complementary.  Delving into the fire dancing culture has been a whole lot of fun.  It’s also deepened my focus (there’s not much room for error when you’re playing with fire), helped me face fears and connected me with amazingly resilient people.  There is a meditative element to the style of Flow I embrace, it’s my therapy.  Maybe it’s yours too – there’s only one way to find out!  I look back at my life before fire and it brings a smile to my face when I’m reminded I still have the capacity to surprise myself.

Upon studying Mindfulness with Monash University, I realised that my Yoga studies were the perfect preparation  – the underlying concepts are effectively the same, however the language is significantly different. There is a growing body of evidence advocating the benefits of Mindfulness practices (many of which have direct parallels with ancient Yogic wisdom) and I’m fascinated by the effect of these practices on the brain.

Penelope