My Story
The cookie-cutter years.
Living your best life usually starts with identifying what you've had enough of. For me, it was poor mental health and a cookie-cutter lifestyle. After graduating from university, I began working in hectic advertising agencies in London, commuting four hours a day, and feeling unfulfilled. I was aware that I 'should' be grateful for the opportunities that lay before me. Instead, I felt like I'd jumped through all the hoops of the education system, only to land in the wrong life. Outside of work I did the typical things that twenty-somethings do, making precious little time for wellbeing. Eventually it caught up with me: depression, anxiety, and a bout of pneumonia to boot. They were challenging times, but they pushed me to make big, positive changes.
I started tuning inwards...
...reflecting on the things that truly make me tick. I identified my core values, like 'connection' and 'expression', then started freelancing as a way of experimenting with different roles (and keeping a handle on time spent in the office). I also enrolled in courses in Coaching, Counselling, and later Songwriting. I was self-conscious about how 'all over the place' my pursuits were at that time, but gave myself permission to keep exploring anyway - to scratch every itch. My wildest adventure was recording music, something I'd always longed to do. I was nothing short of terrified of a prospect so exposing, still something deep inside made me forge ahead. In 2015 the title track of my album Who Are You? was played on BBC6Music, and I was named 'one to watch' by The Guardian. All my christmases had come at once, but my journey back to self was far from over.
Enter, the breath.
In the years that followed I discovered something that surprised me, and changed my trajectory. Returning to my counselling studies, I learnt that trauma, and the accompanying limiting beliefs, reside not only in the mind but in the body. Talking therapies, it transpired, can only take you so far. This made me want to understand how to address the 'issues in our tissues' directly. So I enrolled with the Transformational Breath Foundation (TBF), a world-leading breathwork school who teach exactly that. My experiences during training were profound. I integrated past hurts, and discovered states of bliss I thought were only possible for Buddhist monks! I found comfort in TBF's spiritual teachings too - so accessible. As I let them sink in, I was able to feel for the first time that I was enough, exactly as I am. All any of us need to 'achieve' is to live authentically, and to love. For someone who'd never quite felt she'd found her 'purpose', or reached where she was 'supposed' to reach, this was liberation.
Which brings me to today...
As I type, I'm living in Bedfordshire with my husband Ben, and the restless 'searching' has been replaced by a new aim, to live more in the moment. I enjoy a portfolio career as a writer and content content, including the book 'Beginner To Composer in 14 Days'. I'm also a Transformational Breath® Facilitator, helping clients from different walks of life to prioritise radical self-care. With the pressures of the modern world, I believe it's an absolute must. Music-wise, I still indulge my love of songwriting, as one half of the duo Green and Pine, alongside other interests like holistic health, getting out in nature, personal and home style. That's a little about me. To stay in touch, simply hit subscribe. You'll receive my free breathwork guide, plus some nice juicy discounts.
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