When I think of Louise, the first thing I think of is her smile. It’s a smile that tells the story of a life well spent discovering and looking after herself. I can envision the journey, sense the challenges and feel the genuine contentment she’s worked her whole life to achieve. Not to paint a picture of perfectionism here as honestly, that doesn’t exist. But Louise is heartfelt. Her energy will wake you up and make you want to give yourself the biggest hug known to man because quite frankly, self-love is the greatest gift from you to you.
Over the past year of getting to know Louise and the hours of conversation we’ve gotten lost in, I ALWAYS leave feeling more full and in love with myself. Love for all the achievements, all the rejections, the travel, friendships, money lost and found, to all the yoga, and last but not least, appreciation for all our countless jobs. Even the really really questionable ones. She has gratitude in her bones. And that’s super hard to achieve. Maybe she’s born with it… maybe she’s done some seriously hard work on herself and through the power of yoga she has become the embodiment of THANK FUCK I’M ALIVE… I think it’s the latter.
I met Louise on the Summer Solstice of 2018 which also happens to be the International Day of Yoga. We were teaching at an event to mark the prestigious day with a traditional round of 108 sun salutations. (Nothing tongue ties you quite like saying adho mukha svanasana aka downward facing dog 108 times, I can tell you that for free!) We clicked instantly. I was drawn to her tranquility. No matter how many years you’ve been teaching for, there can still be a flourish of nerves and unease when you walk into an unknown space with unknown faces. Louise seemed to have it covered. I was completely shocked later on however to learn she’d only been teaching for a matter of weeks and was completely bricking it. What. A. Pro. I had a serious case of — ‘I’ll have whatever she’s having.’
Louise had just finished working as the European Brand Project Manager at Lululemon to dive into a life of freelance ‘yoga-ing’. Whilst at Lululemon, a company known for its impressive personal development support, Louise got stuck into ‘vision and goal setting’. She describes this process as an ‘opportunity to really think about the life you want to create and put in place the steps (goals) for how to achieve it. It encourages you to dream big and remove all limitations’… I wholeheartedly believe this is a skill. It’s been on my to-do list to conquer for about 3 years but has always ‘slipped my mind’. It hasn’t. It just triggers my anxiety and vulnerability radar to the maximum. Louise embraces this skill. She’s focused and willing to hold her hands and heart wide open for these goals to develop, shift and often completely change.
The decision to teach yoga began to bubble whilst living in Vancouver, where she was welcomed into a loving yoga community. Once you have a taste of something that genuine it’s hard to shake off. ‘When re-writing my goals in 2016, I wrote down that I would do my yoga teacher training in 5 years time. A colleague asked me why not now. I gave a bunch of excuses but the real reason was fear.’ If I had a pound for every time fear stood in my way I’d be a very rich lady. ‘A friend recommended a yoga teacher training programme in India so I googled it and the first thing I saw on the site was “If not you, then who? If not now, then when?” So I asked for the time off work and I booked to do my YTT.’ If you don’t ask, you don’t get right?
More recently Louise’s path took a turn to the East. She’s been living in Berlin with her beloved fiance cultivating a life of balance. Soon to return back to the UK as a married couple she will once again adapt back to new but familiar surroundings. For the last few years she’s been contracting for companies and teaching yoga on the side. Whilst in Berlin, as a couple they created special evenings of yoga and live music. (A venture I hope follows them back to London). All this variety in Louise’s life showcases her personality to a tee. A sweet collaborative combination of meaning, authenticity and adaptability.
`I’m also now trying to blend my experience as a Freelancer with Wellbeing and recently launched ‘Purpose Break’. A weekly newsletter which encourages more short breaks in the working day and tips for what to do with this time to make you feel good and help improve productivity.’ — Never a lazy moment with our Louise! Her selflessness seeps through in these little letters and I couldn’t recommend them enough if you’re looking for that extra boost of motivation. Interested? Here’s the sign up: https://tinyletter.com/Purpose_Break
When asked what she wants her students to experience in her class she said— ‘Yoga is about feeling good, not looking good! I want my students to listen to their body, be playful and learn what feels good for them.’ Without her even knowing it, this is exactly what she does to me off the yoga mat. Put simply, Louise makes you feel good. Just as she hopes to. And that’s really pretty perfect.
To follow Louise’s journey and see where you can eventually catch her classes on her return to the UK-
And here is my favourite post of her’s 🙂
O p e n H e a r t. I’ve been working with the anaharta chakra this week and it’s helped me check myself and bring a bit of balance back to my wild/busy mind. I’m making a conscious effort to celebrate the small wins of the day/week + appreciate all that I have rather than things that I don’t. There’s lots to be grateful for when you take time to notice.. Got a few mins today? Find a quiet space, close your eyes, relax your shoulders, place both hands over your heart, take a deep breath in and an audible exhale. Repeat this a couple of times and then allow the breath to naturally flow through the nose. The anaharta chakra is associated with the colour green 💚 — begin to bring your awareness to your heart and start to visualise a green light around your heart space growing brighter with every breath allowing it to build and move to other parts of your body, filling you up with the bright light. Stay in the moment and breathe. When you feel ready, start to bring your hands away from your chest, rest your palms lightly on your lap and begin to blink your eyes open. Take a few moments to enjoy the feeling before carrying on with the rest of your day.
