Hearth and Soul NZ

Today...because then I'm officially on holiday until the 19th.

4 beautiful classes Hello Sunshine Studio
10am Slow Flow
11am Yin
5.30pm Slow Flow
6.30pm Yin

Monty will be in all four 🐾

This holiday is such a long awaited joyful celebration of simply being me. I've thought about how to describe this state, a lot. So many of those rehearsed conversations that are a classic of my brain; and I'm noticing an interesting phenomenon when I talk to actual people about happily flying solo - celebration. I love that I am surrounded by women who celebrate the joys of traveling solo, of paying the single supplement on the tour, and of being solo. There's no 'oh, you'll meet someone', there's just celebration and I love that. The truth is, I don't want to meet someone. I've had great loves in my life. Now, it's time for me, and this trip is...mmm...yummy.

Oh, and Monty is in beautiful hands with a wonderful house sitter doting on him while I'm away.

I'm back on the mat and in the sanctuary from October 19.

There's an idea that floats about in spiritual teachings, and I use float deliberately, that is about blooming where we are planted. Various teachers are attributed to it and it can be found in the yoga teachings as santosha - contentment. But...and it's a big but...it doesn't mean putting up with sh*tty circumstances. It doesn't mean not repotting yourself when you outgrow your space. Far from it.

But spiritual bypassing can easily glorify the concrete and forget the struggle, or see the struggle as worthy and the ample garden as less. Suffering for the sake of suffering is just silly, and often linked to ego - 'look at me doing all these austere practices joylessly'.

It's is ungrounded spiritual practice, practice seeking to leave the ground, the earth, the messy stuff of life for transcendence. It floats about and often glorifies inequity, injustice, and how screwed up the world is as proof of the illusion of the world. Illusion??? I don't think suffering is an illusion. And I don't think the profound teachers who taught about suffering meant you could bypass it on your way to enlightenment. That's why Mother Teresa as often found washing pots in the kitchen, Radhanath Swami dishing up the lunch.

And not joylessly.
Far from it.
Some of the biggest smiles and laughs can be found right there in the kitchen.

So please plant a luscious garden.
Please break the pot that is containing you.
Please laugh.
Find joy.
Find pleasure.
Bloom ecstatically.
And fight the patriarchy/inequity/injustice while you're at it.

With the full moon at the end of the week, and Spring Equinox in the middle, it's a powerful week for contemplating. I am definitely one for saying we need more contemplation in our lives - time just sitting with nothing much going on, letting thoughts land. My favourite places for contemplation: tucked up with Monty in a patch of sun; a spot by the sea; a middle distant pause in the garden that turns into sitting for a while; a Cafe lingering solo coffee with an open journal and no agenda...

This week is the week I get to say I'm fully booked until I go away (woohoo) so if you want a Soul Chat or massage, bookings are open from October 19.

I'm teaching some loveliness Hello Sunshine Studio before I leave, of course,
Monday
10am Slow Flow
5.30pm Power Flow
6.30pm Slow Flow

Tuesday
10am Slow Flow
11am Yin
5.30pm Slow Flow
6.30pm Yin

Friday
9am Slow Flow
10am Yin

Next week I'm teaching the Monday and Tuesday sessions above. Then it is bon voyage across the ditch for some fabulous contemplation time.

It's a Taking Yoga Deeper weekend this weekend so lots of yoga deliciousness ahead. If you've wondered about this, the next course will be across 2028 and now is a great time to have a chat with me about preparing, what you might be looking for and all the wonder of the 12 month journey itself.

So what about 2027? I'm starting to design a couple of shorter courses, and some beautiful day retreats for the coming year. I'll keep you posted.

Blessings for a beautiful week!!!

Monty ran for the couch as soon as his lead was off, looking at me like I was mad to be taking a photo.
The drops were luscious by the time I came inside.
A perfect yoga day.
9am Power Flow
10am Slow Flow
(covering these morning sessions)
3-5.30 Cacao and Yoga
Yummy Hello Sunshine Studio

Yep, this is the post when I say 'and in November' then have a little cry. But really, I'm popping some special November/December treats in because they may excuse you from unfortunate Xmas events you want a reason not to attend- 'sorry, prior engagement, booked for months'.

But first, this week.
Classes as usual and they're filling up. Tonight (Monday) come and power flow at 5.30 or slow flow at 6.30.
Sunday is the last cacao and yoga soak until November so get in for some yumminess. 3-5.30pm. $45 and bookings on MindBody Hello Sunshine Studio

On October 1, I head off to Australia on a long anticipated trip that takes me all the way to Uluru. I'm back on the mat and in the sanctuary from October 19. Subscription crew, the emails are all ready to go so you won't even notice. If you want to book for when I'm back, for Soul Chats or massage, now is a great time to get sorted.

Incoming Hello Sunshine Studio
Friday night specials.
A six week block of yoga loveliness.
At either end are cacao and yoga soaks. 5.30 - 8pm, these take you through deep relaxation and the sound bowls, yin yoga, slow flow and back to relaxing, all with a tummy fully of luscious cacao.
November 6 and December 11. $45 per session

In between are 75 minute sessions from 5.30-7.45pm. These are slow flow based, but expect a couple of yins and a longer savāsana.
November 13 - December 4. $25 per session

December 24 - Xmas Eve Special
Cacao yoga soak
2-4.30pm
$45

And the New Year specials
New Years Eve
Cacao, a journey and journaling session to let go of the year and then some yummy yoga.
3-5.30pm

New Years Day
Cacao, deep relaxation and recovery and then a word that emerges for 2027. Intention. Inspiration. Creativity abounds before we head into yoga, anchoring your word in your body.
3-5.30pm

$45 per session

This week we are heading to a New Moon and so it's a beautiful time for gathering energy, resting in the dark - dreaming. What needs dusting off, and what needs to be composted?

I'm doing my usuals Hello Sunshine Studio so come and share some yoga loves. And I'm teaching the 10am Saturday class too.

Sunday the 20th of September is the last scheduled Cacao and Yoga Soak for the next few months. 3-5.30pm so a deep, luscious relaxation journey after imbibing cacao, accompanied by the singing bowls and maybe even the drum, then into yin, slow flow and back to rest. Bookings on MindBody.

These will be back for the crazy pre-Christmas period to give you some much needed recharge time so keep an eye out for them, and a possible Friday night series.

From mid-October I'm also moving over to the Tuesday night slot with Slow Flow and Yin so I'll be guest appearing on the 22nd and 29th of September and then settling in from Tuesday the 20th of October.

It's Soul Chat and massage Saturday this weekend so those of you who struggle to get to the spaces during the week, snag one of these. I can also do after work slots Wednesdays and Thursdays. Book some deliciousness by simply messaging me.

I'm sitting with Monty, loving the sound of good, solid rain on the garden. It's much needed here in Napier as Spring takes hold a little more each week. Enjoy the shifts and changes crew, blessing from the Hearth.

The annual Napier Yoga Festival has been for 2026. There were beautiful moments and my highlight was a simple line.

'You really took me there.'

Leading a session involving chanting the Gayatri Mantra is something special. It was the second to last session on the last day; tired yogi and high energy colliding. Sitting directly in front of me was an Indian woman. She did not need the hand out with the words.
After talking about sound vibration and why we chant, I asked people to imagine their way down the winding streets of Rishikesh to the beloved Ganga River, passing the chai wallah boiling his brew. When we had chanted, we walked back past the chai wallah and into a little room in Napier.

'You really took me there,' she said with a voice laden with India. 'Now I need chai.'
We laughed that next year I would make some for the session. Her friend, who had arrived to join her the Yin session following, told me she makes the best chai. My heart was full.

I admit to utter nervous wreck levels of anxiety when I am on the front mat and the people that yoga belongs to are in the session. Her voice, the rhythm of her chant, was powerful and I found the point between our two ways to lead from. In the back of my mind, nerves jangled.

To take here there, home, to the banks of the sacred river, was such an honour. My chai is going to need to be epic for next year.

Spring is arriving in my garden, and the energy right now feels potent for nourishing our inner soil ready for planting - early nights, good food, and greeting the dawn.

This Wednesday night we're gathering Be Different Studio, Napier by Clare Babbage for the monthly cacao, tarot and yummy circle of curious minds. Come and fill your cup. Message me for the details.

I'm back to my usual classes Hello Sunshine Studio There's a new timetable arriving in October so I'll update you soon on the changes once that's announced. For September:
Monday
10am Slow Flow
5.30pm Power Flow
6.30pm Slow Flow
Tuesday
10am Slow Flow
11am Yin
Friday
9am Slow Flow
10am Yin
The September Yoga Soak is Sunday the 20th. Cacao, Yin, Slow Flow, a touch of Nidra and, Monty, of course. 3-5.30pm. Bookings on MindBody.

Soul Chats and massage spaces are available Wednesday at 3.30 and Friday at 1pm this week. Snaffle them up if you want some in person goodness.

Collective grief can catch us unawares and a couple of people have asked me what the big deal is; is the massive outpouring performative, or is it real? I think the depth of grief for Dolly Parton might be the most real some people have felt in a long time. I think that is both testament to her and a reflection of a period in time where we have, rightly, questioned what is real and what is performed. Here's my experience of grief as I sit here this morning with a very real ache in my heart:

This deep, gut deep knowing, that we have been witness to something that won't be seen again. A someone whose reach was so huge, so collective, and so beautiful that while the legacy lives on, and she made sure it would, the sparkle of her in the sky is nothing compared to her earth side presence.

I just watched a Tennessee raised, black, le***an talking about Dolly and the space she made for her by never leaving her roots. The books in her house were Imagination Library books. Her son has Imagination Library books. And when her family didn't make room for her being q***r, there was Dolly saying all of God's children and meaning it.

I remember 9 to 5 on the radio and really hearing the lyrics for the first time. The call for something different. And who hasn't belted out Jolene at all the different stages of life it makes sense. Then there's World on Fire if you need an anthem.

And there's her lessons in how to do wealth. We have some despicable examples of selfish, heartless, ethically desolate wealthy people. And then there is Dolly Parton. She appreciated her wealth and fame in a public, constant, beautiful way. She also gave and created and gave and created and kept on right up until the very end which was too soon in all our books, including hers. She wasn't finished.

We aren't finished. So as the grief settles in, I'm sitting this morning with a question Cyndi Lauper says she would ask herself: 'What would Dolly do?'