Given the fact that I married a Victorian farmer’s son and as a dancer, I knew we were always going to end up in Melbourne, where it has a terrific arts scene. Port Melbourne has the best combination of beach/port life as well as walking distance access to the city and all of its arts. I want to work and live in the same suburb, where I can walk or bike most places, where my kids can go to the local community kinder or school, and where I can feel like I am contributing to making my community a happier, healthier place to live.
My family is a massive part of my life. Every choice I make in my life these days has an attachment of how it will affect them. As my personal yoga practise doesn’t just take place in a studio, but often at home on my own mat, my children become a part of this. It often becomes an advanced version of the game Twister, where I am trying to maintain or transition into a pose, and they find ways to include their bodies into the mix; some less gracefully than others. My family helps make me who I am, thus it is important to me to have my kids included in a representation of that.
This year I started my own movement company: Mindful Movement Melbourne, where I teach yoga, fusion (pilates meets yoga) and dance classes. I have always been passionate about movement. I have been a dancer from the age of 4. For the last 20 years I have been teaching dance in local dance studios, and as well I have been teaching yoga in local studios for the last 13 years of those 20. I love to move and to dance, and I have a hard time sitting still when surrounded by music. After starting a consistent meditation practise a few years ago to combat post-natal sleep deprivation after the birth of my littlest one, I began to notice a difference in how I was teaching my yoga and dance classes to how I wanted to teach them: with purpose and acknowledge of a student’s personal journey. I also noticed the difference in myself from regular meditation; I became more patient as a mother, and more relaxed as an individual. As I attempted to teach and accommodate my own changes, it became clear to me that I needed a chance to expand the classes I’d like to teach, but to do so with a higher level of authenticity meant that I would need the freedom to pursue those objectives, hence Mindful Movement Melbourne.
Facebook page: www.facebook.com/mindfulmovementmelbourne
Instagram: @smrekartdance
Email: mindfulmovementmelbourne@gmail.com
By Sam Thompson
Photo by Michelle Chan
My family is a massive part of my life. Every choice I make in my life these days has an attachment of how it will affect them. As my personal yoga practise doesn’t just take place in a studio, but often at home on my own mat, my children become a part of this. It often becomes an advanced version of the game Twister, where I am trying to maintain or transition into a pose, and they find ways to include their bodies into the mix; some less gracefully than others. My family helps make me who I am, thus it is important to me to have my kids included in a representation of that.
This year I started my own movement company: Mindful Movement Melbourne, where I teach yoga, fusion (pilates meets yoga) and dance classes. I have always been passionate about movement. I have been a dancer from the age of 4. For the last 20 years I have been teaching dance in local dance studios, and as well I have been teaching yoga in local studios for the last 13 years of those 20. I love to move and to dance, and I have a hard time sitting still when surrounded by music. After starting a consistent meditation practise a few years ago to combat post-natal sleep deprivation after the birth of my littlest one, I began to notice a difference in how I was teaching my yoga and dance classes to how I wanted to teach them: with purpose and acknowledge of a student’s personal journey. I also noticed the difference in myself from regular meditation; I became more patient as a mother, and more relaxed as an individual. As I attempted to teach and accommodate my own changes, it became clear to me that I needed a chance to expand the classes I’d like to teach, but to do so with a higher level of authenticity meant that I would need the freedom to pursue those objectives, hence Mindful Movement Melbourne.
Facebook page: www.facebook.com/mindfulmovementmelbourne
Instagram: @smrekartdance
Email: mindfulmovementmelbourne@gmail.com
By Sam Thompson
Photo by Michelle Chan