Media/Reviews
'My Secret Place'
Featured in Om Magazine 2009
Om Yoga magazine interviewed me about my secret place to do yoga. You guessed it –
The Temple of Apollo Side.
Om Magazine Review Jan 2010
Am mailing to say what a wonderful time i had staying with you, thank you so much for you hospitality. I came away feeling so alive and refreshed. I meet some great people on the course and would recommend anyone thinking of travelling alone. The yoga sessions were held in the calming yoga space situated in the gardens, amongst the palms and blooming flowers, the fresh air and sunshine made it a perfect place to practice, The yoga was adapted to whatever your level, and i really felt like i deepened my practice a lot in my two week stay, . The early morning practice was a great way start to the day, leaving the day free to explore this beautiful area (and there is so much to see in Side) or chill by the pool in the lovely gardens. Then at 5.30 the second yoga/meditation session takes place, again the perfect way to end the day.
The food is served buffet style with a great selection, a really nice time to get to no everyon on your course.
Accommodation was a twin bedded room, with ensuite shower room, air conditioning, and private balcony over looking the Taurus Mountains (if you get up early enough you can witness the most stunning sunrise). There are plenty of seating areas to catch up with other group members, or to find a quiet place to meditate/read on your own.
As i said before Side has so much to see. Side old town is a 20 min walk away from Lemas Gardens which is definitely worth a visit. From the minute you enter the road to the old town it is like a step back in time the road is lined with roman columns, and in front of you is the most spectacular Amphitheatre, amazing. Inside you will discover tiny streets with shops restaurants and yet more roman ruins that are everywhere you look.
Also available are some fab holistic treatments that you can indulge in, it really is a way to relax deeper. You can book these treatments on arrival. On a Thursday you have a am yoga session then the day and evening is yours to maybe take one of the excursions available.
I really recommend this yoga holiday in Turkey, Joanne is so hospitable and welcoming. Lemas Gardens is a great location, the sunshine the food, i will definitely be back again next year.
Hayley Wright (Essex)
Om Yoga Magazine Sept Issue 2012
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Editorial in Yoga & Health Magazine Jan 2013
http://www.yogaandhealthmag.co.uk
Surveys performed by the National Rosacea Society showed that nearly 70 percent of people with rosacea have lower self-confidence and self-esteem, and 41 percent reported that it had caused them to avoid public contact or cancel social engagements. Among those with severe symptoms, nearly 70 percent said the disorder had adversely affected their professional interactions, and nearly 30 percent said they had even missed work because of their condition.
I think the Rosacea on my face was one of the main reasons behind me making such a life style change to move to Turkey and live my dream of opening up our Yoga retreat centre… When Rosacea started to appear on my nose and cheeks I was devastating I was a self employed hairdresser standing in the mirror for sometimes 10 hours a day and it did nothing at all for my confidence.. I have never suffered in my growing up years from acne or any other skin condition, I had good skin, easy to maintain then here at 26 I had a bright red nose and chin that could be sometimes covered in white pimples that seem to appear randomly throughout the day.
I remember between each client I would run to the toilet and apply more cover up makeup as best I could. I spent a fortune on so many products to try and hide the redness but because my face and the atmosphere I worked in was so hot and dry within minutes it would looked all caked and cracked, and never being a make up applying girl the whole thing just draw more attention to my face and condition. Clients began to ask about my skin and I really had no clue how to answer them as I had no idea what was happening to my face. I remember going to bed each night and praying I would wake up in the morning and it would be gone but no, every morning I would look in the mirror and instantly feel down because it was staring right back at me…
I started to do a lot of research on the internet. To see if I could get any clues and thats when I discovered it was a form of Rosacea even though all the symptoms was not the same the look and placement on my face resembled mine. The hardest thing to read was that there was said to be no none cure or real answers to what caused Rosacea at this time, I'm devastated.
The site gave you tips of what might help the condition like Laser treatment so my husband bought me 10 very expensive sessions for me. I was so hopeful that this could be the cure but after my 10 sessions I didn't notice any differenceat all. My husband could clearly see how soul destroying this condition was for me and I remember asking him how he could be with me looking the way I did. It really was starting to shatter my confidence. As you know when you get your hair done at the hairdressers most of the communication is done through the mirror but I remember not looking in the mirror at all. I started to check all my haircuts by coming around to the front of the client and checking that way. If I caught a glance of me I hated it..
I decided to go holistic someone had mentioned about a Chinese doctor so I booked an appointment we had a consultation and he prescribed me lots of herbs to drink as he said I was holding a lot of fire in my stomach that could be showing through the Rosacea and the herbs would help me internally… I must of spent over a thousand pounds or more on Chinese medicine over a course of year to no avail, but one thing I did take from it was about me having to much heat in my belly as I noticed my digestion was slow and I often became bloated.
So I started to look at my diet. I had a good diet but I did like spicy foods so I tired eating more an alkaline foods and did notice that my digestive system worked more efficiently and other little signs like the bloating was so bad after food but my bright red pimply nose and chin remained.
I always had a beautician in my salons and one product that was meant to be good for Rosacea I remember buying the lot and guess what, no change… Again just way out of pocket.
So during my battle with my face for 7 years I fell pregnant with our beautiful daughter when I was 32 and that is when I took my first yoga class it was the first time I had become familiar or took notice of my breath. We sat in easy seat (crossed legged posture) and breathed and for once in my life I really noticed that I was breathing. Our teacher talked us through a great breathing teqnic and I remember after just 5 minutes I felt completely spaced out and high on my breath and my body felt nice and loose from the stretches. After class I felt amazing, so grounded and a lot calmer. I continued yoga classed until our daughter was born and during this time I started to become so much more connected to myself. The quiet time spent breathing in class I starting to feel a good connection with myself and I was amazed how much I was learning about myself. Just listening and learning and really enjoying the space and quiet time to just be with me.
Through a client. I was introduced to a lovely spiritual lady that held guided meditation classes so I booked myself on a 6 week course with I loved it. My husband would rush in from work to look after our daughter and I would go off and indulge in an hour of guided mediation, it was the best course I had ever taken. I learnt so much about myself and soon become to realise that being a salon owner and a very hairdresser was not the job and lifestyle I was dreaming off and slowly in time I starting to make some big life style changes and I have not looked back.
I had a healing season with my teacher and can remember saying to her that I had a aching feeling in my belly that always seemed to be there and remember we had this discussion on how she believed that emotions and life experiences can block our natural energy flows causing us pain and disruption in our physical body. This discussion changed my life and outlook to this very day. It was like the answer I had been looking for all those years.
I know you are probably thinking well what cured your skin and I am sorry it was no wonder drug or treatment. It was me taking notice of myself. For all those years my skin had been showing me that sorting was not right mentally and physically.
Each and everyone of us has a past and emotions that we suppress over the years, frustrations and hurt maybe loss of a loved one divorce etc that we hold on to within our bodies. I am a huge believer that the emotions, resentment, anger, loss if not dealt with all get stored in the body and that are then shown through the physical body of maybe headaches, constipation, neck/shoulder pain like me, skin problems and some cases disease.
For the last 5 years I have been free of Rosacea and It feels absolute wonderful…and this is purely down to ME. I have learnt to listen to my body and deal with issues through my yoga and meditation to release and let go and clear out old emotions and anxieties that are holding me back and stopping me living the fulfilling life I wanted. If we take time to connect with our bodies, the results can be amazing in health in happiness in living the dream.
For me I had a things I had surprised like losing my wonderful dad in a car crash when I was 25. It was the worse time of my life as I was a real daddies girl. Even though at the time I thought how I was coping was the right way. I took time out of my career for a while to go traveling then got back in to it a year or so later. I guess I just did what was right at the time. Thats when my skin got bad and looking back I believe it was a daily reminder that emotionally I was not right…
My Rosacea I beleive was from anger/resentment I had through loosing my day and other issues that I had not dealt with. Over the last 7 years I have really worked and took notice of myself and my dedicated Yoga practice has helped me immensely. My meditation takes me inside allowing my body and mind the space to connect. My asana practice helps the removal of obstacles in the body freeing the blockages and knots sending new Prana around the body with every breath whilst keeping me flexible and in great shape. It is no way an overnight process and not an easy process buy any means. Yoga can rock up lots of emotions from way way back as far as the memory allows as it certainly did for me but with the right teacher and guidance things are released and we are slowly bought into the present moment.
This is what Yoga offers. It offers you to clear all that no longer serves you and things you are gripping on to and holding you back to become present. It is the best thing ever to experience. Such a great place to live from and with self dedication, self observation and just offering this to yourself you can free yourself of what I believe almost anything. Opening you up for new experiences and opportunity leaving you free from pain and suffering to get the best and most out of this wonderful life journey.
I continue to walk the path through its twists and turns my dedicated practice of 5 mornings a week teach locally here in Turkey and teach 3 hours a day through the summer at our yoga retreat centre it is such a turn around from my life in the UK. I have clear skin and love offering to all the wonderful students I meet each summer and in my classes. Just know the path has lots of twists as I walk beside my mum who 2 years ago survived bowl cancer but now for the last year is battling liver cancer. I am present and deal with each day as it arrives. I dedicate my yoga practice to her that it will take her kindly and free from suffering. There is a lesson in everything we experience as hard as it can get to watch a love one with such a cruel illness my mum is my biggest teacher right now which I will always be forever grateful.
There is a great saying I love by, Lao Tzu
If you are depressed you are living in the past.
If you are anxious you are living in the future.
If you are at peace you are living in the present.
Namaste
