Someone wrote to me “you have to meet Taryn from Yoga Desire – her venue would be perfect for your workshop & I reckon you two will hit it off”. In my search for venues to roll out my Mind-Full to Mindful workshops, I was nudged in Taryn’s direction! When we talked, it felt like I had known her for a long time – and there was so much passion and authenticity when we discussed our values, beliefs and dreams! Taryn & Jono welcomed me to and facilitated me at their Yoga Desire premises to launch my first workshop, and Taryn simply went above & beyond – she not only helped me set up & get comfortable in the premises, but she also generously donated home-brewed flavoured tea & water kefir (which we all raved about too, it was delicious!).
I love getting to know the story of the person/s behind the business & social media posts and just between you & me, here’s the lowdown:-
Let’s get started by talking “mindset” – do you believe it’s important & what does it mean to you? Absolutely – it’s essential. It’s about awareness – awareness of thoughts and actions. It’s so easy to fall into negative patterning, we have both been there. Once you make a conscious effort to switch your mindset and see goodness, positivity, and find gratitude even in the most unfortunate situations we believe that the universe really does only wants good things for every single one us. One of my Yoga mentors likes to remind me that the universe is a reflection of what you project. I like that! With hard work, the correct mindset and when you come from a position of unconditional love things just start to happen – well that’s our experience anyway! We were lucky enough to host Chantelle from Indigo Phoenix at our Yoga Desire Studio in Derby recently. Chantelle’s workshop Mind-full to Mindful is wonderful on this topic. In fact, she is an expert! Chantelle provides many practical mind-set techniques backed by scientific evidence and we were certainly able to add a few more to our mind-set tool kits following Chantelle’s guidance.
Bless! Thank you – it was my pleasure! So, do tell – what gets you out of bed in the morning? Definitely coffee!!!! We do a fresh brew on the stove top every morning. We genuinely love everything about coffee! There is something before coffee though and that is meditation. We like to rise early, 4:50am in fact. We live on a stunning property, Birdwood Downs Station on the Gibb River Rd, where for the most part we can work to our own timeframes, however we do get very busy like everyone else so meditation practice early morning is an opportunity for stillness of body & mind. This time of morning, just before first light, when birds are awakening is truly something special! We get a lot of our inspiration from the clarity that results from meditation and it keeps us grounded and centred. Speaking of mindset above, we find that meditation really does set us up for our day ahead… then comes coffee.
Mmmmm, you had me at coffee!!!! And what dreams have you set your mind to? When we returned from travel in Aug 2017 we wrote a cheque to ourselves. It sounds a bit funny but it was inspired by Jim Carey, from a YouTube clip we watched of him on manifesting his multi-million dollar acting career (he wrote a cheque to his future self). I would recommend watching it. It inspired us to sit down and write on paper what future we wanted for us and Yoga Desire. We wrote it on a Yoga Desire gift voucher, we have still go it now! It went like this, “Complete dedication to each other, yoga and permaculture which results in flowing abundance”. We are reflecting on the cheque now since we wrote it last year with the realisation that we are actually doing it… wow! Over the last 9 months we both gave up stability and security of regular work to pursue Yoga Desire and re-located to a property out of Derby, Birdwood Downs Station as caregivers. Jono has been able to implement permaculture at Birdwood Downs and the station is now at a transition stage where it is working towards permaculture as being integral to its operations. We are finding that where attention goes, dreams flow but you have to be prepared to take risks, see challenges as opportunities for growth, be vulnerable and work hard. You have to really believe in what you are doing. Now we have so many wonderful things to look forward too for the second half of 2018 and into 2019. Here is a sneak peak *Meditation Facilitation Training (registration with Yoga Australia) *services to local organisations, businesses & groups in Derby & the West Kimberley inc. remote Aboriginal Communities *co-host a wellbeing retreat on the Amalfi Coast of Italy in Positano *opportunity of co-hosting another retreat in Japan 2019 *running the second of our unique Family Friendly Bush Style Yoga Retreat at Birdwood Downs Station *expanding Yoga Desire’s eco-friendly custom designed Yoga wear *possibly opening a second Yoga Desire studio inc. permaculture as an arm of Yoga Desire. OH, and there is also a wedding to be had in amongst all that as well!!!!
Hmmm, only a few things then…. ha ha! Can’t wait to see it all come to fruition! Can you share what a general day in your life looks like? Well after meditation and coffee…. Jono spends most of his time attending to the veggie garden, station maintenance and Yoga Desire errands. Me, I travel into Derby 4-5 times per week to run our regular Yoga classes. I like to arrive at the studio at least 1 hour before class begins so that I can do my own Yoga practice – this is certainly a priority in my day. I spend my time throughout each day either preparing yoga classes, doing administrative work and I am responsible for the waste separation system that we have implemented at Birdwood Downs Station (our home). For relaxation, we both like to create in the kitchen together, Jono will often do his scrap metal art and I like to read. We also like to ride the horses at Birdwood Downs when we get the chance – riding horse back is like meditation to us. And speaking of riding…. adventures on our Royal Enfield Motorbike also fall into the relaxation category.
Sounds dreamy & balanced! Let’s get a little more personal shall we… can you let our readers know one of the biggest obstacles you have faced in working towards your dream life, and what resulted from such obstacle? It’s bloody hard work!! I’m sure any start up small business or any business owner in fact can tell you that. No one provides you with a pay cheque at the end of the week, you have to constantly put yourself out there and this can often feel uncomfortable a lot of the time. We feel as if we have worked harder than ever before – the motivation is different when you are creating something of your own. The result is that the rewards of creating something of your own are far greater, and we can flow to the rhythm of our own drum. At the end of every day there is definitely a warm feeling inside of fullness of heart, contentment, fulfilment and joy. We have found that having an attitude of gratitude has really helped us. Turning every obstacle or hiccup into an opportunity to express gratitude for what we do have or what we have achieved, shifts the perspective in a positive direction and helps move us through any setbacks more quickly. We often remind each other of this when we feel moments of disappointment – it helps move through these emotions more quickly. My mum likes to quote Taylor Swift and say “Shake it off”.
OH NO, now I can’t stop singing that (thanks guys)! If you had only one important piece of knowledge you were allowed to pass on, what would it be? FILL YOUR CUP UP FIRST. I love how my beautiful friend, Zoe Dixon who is a musician and naturopath reminded me of this when she said “you can’t pour from an empty cup babe”. For me this involves setting personal boundaries. I think most of us probably need this reminder from time-to-time.
Absolutely true! Just for fun, what are 3 interesting things about you people may not know… I actually found this really difficult because I’m naturally a really open and honest person. So here is goes…they all seem a little boring… (1) I am loving of snakes – yes, I love all reptiles but particularly snakes. (2) I am fearful of heights – I have not been fearful my entire life but I think this came about after I was pushed off the platform during a bungee jump a couple of years ago (I did have all the gear etc. on but it was the most horrible bungee ever) (3) I am a scientist – my first science degree was a double major in Environmental Science and Conservation and Wildlife Biology. My nerdy side often shines.
I love snakes too! So before we wrap this up, what’s your hottest tip/s for living a healthy & satisfying life? Wow, what a huge question and I am certainly no expert. Health and contentment have been a journey for me too, and I think everyone is on their own path and free to discover through experiences what works for them. There are many paths up the mountain to health & wellbeing. I have practiced Yoga for 10 years now and for me the Yoga tradition has certainly been a big part of my health & wellbeing. There is so much information and advice out there in the health and wellbeing industry now which is absolutely fantastic; however these days I am more inclined to encourage others to be their own guru.
Couldn’t agree more – everyone has a right to find the paths that work for them! WRAPPING IT UP, is there any last things you want to leave us with? Namaste :)
