Who am I and what is Luna Sadhana?

It’s New Moon and usually at this time I post an interview with someone who inspires me with their work and dedication to their practice. However, this month's interview has had to be postponed until next month unfortunately. (But I am very excited to feature them in September!)

The Leo in me becomes activated this time of year, and as this month’s New moon happens to be in Leo too (as I am writing this)!, whose energy is all about self reflection and expression, this is probably the most open that you will get me ... so I thought I would use this time to share a little more about what Luna Sadhana is, my health and yoga journey to how it began and what my vision is for its future…

How I became interested in yoga and wellness.

Movement has always been a big part of my life. I started ballet aged 4 and by 9 I had dance classes almost everyday after school and often all weekend. As well as being very dedicated to my school work I would also be involved in it’s athletic events and competed as a runner. It’s safe to say I had a very full on schedule for someone so young and as a teenager, combined with other family events I rebelled by quitting everything and choosing to have zero responsibilities and made some less healthy choices. From around 16 I began to have some intense stomach pains whenever I ate. However, it took many years to really be clear to doctors that there was a serious problem. Age 19/20 was a pretty dark time for me when I was feeling a lot of physical pain continuously and it had grown to affect my mental health quite badly. It wasn’t until age 22 when I had become so unwell that when visiting the doctor I was sent straight to A&E and began my first time in hospital leading to 2 operations.

As I began to recover from the second operation I became aware that the pain I had been so familiar with for so many years had been taken away, just like that. It was like the lens that I had been seeing life through had been removed and I could now see a future and begin to love myself again. In a way it was a deeply spiritual experience and I vowed to myself to now live my life with deep respect for my body and to enjoy the gift of time we have here. I feel strongly that we must take responsibility to care for our bodies as much as possible. There is a lot that we don’t have control over, but equally there is so much we can make responsible choices for when it comes to health!

I had begun regularly taking yoga classes at 21, but it was at 25 after losing my dad that I really threw myself deeply into a daily physical practice. It was a deep therapy for me, with myself. A way to ‘keep myself out of trouble’, I kept myself busy by committing to going to class every evening after work rather than being swayed to any other self destructive behaviours. 

In 2019 after 8 years of practice I attended my first teacher training. The intensive nature of teacher training stirred up a lot in me and from then it began to become clearer within me what I really wanted to do, what I wanted to teach and how. I was feeling more and more frustrated in my day job and I could feel I was being pushed to make the leap!

How Luna Sadhana began.

In the summer of 2019, aside from my own regular studio practice I had been extremely dedicated to my morning kriya meditations, meditations specifically to gain clarity and direction. It was then that I felt called to not just teach for other studios but to make the move and start my own course. I wanted to not only teach asana classes but to weave in more of the yogic teachings including health and longevity, different forms of meditation, the esoteric and yoga history. And ultimately, how to use these tools to make changes in your life, to build a strong foundation within yourself. I wanted to share some of the ways I had used these teachings to build myself up again and again and get through some very dark and lonely periods.

I put a call out for volunteers on my facebook page for people willing to test out my ideas and surprisingly had an overwhelming response. And that was how The Art of Personal Practice & Prosperity began.

I had always been quite private about my connection to the spiritual aspects of yoga...and life! So starting Luna Sadhana and sharing what I teach on my social media to everyone I know has been challenging to me. But certainly liberating too. 

Why I chose the name ‘Luna Sadhana’.

Ever since I learnt of the Sanskrit word ‘Sadhana’ I liked it..! It can be translated to mean ‘discipline and dedication, a devotion to a practice’. In class I often heard it used to describe what we do as our home practice. Although I love the community of attending a yoga school, my relationship with yoga became what it is through taking the teachings home and exploring them on my own.

I also am in love with the moon, on a number of levels- the way it represents cycles, seasons, and the feminine. I like how (especially as a woman) we can learn to adapt to the natural shifts of life, and use our yoga practice to compliment this and even explore this to learn about ourselves deeper. I am also very into astrology and have been reading the charts of whoever will let me for some time now. I naturally weaved this into my work when working with people one on one. To me astrology and yoga go hand in hand on a path of spiritual development, so it flavours how I teach and gives me inspiration constantly. So, the name Luna Sadhana defines pretty well what I do.

My vision for the future.

I love the way that it has been unfolding so far. So I will be continuing to allow my offerings to flow as they are. My original 6 week course The Art of Personal Practice & Prosperity is now going to be condensed to one month and to fit with the times it will be 100% online and accessible to all! Through a private instagram I will run daily morning meditation, weekly classes and workshops with me and guest teachers. It is for anyone who would like to keep up a daily practice, a way for it to be personal and self directed but with support, guidance, accountability and to be inspired by a community of like minded souls! Each month will be flavoured by the seasons, by astrological events and we will also honour the full and new moons, harnessing their energy to boost our practice. You can sign up now for September, starting at just £30 for the month. I am also offering a small number of free spaces to those out of work or currently in difficult circumstances, just send me an email here.

In the future I would love to collaborate with others creating events and workshops in the yoga and wellness sphere. Creating a local community would be a bonus too!

I will continue to post interviews with people who inspire me, people who have their own creative practices but are kept grounded by their own dedicated spiritual practices.

I also plan to work towards sharing a bit more of myself and my journey.

19.08.20