“Turning its head to track the sun across the sky, the Sunflower stands tall and proud, facing the light, with its shadow falling behind it. They can reach great heights, but may still require support to achieve their full potential”.

I began my year by stargazing on a rooftop in Puerto Rico.

The danger of having such a perfect start to a new year is the worry that things can only get worse, and when I returned to the UK this became somewhat of a self-fulfilling prophecy. London was cold and stressful and for the first time in a while I had no direction in my life. I’m someone who struggles without a plan or a goal in mind and I started to feel really lost.

Luckily, I’ve been given a wonderful opportunity to throw myself into a new challenge. I am about to embark on my Yoga Teacher Training qualification and cannot wait to get started. Unlike most trainee Yogis, I am undertaking my training part-time, which means that I won’t have completed my 200 hours of required training until the summer. Many friends who have done this training have taken part in ‘intensive’ courses abroad, in places like India, Bali and Ecuador.

Taking the scenic route however, gives me a rare opportunity to step back and evaluate my progress as the training continues, as well as giving me extra time to develop my own practice and read up on all the material. This is why I’ve decided to share my journey with you!

In the spirit of new beginnings; I’ve never written a blog before and am both excited and a little nervous to share this with the world, but that’s what this is all about – being brave, taking risks and rising to new challenges. I also hope to give encouragement to others who may be considering teacher training or even taking up yoga for the first time. If my realisations, successes and mistakes can be useful to anyone else; I’m more than happy to share.

“I want to be like a Sunflower, so that even on the darkest days I will stand tall and find the sunlight”