As I mentioned yesterday, I am 36 years young on Sunday. I don’t feel 36. I don’t feel grown up enough to be 36. I still feel like I’m just drifting. Just coasting along. Just waiting for the mothership. I have never had huge ambition to be anything, or do anything, but somehow I have just fallen into doing things I have enjoyed mostly by mistake. And if that’s life, then I’ll take it please.
So here is a fun (and rather edited) timeline of the first 35 years of this yogini’s life. Enjoy (or just skip if you prefer)!
6th June 1974 born Mill Road Hospital (no longer exists), Cambridge UK, 3 weeks late and weighing 9lbs. Poor Mama Yogini.
15th April 1981 Brother Yogini born. Suburban Yogini’s life as a spoiled and introverted imaginer changed forever.
Sometime in 1982 First poem published in Puffin Post entitled “What is Brown”. I remember rhyming “cow” with “now” which is rather original.
April 1987 Visit Australia for the first time. Fall in love with Tasmania and return many times over the course of my life.
Sometime in the 80s Start practicing yoga with Mama Y.
June 1990 After turning 16 and leaving hideous convent school forever I discover I did it with much better grades than had been predicted. Need to decide what to do next.
(check out the Flock of Seagulls hairdo!!!)
July 1990 Visit NYC for the first time sans parents. What happened in NYC stays in NYC.
September 1990 Begin A Levels in English, Biology and Classics along with dance foundation course. Decide to become archaeologist like Indiana Jones.
July 1991 Fall in love with Greece.
August 1991 Work on archaeological dig in Wales. Does not stop raining once. Give up career ambitions.
July 1992 Lifelong obsession with Dave Grohl begins.
August 1992 Pass all three A Levels with flying colours and once again wonder what happens next.
December 1992-September 1994 Drift hopelessly around the world, see things beyond my imaginings, live in Tasmania for a while, spend 3 months at culinary school before quitting, sit on beaches, drink cocktails, practice yoga and wonder, wonder wonder…..
October 1994 Finally make it to university in Canterbury, Kent, UK to study Classics. Graduate in 1997 with honours.
(a 34-year-old me revisiting my old univeristy)
October 1997- September 1998 Assistant manager of a restaurant in Canterbury. Work continually without rest for a year. Serve dinner to 81 Australian bishops (I kid you not). Go to Barcelona for a weekend in September 98 with Mama Yogini and don’t bother going back to work. Another one bites the dust!
October 1998 Take secretarial course.
June 1999 Find myself accidentally working as a legal secretary. Move to London with ex-beau and live in various beautiful locations of north London. Work in law in the City. Turns out I’m really good at it without meaning to be.
September 2001 As terrible things happen in NYC, I quit law and ex-beau and return to Cambridge to begin studying for a Masters degree in Victorian Literature.
April 2003 Graduate from Masters with big grin on my face, very very happy about that! Return to law and London.
December 2003 Buy little flat for myself. Get little brother to paint it for me. Buy my first bed on my own with my own money.
March 2004 Go on holiday to India and Nepal. Have life-changing experience on meditation day in Kathmandu. Return to England and immediately enquire about yoga teacher training.
June 2004 Celebrate turning 30 in Liverpool. Am moved to tears in John Lennon’s childhood home.
August 2005 Begin teaching yoga as a trainee and assistant teacher. Still working full time in the City. Go to Rome on a train.
25th January 2006 Meet Himself for the first time (you know that story). Fall head over heels in luuurrrve 
7th March 2006 Become female half of an official couple!
June 2006 Do something I never thought possible as a dedicated north London girl and move south of the river to be with Himself. Rent flat out to little brother. He painted it after all.
November 2006 The embryo that is Thames Yoga begins as I set up new yoga classes in Surbiton.
June 2007 learn to play golf (yes, you didn’t know that did you!) badly.
December 2007 In an amazing piece of unintentional foresight sell north London flat just before bottom falls out of property market.
January 2008 Give up apartment living as Himself and I move into our first house. Immediately convert one room into yoga studio as Thames Yoga grows bigger and better. Begin teaching pregnancy and mum and baby yoga classes.
March 2008 Give up double life of yoga teacher and paralegal to become full time yoga instructor. Feel very free (although quite poor).
30th June 2008 Aurora the cat comes to stay. I start teaching yoga to people with cancer.
October 2008 Travel to Turkey to assist Fiona Agombar on one of her Yoga for CFS/ME retreats, a long held ambition.
6th November 2008 A kitten called Johnny Park comes to stay. He is now better known as the cable chewer extraordinaire.
July 2009 After deciding to move to Cambridge I sell Thames Yoga to a dear friend and begin the process of moving myself, Himself, all our earthly belonging and two felines up the M11.
June 2010 Happily settled in Cambridge, full of plans for the future, teaching yoga and loving my life in spite (or maybe because of) all the shit life throws back.
It’s been an awesome 35 years and I welcome 36 with open arms.
Here’s to the next 35!!! 
