Let me tell you a story, readers.  A story about dreams and how, if you want something badly enough, wish hard enough and work your ass off, all your dreams can come true.**

Back in 2001, during a period of seriously bad ill health for me, the Ex and I went on holiday to Tunisia.  There was a woman in the hotel who was running a pilates holiday.  She taught pilates on the beach every morning and evening, planned trips for her students and generally ran what looked like a fantastic break.  I was a little bored on this holiday.  There wasn’t much to do and I wasn’t really well enough to do very much anyway, so I became somewhat obsesssed.  Not with the teacher as such but with what she was doing.  What a perfect way to live one’s life, I thought.  One day, I vowed, I’ll do that but with yoga.

Fast forward the clock 7 years and I’m on a beach in Turkey.  It’s six in morning and the sun is rising over the sea.  I’ve just finished my morning yoga practice and now I’m going to breakfast to cheer on the troops and carry on with my work assisting teacher Fiona Agombar at her yoga retreat on the beach.  During the course of the day I may be asked to assist during her classes, help organise trips to the market and the Turkish baths, teach Yoga Nidra, even see some of the participants on a one to one basis.

Thanks to Fiona’s wonderful offer to help her I’d done it. I’d made my dream come true.***

I make it sound so simple.  It wasn’t.  It was 7 years of working in jobs I loathed to get the money together, 7 years of battling with ill health.  But I made a vow to myself back in 2001 and I made it come true.  Because you can.

And  two years after that I’m here I am making a whole ton of other dreams come true, even though right now none of them seem possible!

What dreams are you making come true today?

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** Disclaimer:  it should be noted that I cannot make promises for dreams that bring with them bad karma or those that really are asking for the impossible.  Yes, most things are possible but wishing to rule the world or marry Dave Grohl probably aren’t…..

*** Fiona continues to be an amazing source of inspiration, compassion and understanding.  Can’t thank her enough, if you’re reading Fi, bisous xx

I spent last week teaching on a retreat in Turkey for people with ME.

Some of the people I have been teaching have been so desperately ill with ME over the last few years that they have been housebound, bedbound, hospitalised, rendered unable to listen to music or read. A living hell. Which reminds me how blessed I am. Yes, health issues I may have but praise to all the gods for the ability to always listen to music.

The most beautiful part was none of these amazing people had forgotten how to laugh – and most importantly none of them had forgotten how to laugh at themselves. I have laughed until I’ve cried this week. I have also swum in the sea, eaten far too much food and taught a lot of yoga. I have been taught the rudimentaries of Argentinian tango by a fabulous gay guy who lives around the corner from my brother and who laughs in the face of HIV and ME. I went to a traditional Turkish bath (which was actually horrible and made me sick but everyone else enjoyed it and that was the important thing). I have learned that I am probably a far better teacher than I give myself credit for, that I need to ease up on myself and stop catastrophising and that I need to stop caring about what others think and lead my life from my heart.

And most of all I learned that it is your students that make you a good teacher.