Celebrating success - International Women's Day 2019

For the record, I believe in celebrating everybody’s successes regardless of gender but this post in relation to International Women’s Day is kinda coming at ya from a different angle.

I spend a lot of time reading the works of a lot of really interesting authors, perhaps not your typical bookshelf fodder but interesting nonetheless because the opinions resonate with me in terms of the way that I have always conducted myself.

I also spend time in the company of other incredibly

talented and strong women

who also feel this resonance. These wonderful women are friends, family, colleagues, clients and peers of mine. I admire and respect forward-thinking people such as Jasmin Bahia, Debbie Clarke, Anika Vassell and Regena Thomashauer all using their voices in the community for the good of the community.

“So many of us were taught to keep a lid on anything and everything outrageous. To just turn it off. We turn off our life force, turn off our feelings, turn off our sensuality, and as a consequence, we turn off our power.”

— Regena Thomashauer

The idea that caught my attention some time ago was that we don’t celebrate our own success. We down-play it, we don’t tell people about it enough. Perhaps we think we’re not deserving of it or that the success of others somehow trumps our own.

Is that true?

Do you feel this sometimes?

I’m typing this one-handed because my hand is firmly up in the air. I am guilty as charged. But

Do I tell others to downplay their triumphs?

No. I don’t!

Heeding my own words, I would like to share something with you that moved me to the point of tears recently; a perfectly-timed email from a treasured client, received when I was feeling a bit fragile.

Lee-ann’s gift as a yoga teacher is her warmth and unconditional positive regard to her clients. I feel truly nurtured after attending one of her classes and know (through how considered her classes are) that a lot of thought goes into her yoga teaching and business; we are really fortunate to have such a credible yoga teacher in our locality, and also an EXCELLENT business woman.

It makes me really happy to see a woman not settle but have high aims for herself as a teacher and for her business (this is evidenced through Lee-ann’s impeccable professionalism and continued innovative classes).

In my opinion, Lee-ann’s “All You Yoga” business is nationally competitive and I would really like to see Lee-ann run her own teaching school in a prime location at some point soon or / and guest teach at world renowned yoga studios such as TriYoga in London, which is where she deserves to teach.

Lee-ann is a forward thinking and open-minded teacher and business woman, with the humbleness to treasure and value her local community.

I really hope to see her business continue to grow, prosper and thrive.

Samantha Barker,

Nottingham UK

The fact that Sam took the time out of her day to write such kindnesses is everything.

I sometimes don’t like to think of what I do as a business but what I share with my clients is so important. It really does mean the world to me that they invest such trust and confidence in me, and it makes me so happy to know that they value me as much as I value them.