Paying it forward.

G'day!

A cool 13 degrees (celsius) greetings to all on this sunny mid-week October afternoon in Katoomba, Blue Mountains. Reporting from my 5th day here in my new home base, decked out in woolly scarf, jumper and beanie :) 
​
The sights here are one to behold for a Singaporean girl who grew up in an urban jungle. There are spectacular sandstone cliffs and rock formations, jaw-dropping valleys and dramatic mountain ranges to muse over. We have been greeted by cherry blossoms on our daily walks. - a spring season specialty here! The only perplexing question that's been on my mind the past days has been how to keep my tropical toes from freezing! Any advice welcome!

Just after I turned 41 in August, my partner and I come to a decision to move to Australia to continue our quest in pursuing our passion and goals in love and in life. The last 2 months have seen us through many challenges and we have gained new insights on what matters most. This decision brought about a consolidation of our hopes and fears, putting into practice what it means to let go (or let be) of things we cannot change, calling forth a load of faith in trusting what will unfold, and mustering a hell lot of determination to keep our sights on the big picture - the WHY's of we are doing what we do, so we can handle the what's and the how's that's come our way. 

We have also received so much grace in this process, from people who keep supporting, encouraging and giving us strength when we need. A big heartfelt Thank You to the people in Chiang Mai, Singapore and Australia who have been lending us a hand, feeding us, offering us a roof and a bed, giving us hugs and kind words, and just being there when we need it most! 

I hope to keep paying it forward. To keep bearing the light for people around us to see that we are so intimately connected not only in collective numbers but simply from one to an"other". We can only thrive on this planet if we can keep extending kindness and abundance... not just from a place of the privileged to the less privileged, but to see another's suffering and happiness as our own, because we are just beings moving together between darkness and light. We nurture our inter-connectedness by letting the light in through the cracks, and knowing that no hearts are more or less broken than our very own. 

One of the ways in which I would like to pay it forward is through Yogamour Global - a non-profit organisation dedicated to seva (selfless service) in providing healthcare and support to communities in need in India, Myanmar and Northern Thailand. I'm currently supporting their Backpack Project and am calling out to all to help support in providing personal hygiene items for children and teenagers in need. This include dental kits, school uniforms, lunar pads for teenage girls, clean underwear and socks etc. Any amount of contribution would go a long long way! Please click on this link to see how you can help.

I will also continue to integrate the Yogamour Seva outreach into my upcoming projects for the rest of the year and going forward...

~~~~~

My focus on teaching and sharing in the last year has morphed towards a more integrated practice of body-mind connection through therapeutic tools, including yoga, somatic movement, trauma healing as well as intuitive bodywork. After 2 weeks of giving some pretty deep one-on-one bodywork therapy sessions to a handful of high-paced city-dwellers in Singapore, I'm even more certain that I'm on the right track in my exploration to help provide these tools for anyone who's looking for more ease, less pain in their daily life. 

If you're looking for the perfect winter getaway, there are a few more spots left in the upcoming Yoga Therapeutics & Bodywork Immersion I'll be offering in Chiang Mai this December. This is a residential retreat that will nourish the body, mind and spirit.
If you're a teacher looking for more inspiration in weaving practical living wisdom, yoga philosophy, and more subtle awareness practice into your teaching, this will be an immersion that you'd like to check out. I'll also be offering a mini weekend intensive at Wild Rose Yoga, Chiang Mai on December 10th / 11th.

The Yoga with Daphne Online Mentorship Program is also another avenue to help new and existing yoga teachers find inspiration, directions and practical advice for teaching, and to equip practitioners with more tools in providing healing for themselves and their students.

I'm giving myself some leeway to settle into my new home down under, and will provide more updates on upcoming workshops, retreats and immersion for 2017 in the coming months.
​
Finally, I would like to share this quote I've recently heard on a talk that Ram Dass delivered ~
I slept and I dreamt that life was joy.
I woke and saw that life was service
I acted and behold that service is joy.

In service of the joyful heart,
Daphne