ABOUT ME
A journey is not simply a means of becoming, but multiple pathways that lead you to remember who you are.
My remembering began in my early 20's, when I was told something to the effect of - “You're crazy. You should try Yoga, it might settle you down”. I rarely do as I'm told, but I have a lot of respect for the person who said this - and recognising that I was destined for yet another burnout, I listened.
Enter Yoga & meditation & the ongoing experiment of turning inwards, of turning towards myself so I can tend to my own needs first, then others.
Through continued practice, I remembered that I have a body so full of wisdom that isn't acknowledged in mainstream teachings. I remembered that I have a voice and I learnt how to use it for what I believe in. I remembered how to breathe deeply and that my breath is my closest companion. I remembered that the longest and most important relationship I will ever have, is the one that I have with myself.
In the light of remembering, there is also the shadow of forgetting. Life is both beautiful and brutal but not always in equal measure. In my forgetting I felt like the world was caving in on me, and forgot the truth of who I am. In the darkness, I realised the life-saving capacity of allowing others to hold hope for me. Holding hope for others is now an integral part of what I offer.
Most ABOUT ME pages dive into a person’s 'story'. Please know, you and I are so much more than our mind made stories and man-made labels. Here goes though… My lived experience has been sprinkled with bouts of anxiety, depression, disordered eating and domestic violence. These experiences do not define me but my goodness, they've shaped me into a more compassionate human.
My life lessons actually paved the way for me to become a facilitator of trauma informed wellbeing, yoga, meditation & equine experiences. I began to weave my personal passions into a profession in 2013 after completing my first Yoga teacher training. Horses are brilliant creatures and when I work with them, they co-facilitate experiences based in exploration, curiosity and connection.
2021 nudged me to follow a calling - from supporting people to live well to now exploring the realms of death and dying well too. I am so pleased to have trained and call the following folk my teachers and mentors for the uprising that is doing death differently: Zenith Virago, Denise Love & Barbara Ferguson.
In the wise words of Ram Dass:
'We're all just walking each other home'.
Dasha Melnik Photography