My Story
How did I come to combine writing and yoga?
My name is Annemarie and, as a writer by passion and profession, I have more than two decades’ experience working as a writer and editor in London, Cape Town and Tokyo. I've worked for magazines including Men’s Health, Marie Claire, Rolling Stone, Time Out Tokyo and Tokyo Weekender, and as a copywriter and strategist for brands globally. My first novel was published in 2018, and my second is in its final editing stage.
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Kundalini yoga found me during a particularly difficult time in my life. A period of continued stress depleted my body to the point where I was experiencing debilitating anxiety – I couldn't sleep, couldn't drive (or even be in a car), couldn't work or be around people. It was scary and lonely, and I was searching desperately and determinedly for causes and solutions.
In that flight, or perhaps freeze mode, the only vaguely productive things I felt able to do included journalling (in an attempt to unravel what was going on in my subconscious), cold plunging in the lagoon and ocean, and practicing slow mindful movements.
There were many different things (and people) that, together, helped me find my way through what I now fondly call my "awakening", but kundalini was something that brought all the strings together. I fell in love with this practice and philosophy for how it combines purposeful movement with breathwork, mantra and meditation. And for how it has helped shift my relationship with thought and emotion and, well, pretty much every way of being.
The more I spoke to other people about what I was going through, the more I realised that so many others are dealing with similar challenges. This experience inspired me to dive deeper into the practice and I decided to obtain my 200 hour teacher training certification in kundalini yoga through Kundalini University.
Now, understanding how life’s chaos can dim our creative flow and inspiration, I bring my two passions – writing and yoga – together, in a way that helps to both balance and ignite your emotions, inspiration and energy.
