We live in a world of constant change and stimulation. When we push the mind and body, they push back: injury, illness, fatigue and overwhelm are the symptoms the body sends us to stop and listen.
I know from personal experience ignoring the signals of the body and inner self has a huge impact on our health.
Let me help you pause, observe, and listen to find out what you need before you are forced to stop.
Hi I’m Kelsey
I’m the founder of FLOW Women’s Wellness, I’ve been practising yoga since 1998 and teaching since 2013. I am recognised as a Senior Yoga Teacher with Yoga Alliances Professionals, a Menstruality Mentor with Red School, and have had several articles published in OM Yoga and Lifestyle Magazine.
I created FLOW in 2021 to help women understand and honour the ebb and flows of their inner cycles and my teacher training courses combine all my experiences, research and training to empower a network of teachers that are passionate about women’s wellness.
How I became a yoga teacher
My journey with yoga and women’s health began with my own experience, as I teenager I suffered long and heavy menstrual cycles. My GP’s solution was to prescribe the hormone control pill. Although this stopped my menstrual health symptoms, others developed. I started to experience IBS and mood swings and at the age of twenty, I took my first step onto a yoga mat.
I instantly LOVED yoga as it combined movement with stillness, breathwork, self-enquiry, relaxation and more. This supported my physical health but also allowed me to explore the inner health of the body – my mind and emotions which no one really talked about. My IBS soon passed but my yoga practice was now a permanent part of my life.
During my twenties, I pushed my body and mind to the limits as I focused on building a demanding managerial career, I ignored the ongoing signals from my body, my yoga practice became inconsistent, and it was only when I took a step back to turn my focus to starting a family my world changed dramatically.
It was after the birth of my second child it came clear to me that my calling was to teach yoga. My life had undergone a huge amount of change. The career I had worked hard to establish for over 15 years no longer existed, my body had given life to two beautiful children, but it no longer felt strong, and I felt isolated.
Yoga gave me the tools to start a new chapter in life – allowing me to observe without judgement, to listen to what my body and mind now needed and to find the inner strength to make the changes I needed to feel happier and healthier.
Although my story is unique, I witness similar patterns in those around me and I wanted them to find the joy of yoga, I started my first training course and started my journey of providing space, knowledge, and acceptance to others. I am grateful for this blessing.
My passion for women’s health.
I’m not the only one that experiences changes.
When I first started teaching yoga I taught hatha and vinyasa at a hot yoga studio. I was able to give different variations to those with injuries and health conditions, but I noticed when a woman became pregnant, she had to stop and there was nowhere else for them to go. As I was still exploring the relationship between yoga and my post-natal body in 2014, I enrolled on a pregnancy/postnatal course and on its completion, I set up my own pregnancy classes.
Over the last 10 years, my curiosity and passion for supporting my students has led me to complete over 25 yoga courses many to support my female students’ courses such as yoga for women’s health, fertility, pregnancy, postnatal and menopause. Each course provides new knowledge and skills for the women in my life. I started to create workshops and courses where my students could take a deeper exploration of themselves and their life phases.
Yoga has been with me throughout my life’s journey, and as I travel towards menopause my practice is more important to me than ever. It supports me physically, energetically, emotionally, and mentally and I can pass this on to others and hold them as they learn to support themselves.
The Creation of FLOW Women’s Wellness & Lifelong learning.
After 5 years of living and teaching in Norway, I returned to the UK in 2021, As I embarked on yet another new start, I wanted to take all of my knowledge and experience and create something to support other women no matter where they are in their life’s journey.
I began to develop in-person courses in yoga for fertility and menopause and worked on creating FLOW = Feminine Learning of Wellness. It has been a slower journey than I would have liked but I must practice what I preach and being perimenopausal I have learnt to hold the tension and I thank Red School for helping me own that.
If I had just some of the knowledge, that I have now back where it all began my life choices and yoga practice would have been very different over the past 25 years. But my journey happen for a reason, to share my experience and passion with others. I also have two daughters at the age of Menarche and educating them to be knowledgeable and confident about their own bodies and needs is a privilege.
I will continue to research as I’m a lifelong learner to expand my knowledge, I feel grateful to my teachers such as Sally Parkes, Sarah Powers, Petra Coveney, Alexandra Pope, Sjanie Hugo – Wurlitzer and there are so many more.
As Seen in OM Yoga Magazine
February 2022
July 2022
November 2022
