Have you ever been to Sunday in Brooklyn? It’s a great restaurant in Notting Hill that has the most amazing pancakes ever! They’re not healthy, they’re not vegan and they are super indulgent but I sure loved them and would highly recommend them! Linking the restaurant here so you can make your booking Modern American Restaurant London | Sunday in Brooklyn (sundayinbk.co.uk) It’s fun girly things like brunches, drinking a cocktail/mocktail or going for a spa day (which I will be doing this Saturday) that for me are fun yet nourishing and wholesome.
I’m writing this blog on International Women’s Day and I have always found this day to be really significant in aiding the rise of equality and inclusion for women. Last Saturday I taught the Yoga & Style Workshop in celebration of International Women’s Day. I believe it is important to create spaces where women can come together and feed each other with strength and support. We live in a patriarchal world and often our needs as women cannot be met in these masculine spaces. Therefore it feels so significant and important to create female spaces so that we can talk about everything we are experiencing as women.
After a discussion in my yoga class the other week I have become more aware of the need to recognise women as more than just a vessel for creating babies. So often when we talk about the challenges women experience we may think of the monthly cycle, childbirth or menopause. But as one of my students pointed out, if the average woman lives to at least 80 years old she will be living more of her life without a monthly cycle. So what happens to our body, our identity and experience when we are without our cycle? This is something I am yet to explore and understand as this part of life isn’t openly shared, discussed or seen in society other than it being a time of life where we may be considered ‘old’.
A word that came to my mind as I started to think about this part of life is freedom. I’m not really exactly sure why this word came to my mind but I guess when we do get to a point in our life where we don’t have a monthly cycle we can shed the attachment to fertility. I do value my monthly cycles and the emotions and energies that come up at different stages of my cycle which help me to navigate life intuitively. However, following the moon cycle also has tremendous benefits and over the last year I have been following the moon cycle which has really helped me to understand life and my purpose.
Our purpose in life goes so far beyond being able to conceive and I really feel in recent years more women are finding their purpose, their truth and following they’re soul calling. It’s something I have advocated for years and I remember when I first started teaching yoga there were not many women my age within my local community doing the same thing. I felt an urge to inspire women to find their passion too. Since covid and lockdown I think more women have found their calling and for me it doesn’t feel like such a lonely space anymore. Women are putting themselves out there, sharing their talents and skills in the world and allowing themselves to be seen and heard. They may be creating working environments for themselves which work well alongside family life too as well as being able to take care of their own health and wellbeing.
I like to feel positive that the world is changing for women that feels hopeful for my daughters and the next generation. But I am also aware that we need to continue to be warriors to fight for our worth and value in the world. I have read a few articles this week about women being replaced by AI in the workplace is more likely than a man being replaced by AI. There are also AI models being created to offer better ‘representation’. I’m not sure if they can represent us as well as a real human model?! As much as I love the recent introduction of AI and its benefits I hope that it offers equality and representation without the detriment to women.
There is always so much to think about and explore when it comes to being a woman and I am sure it is the same for men. Being a human being is complex. That’s why I really believe in delving in deeply to understand yourself because there is so much truth within our soul that can give us everything that we need and more. At the same time we also need to have fun and enjoy the lighter things in life. So make sure you book a table at Sunday in Brooklyn and let me know what you think of the pancake 🙂
