Wow!  What a year!  A totally crazy, busy, insane, but wonderful year.  At the beginning of this year I was living in Essex again (the original homeground!) and since then I have moved… twice!  Life has changed, then changed again, then changed a few more times and now, for the first time in a long time,  I am settled and relaxed in a routine once again and boy is it nice to just be able to stop and take stock a little bit.

We all moan about being too busy, but I can put my hand on my heart and say quite honestly that this is the first time in months that I’ve actually had time to sit in my own home, in front of a laptop, and update my news.  The trouble now is finding where on earth to start!

I think a month by month chronological events list is really the only way!  I’ve decided to write an honest account of my year so bear with me…:

January

A frankly rather sad and difficult month following on from one of the most difficult years I have ever experienced so far in my life, I’d had some great dreams and opportunities that had all fallen to pieces around me through no doing of my own.  It was the passing of my dear Grandad Ben, who will always remain an inspiration and a best friend to me, that quickly put life into perspective.  Surveying the options, I decided to jump head first back into full-time marketing in London.

February

With work going well and me loving being back in marketing I decided to take the plunge and move back to London.  February was spent flat hunting… I’ve done it a lot and each time I do it I am reminded of how much I dislike it!  Thankfully I found somewhere pretty quick and snapped it up before anybody else could get their hands on it!

March

Ah March.  Can’t remember anything except work and packing.  Did anything else happen?  Maybe, but it was clearly a non-event!

April

Moving month!  I moved in early April to my new flat in London and to the first place I’d ever lived in entirely on my own.  This time, having already tried East and South West London, I went for the North which turned out to be the best decision I ever made for a multitude of reasons, the best one being that this was also the month I met somebody special… who shan’t get any particular mentions, they know who they are!

May/June

Work and summer madness ensued.  Plus a wonderful trip to Cornwall for a long weekend accompanied by The Flaming Lips, Fleet Foxes and ?

July

More work, plus an invite to get involved in a new yoga studio that was opening in Covent Garden.  Quicker than you could stand on your head, I was in!

August

Lots of work, lots of yoga, lots of sunshine and happy times.  8 months into the year and life was finally going my way!  Hooray!

September

Glow Yoga opens and  I am teaching a lot alongside rushing around in marketing.  Couldn’t be happier though!

October/November

As above, but without the opening!

December

I cut back on my teaching and decide to concentrate on my marketing as I’m enjoying the challenge so much and feel that life is pointing me in that direction right at the moment.  No longer a consultant, I’m Head of Marketing.  But of course, I’m still teaching at Glow Yoga as much as I can plus every other Saturday.  I don’t foresee a time in my life when I’m not teaching, it’s too big a part of my life.  Plus the studio at Glow Yoga is just too delicious to stay away from for too long!
Ooh yes, and I’ve moved again!  Still in North London, just this time I’m not alone… and life is better than it ever has been!

And breathe!  That’s my year!  So for those I’ve practically ignored for the last 12 months, I promise I won’t be so elusive next year now that I have time to breath!

HAPPY CHRISTMAS!
Cx 

Since moving back to London I have only really been teaching one to one classes and small groups here and there, plus covering a little bit and doing workshops on weekends.  Largely this is due to a big marketing role that I have right now, working as Head of Marketing for an architecture company takes up rather a lot of time!  Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love it and doubt my love of marketing will ever go anywhere, but I do miss teaching wonderful groups of people in wonderful classes.  So when a lovely friend and fellow yogini emailed me to tell me about a new studio that was opening in central London I was all ears, and now for the last few weeks I have been practising and creating yoga magic in my precious spare time with a wonderful core group of teachers for this new studio which is due to open in Covent Garden in September, and I’m excited.  Not just a little bit excited, but actually properly excited!  Now, me being excited isn’t necessarily anything new, anyone who knows me knows that I’m a passionate person and no matter what I do I always put my whole heart in it and throw myself at it 100%..  But this excitement is different.  I’m excited because I am working with a small group of teachers who all share the same beliefs in their teaching ethics as me.  They are all lovely, shiny happy (gorgeous!) people who all love yoga, who all embrace natural anatomy and correct instruction, who all acknowledge that every body is different, who are all aware that you don’t have to be confined by the four corners of your mat.

Click to view full info!

It’s been a while since I’ve posted about my workshops on here… with moving house only recently I’ve either been doing them on the sly, privately or not at all!  But now that I’m settled back in London it feels only right that I get back into my usual routine of trying to do some workshops here and there again and as these two will be in a new location it seems correct that I tell you all about them!

So, on that note, I have two workshops coming up in Surrey on Saturday 17th September.  Not for a while I realise, but something to look forward to towards the end of summer at least!  The first will be a Yoga for Sports workshop for those of you more active folk and is following on from all the Yoga for Sports series I wrote for Yoga Magazine last year.  The second will be a wonderfully relaxing Restorative Yoga workshop.

Both of the Surrey workshops will be held in the new studio of Camilla Campbell Yoga in Cobham, opening in July and full information can be viewed by clicking the image here or by visiting the Camilla Campbell Yoga website: www.camillacampbellyoga.com

Camilla Campbell Yoga
22b High Street
Cobham
Surrey
KT11 3EB

Special Offer!  Book both workshops and save £10!

]]> http://claredobson.com/2011/06/02/surrey-in-september/feed/ 0 cdobson13 workshops http://claredobson.com/2011/04/23/hey-yall/ http://claredobson.com/2011/04/23/hey-yall/#comments Sat, 23 Apr 2011 18:47:34 +0000 c http://claredobson.com/?p=630 ]]>

As some of you may have noticed I took a little break from my writing duties just recently, having completed a full Yoga for Sport series for Yoga Magazine throughout 2010.  I am now gradually re-introducing some writing to my life as I missed it so much!  You can read my next article in the July issue, out on the 29th June which will be highlighting all the best yoga festivals in the UK and beyond.  However I’m also feeling rather proud and very excited that I’ve been asked to write my first feature article for the US version of the magazine too!  My first article ever to be printed in the states will be in the August issue which is out on the 19th July!

Happy reading and love & light for an Easter break full of sunshine… and yoga!
Cx

Some might say it is inevitable, some might be surprised and some might have no opinion whatsoever!  But I for one am happy to report that in 2 weeks I am moving back to London after two and a half years living away, which means that London can expect a few more yoga classes and workshops being taught by me once again!

I never really thought I’d move back to London, and in fact, if you’d have asked me this time last year I’d have replied ‘Never, no I won’t ever go back to London’.  But I’m not one to fight against the path life gives me, and right now this is where the water is flowing for me.  Quite apt really is the phrase I read in my book this morning:

‘By the time it came to the edge of the Forest the stream had grown up, so that it was almost a river, and, being grown-up, it did not run and jump and sparkle along as it used to do when it was younger, but moved more slowly.  For it knew now where it was going, and it said to itself, “There is no hurry.  We shall get there some day.”

Though I must say, I think I still run and jump and sparkle at least a little bit!

Watch this space for more news once I’m back!

Much love & light
Cx

I know what you’re thinking.  ‘Oh, here we go, queue the New Year inspirational nag from somebody that thinks they’ve got the meaning of life sussed out!… blah blah blah’.  But I’m the last person with any right to nag, the last one to think I’ve got it all figured out, and the first one to admit that I’ve definitely said it all before and I have no doubt in my mind that there will be things I’ll say I’m going to do this year and I won’t do them because of the usual array of excuses (money/timing/didn’t feel right/too many other commitments/too busy etc). And yes, I also have a “feeling” that 2011 is going to be a good one!

The trouble is that some of you will read this and get defensive about it.  How do I know that?  Because I’ve been there and done that too, because it hits a nerve when somebody says the truth out loud doesn’t it!?  And you’ll humpf about how you’re different and the words here don’t relate to you at all because you ARE going to stick to your goals and 2011 is going to be wonderful!  Yeah?  Good for you with your stubborn determination, get on with it then!  Some of you that feel that way will then go out and make it all happen and for those that do, I admire you greatly!  Others will sulk with their stubborn determination, not achieve anything and then refer back to the above excuses towards the end of the year!  But let’s say you’re reading this and nodding away at some of the things I’ve said, how can you make sure that 2011 really is a good year?

Rule number one is to embrace the fact that the only way it’s going to be great is if you make it work for yourself and remain realistic about what you can achieve that will make your world a better place.  A perfectly embarrassing example of this is the fact that I have now accepted that no matter how hard I train it’s highly unlikely I will ever model for Nike and I should remove this from my yearly resolutions and focus my energy on the attainable!

Rule number two is not to make excuses!  Ban yourself from ifs and buts…but (!) remember that if real problems do arise that stop you achieving what you want then simply reassess the target.  You may not be able to reach your goal in the way you’d like but perhaps there’s another way of getting there, or if you really can’t get there then what can you do that would still get you on the right track.  Just because circumstances sometimes change meaning we can’t have things exactly the way we want them it doesn’t mean that we have to get disheartened and push the goal aside completely.
Rule number three is to know the difference between belief and expectation.  Be positive and see yourself achieving what you want without setting huge expectations.  There is a massive difference in believing you can get there and expecting you will get there.  Belief makes things happen, expectation results in pressure and presumptions and more often than not, disappointment in one way or the other.
Rule number four is to keep it simple.  You really think that if you manage to get yourself a sports car and those new shoes that you’ll be happy?  As a self confessed shoe fanatic I know that for some of you out there, as pathetic as it is really, it would genuinely make you a little bit happier if you had the shoes!  But ultimately it’s not going to be the answer to your lifes satisfaction!  If you really think about the things that might make you happy you may well be pleasantly surprised by how simple the answers are.  Of course simple doesn’t mean easy, sometimes the most simple desires are the hardest to achieve because more often than not we can’t solve those desires with money and unfortunately the majority of us struggle to know how to solve things any other way.  But an acknowledgement of this fact is the first step!
Rule number five is to remember to work hard and play hard to achieve any goals you might have and if you don’t achieve them then don’t give yourself a hard time about it.  Failure doesn’t exist, just learn a lesson from whatever has happened and keep smiling!

Of course, none of these rules are official rules.  I made them up, so you can choose whether they’re useful or not.  And if they’re not, then make up rules that work for you!  No excuses!

You may well be sat there thinking that none of this applies to you because your life is already pretty happy and fulfilled and you don’t have any particularly overwhelming desire to make any resolutions.  In which case, I salute you!  Nobody needs to make resolutions, after all, if it ain’t broke…!

So what are my resolutions this year?  Well firstly to practice what I preach!   After that my biggest determination lies in continuing to be as happy as I have been for the latter part of 2010, in fact, I might even aim to be even happier!  I also want to make sure I get back into my best shape, listen to my heart when it speaks, move house and take a holiday!  Oh, and keep regularly updating my website…and you’re all the judges of that!

I’ll leave you all with a little video inspiration…No Excuses!

Happy New Year all, I have a BELIEF that 2011 is going to be a great year!

Love & Light
Cx

In the meantime I wish you all a wonderful festive season, relax and enjoy!

Much love and light
x

I do intend to head back to Hertford once in a while to do some workshops so if you’re interested in these then do let me know and keep an eye on the website for more information on these too!  For now I will be settling back into London and Essex so if you’re interested in hearing more about where I’ll be and what I’ll be doing then please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me directly!

Clare
x

I am thrilled to be writing a new monthly feature on Yoga for Sports for Yoga Magazine, a wonderful UK based publication with a growing worldwide following.  Each article will focus on a different sport dependant on the season and will take an indepth look at the sport in question and exactly how yoga can be used to aid both training and performance as well as reduce injury and improve lifestyle.  This is a great opportunity for me to share my passion on Yoga for Sport and will hopefully help more athletes and yogis to see the wonderful benefits of combining an active lifestyle with a regular yoga practice.  The first article is published in the June issue, out now, and is available in larger magazine retailers such as WHS.  Alternatively subscriptions are available through their website.