My Story
About me
Pain has a way of becoming
your entire world.
The Accident
At 27, a head-on car accident changed the course of my life, leaving me with four bulging discs in my lumbar spine. The pain felt like shards of glass impacting every move. Although I was warned the injury would catch up with me later in life, I did what many people do—I ignored it and hoped it would disappear.
Living with chronic pain taught my body to brace, protect and hold on. Everything tightened—my muscles, the breath and nervous system, even the way I related to myself. I had become so accustomed to living in a constant state of tension that I no longer recognised it. I clung to a quiet but persistent assumption that time alone might resolve what I was not yet ready to confront. Over time, pain became my constant companion. I had become deeply disconnected from my body and had learned to dissociate from it. I often describe this in my workshops as becoming a "walking head."When Everyday Life Became a Negotiation
As my condition worsened, my world became smaller. Everyday tasks turned into careful negotiations—placing a towel under my leg to stop it going numb while driving, climbing stairs one step at a time, and lowering myself down the wall just to use the bathroom because standing upright was excruciating. I had to use a coat hanger to pull my jeans up. By the time I was dressed, I was already exhausted.Sleep became nearly impossible, and I rarely managed more than two hours at a time before pain woke me again. Chronic pain didn't just affect my body—it affected my mental health, relationships, patience, confidence and sense of self.People often ask me how I found yoga.
The truth is,
yoga found me at a point where
I had exhausted every other option.
Searching for Answers -
Surely someone could fix me
I sought help through countless modalities -chiropractic care was a welcome relief for the migraines, massage, physiotherapy, shiatsu and energy healing. All of these modalities offered relief; however, nothing brought lasting change.I felt I had exhausted the natural healing road and eventually consulted one of Australia's leading spinal specialists. After reviewing my scans and watching me struggle to sit, stand and move, he suggested that spinal fusion surgery was my only option.
I was terrified.
Terrified that I had come to a fork in the road and had no idea where to turn. However, part of me also knew there had to be another way.That curiosity drew me towards philosophy, spirituality and the bigger questions of human existence. I devoured books exploring the body's innate capacity to heal, fascinated by the possibility that healing could arise from within rather than be imposed from the outside.When surgery was presented as my only option, something in me resisted. Not out of denial or rebellion, but from a deep inner knowing that there had to be more to healing than what I had been offered. After telling the doctor that what he was offering wasn't an option for me, I returned to my car and cried my eyes out.That was the moment everything changed…An Unlikely Suggestion…
I drove straight to a friend’s house and told her what had happened.
I was petrified.
She listened with compassion and kindness, then offered one suggestion.
“Yoga.”
I actually laughed through my tears.
“Is that your suggestion?”
I was almost offended. I had just been told I needed major spinal surgery, and she was suggesting something I knew absolutely nothing about. I couldn’t imagine how yoga could have any relevance to what was happening in my body.
However, I trusted my friend—and I was frightened enough to consider something I would ordinarily have dismissed without a second thought.
So that week, I went with her to Yoga in Daily Life in Brisbane.
I had no idea I was walking into an ashram, nor did I have any real understanding of yoga. I was under the impression that yoga was for flexible vegetarians who wore orange, and had an uncanny knack for playing the tambourine.
My first class was humbling. Getting onto the floor felt insurmountable and incredibly painful. I needed assistance. I was frightened and angry. Why did I go back a second time if it hurt so much? Because the teacher was sharing philosophy, and I thought, "Wow, this teacher has read the same books as me!"
A kindred spirit!
At one point, Craig gently said, "Breathe into where you feel the sensation like a balloon… and as you exhale, soften, at the time I thought this guy was nuts. I had no connection to those soon to be life-changing words. As I slowly learned to soften rather than resist, it felt as though something that had been held back for years finally began to release. The relief wasn't dramatic or instantaneous, but it was profound. For the first time in a very long time, my body no longer had to fight itself. Trusting the teacher took time,
Clearly, I had a lot to learn about the mysterious path of yoga.
As I slowly learned to soften rather than resist, it felt as though something that had been held back for years finally began to release. It takes time to unravel physically because holding on for so many years creates safety, who knows what kind of pain I will feel if I move in a different way?
The relief wasn't dramatic or instantaneous, but it was profound. For the first time in a very long time, my body no longer had to fight itself.
For the first time, I learned through yoga that healing wasn't something someone else could do for me. I had to become an active participant in my own recovery. The responsibility—and the power—sat with me.
The body may present sensation, but the mind often creates the resistance, fear, story and suffering around it.
The First
Sign of Change
Weeks into my practice, I experienced something profoundly simple yet transformative—an uninterrupted night's sleep. It was the first tangible indication that restoration was underway, and I became deeply curious to discover what other life-changing shifts yoga might reveal.
It was also the first time I began to recognise the body's intrinsic intelligence—not as an idea I had read about, but as something I was experiencing first-hand and it felt miraculous!
My practice evolved from a physical regimen into an integrated discipline. Through pranayama, awareness and meditation, I began to perceive the intricate interplay between body, mind and spirit. Healing, I discovered, was not merely structural but holistic. This mattered enormously in my recovery because it wasn't only my spine that needed healing. My nervous system needed calming, my breath needed restoring, my mind needed quietening, and my relationship with myself needed compassion.
Where I Am Today
I continued studying with Craig Smith for six years, deepening both my practice and my understanding of yoga as a physical, philosophical and therapeutic discipline. In 2012, I completed my Yoga Teacher Training with Master John Ogilvie at Byron Yoga Centre. My studies have since expanded to include Hatha, Purna, Yin, Restorative and Trauma-Informed Yoga, alongside somatics, meditation with Mark Breadner, breathwork, psychosomatic therapy and Neuro Transformation Therapy, the learning continues.
Today, I travel throughout Australia facilitating my successful Healthy Hips & Lower Back Workshops, helping people better understand the complexity of the human body and empowering them to take an active role in their own healing with outstanding results.
"Living with chronic pain had taught my body to brace,
protect and hold on."
The body may present sensation, but the mind often creates the resistance, fear, story and suffering around it.
Over time, I stopped seeing my body as something to be fixed and became curious about what it was trying to communicate. I came to recognise it as intrinsically intelligent, adaptive and constantly communicating. Perhaps one of yoga's greatest
Yoga isn’t just what happens on the mat
The Australian Yoga Ball
June 23, 2018
The Australian Yoga Ball was the brainchild of Josephine Doyle, an annual fundraising event held at the Sofitel at Darling Harbour, in celebration of the exceptional contribution the yoga community makes in Australian society. Money from ticket sales, donations and sponsorship went to support women and children who affected by Domestic Violence and living in shelters. These funds gave 20 women and children the opportunity to attend a fully funded 3-day yoga retreat. This event, run by the charity Through the Heart of Yoga, aims to offer hope, peace and healing to survivors of domestic violence through yoga.
International Womens Day
March 8, 2018
