the south coast
I mostly grew up in Nowra, on the South Coast of NSW, Australia as my dad was in Naval aviation, working out of HMAS Albatross.
Like almost all young people in the area at the time, I couldn't wait to get out. I left as soon as I could, travelled, lived in Sydney and Wollongong and finally realised... I actually love the South Coast! It is one of the most truly special places on this planet and I'd taken it for granted all those years.
So back I came and here I am, in one of the most amazing parts of the world, teaching meditation, and I wouldn't change a thing.
along came Vedic meditation
A friend of mine, Barron, also left Nowra, but, like me, was eventually drawn back. After years away, living what looked like the absolute dream, he found himself looking for more. He learned to meditate, then trained to teach it and when natural disaster hit our hometown, he felt that this was exactly what people needed.
Like many in Western society, I used to pride myself on being “hardworking,” someone who gave “110%” and “never let the team down”. In reality, I was constantly stressed, but good at hiding it. I wore that pressure like a badge of honour but the truth is, there’s no such thing as 110% - just people pushing past their limits and masking burnout. I was one of them.
A few months after Barron returned, I learnt to meditate with him. I approached it from a biohacking angle, thinking maybe I could unlock more energy, squeeze more hours out of the day, run on less sleep and more coffee without crashing. Maybe this was the edge I was searching for.
At the time, I was running my own restaurant after years of managing other businesses, my partner was away for work, and I was just trying to stay afloat. After learning, things began to shift.
I felt more rested, had more energy, made clearer decisions, and handled daily pressures and demands in ways I hadn’t before. Even coffee fell away - I no longer needed it!
Small business is always challenging, and we faced more than our share of setbacks. But people noticed the difference in me. I wasn’t reactive or panicked, even when I had every reason to be. Friends, family, and colleagues started commenting on the change. That’s when I realised I’d learnt something genuinely powerful.
Teacher Training
Looking back, everything happened exactly as it needed to, even if I had no idea at the time. I just did what felt right and Nature took care of the rest (we refer to this as 'following charm')
Things started to fall into place for the restaurant to close, for me to move on and in to a new role that would support me to undertaking teacher training, as Barron had.
After about three years of prerequisites, I applied to train with Thom Knoles, known in India as Shri 1008 Mahamandaleshwar Maharishi Vyasanand Giri Maharaj. Training with Thom and his team is the absolute gold standard if you want to teach Vedic Meditation as Thom learned from his master - Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who was tasked with bringing this practice to the West from it's roots in India. Maharishi began his world tours around 1960.
I was accepted to teacher training in and it all culminated in an intensive, three month long program in the foothills of the Himalayas, in India, where I graduated and was inducted into the Shankaracharya tradition, with the approval and command to teach this meditation technique, as I was taught. Roughly 3000 hours of training complete! Yes, 3000.
So, if you're feeling like your life could do with a little less stress and a little more joy, then I'd love nothing more than to teach you. Join me for an intro talk or reach out with questions. If you have an interest in learning and are willing to follow a few simple instructions, get in touch!
