Mary – Wild Swimming

I began my working life age 16; teaching swimming on Saturday mornings (usually with a killer hangover).
Having swum competitively in my teenage years, I had always loved being in and around water.

I progressed through the ranks of teaching and coaching and worked with some truly amazing people.

In my early 20s I found myself spending more and more time sat at a desk and becoming increasingly stressed with the pressures of work, studying and a failing relationship.

I turned to yoga and there discovered my sanctuary. Every time I stepped onto my yoga mat it was like pressing the reset button.

Fast forward a few years and I found myself in the position of teaching people with a phobia of water. Adults who had experienced trauma, were scared to even step foot on to poolside and has decided to face their fears and learn to swim.

I asked my yoga teacher Gillian, if she thought the breathing and relaxation techniques we practiced in class could help my group; and that, in a nut shell was my first step on a very long journey to becoming a yoga teacher.

I have now been teaching yoga for 20 years, and have have studied and practiced extensively in the UK and in India with some of the worlds most inspiring teachers.

Since training as an open water swimming coach and studying the effects of cold water immersion on the central nervous system and of swimming as a therapy to improve mental health and reduce anxiety.
I have a feeling of in some way completing a circle, of joining together the dots.

I now run Yoga and Open Water swimming retreats here in beautiful North Wales, helping more people experience the peace and joy that both swimming and yoga have brought to my life
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