Intuitive Art, Goddess Workshops & Yogi Bliss Balls

March-

It feels a little weird writing about March when it’s almost the end of April, but so many interesting events took place I couldn’t exactly skip out on this one. Especially as I’ve been running these monthly blogs for almost one year! The reason this blog took a little longer to get going on, was because my phone was stolen and all of my photo content from March was not backed up to my iCloud (21st century problems). Therefore with the loss of many of my beautiful workshops images, I lost a little motivation along the way. Luckily I had already posted some images on social media, and sent some friends some photos..so I think I’ve now managed to gather a sufficient amount of photos to create a linear narrative out of this blog.

A photo I posted on IG and therefore didn’t lose from our Spring Goddess workshop.

A photo I posted on IG and therefore didn’t lose from our Spring Goddess workshop.

And in case you were wondering how my phone was stolen, it was taken out of my coat pocket late at night on a crowded train. I literally didn’t even notice until I stepped off the train. But actually that 2 week technology break was something I needed so much! In March I became quite overwhelmed by the amount I had on, hosting three workshops in the space of three weeks, visiting the UK and teaching a load of classes. So really, I was so grateful when my phone was stolen and I was unintentionally offline. It was the best two weeks ever and really helped to dive back deep within myself, without worrying about messaging people, checking my social media or even being caught up constantly checking the time (as I don’t have a watch).

Heather and I hosting our first workshop together!

Heather and I hosting our first workshop together!

Workshops:

Awaken the Goddess Intuitive Art & Yoga Workshop-

At the beginning of March, Heather and I co-hosted our very own intuitive Art & Yoga Workshop together. Heather and I first met at a Girl Gone International clothes swap event at the end of last year. We instantly got on really well but then didn’t see each other again after that meeting. Then Heather reached out to me at the beginning of the year, as she saw I was running women’s yoga workshops and she also was running intuitive art workshops for women. It seemed to make logical sense that we collaborate our talents and passions and create a workshop like no other before. So we created our Awaken the Goddess workshop, with the intention that women tap back into the Divine Feminine essence within, through Shakti Yoga flow, meditation and creatively expressing themselves through intuitive collage making (with the theme of creating a Goddess).

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My Alien-Mermaid Goddess.

My Alien-Mermaid Goddess.

I absolutely LOVED co-hosting this workshop with Heather, as bringing women together is something that I really feel is my life purpose. Also our energies balance so well, as there was never any point where one of us felt like we were dominating the other during hosting etc. It was as usual such a wonderful and open group of women who attended, of all different ages and all different nationalities.

With out finished intuitive masterpieces!

With out finished intuitive masterpieces!

I can’t believe how much I enjoyed the art making process, and I literally went into a deep trance state when I was collaging. I was sat on my own table and I didn’t even mutter two words to anyone unless it was essential. A whole hour went by in this trance like state, when in actuality it felt like just 10 minutes had passed. I was super sad when we had run out of time to continue making, but I knew that this art making process was something that I just HAD to continue at home. I used to make so much art when I was child, but one day at school I had to make the choice between carrying on art or taking drama. Drama literally took the lead role in my life and I forgot about my artistic side. I’m just so grateful it was been reawakened now though, and since that workshop I went out and bought a whole tonne of art supplies and it’s something that I do quite regularly at home now. I also introduced collaging to my boyfriend and we got lost in it together and he also deeply enjoyed the whole process.

Setting up an art space in our kitchen. (Making it look pretty to invite the creativity in.. if you haven’t read Big Magic, I highly recommend it)!

Setting up an art space in our kitchen. (Making it look pretty to invite the creativity in.. if you haven’t read Big Magic, I highly recommend it)!

The collage I made with Henrik of van life memories in Australia

The collage I made with Henrik of van life memories in Australia

Henrik enjoying making his first ever collage!

Henrik enjoying making his first ever collage!

Giving Heather a birthday Reiki treatment.

Giving Heather a birthday Reiki treatment.

Connecting to the Divine Feminine (Cardiff Edition)-

I managed to FINALLY go and visit the UK during March, which was soo nice to see my family after not seeing some of them for a year. On some level I find it quite strange and uncomfortable going back home, as the person I used to be when I lived there is so far from who I am today (I haven’t lived in Cardiff since 2013). So I always have this fear of bumping into people I used to know and just not knowing whatsoever how to relate to them. I know this stems from some sort of egotistical place, yet still something that rises each time I’m back. So what was funny was that when I came back home, I met up with a now good friend Grace, who actually went to my high school (accept we didn’t know each other then). We only connected about a year and a half ago through Instagram, after realising we are walking down similar paths of living a holistic and spirituality integrated lifestyle. 

So good to see my brother aka mum’s dog Yanni.

So good to see my brother aka mum’s dog Yanni.

Grace and I made such great workshop partners!

Grace and I made such great workshop partners!

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Grace has also done her yoga teacher training in Rishikesh, India and we thought that it would be a great idea to co-host a workshop together (especially as she has an AMAZING yoga studio in her own home). We decided to host a Connecting to your Divine Feminine Workshop, as I had already ran this in Dusseldorf, but it’s nice to then collaborate and draw out some different ideas. We had a lovely bunch of ladies attend, including my mum joining us which was super nice to have her there (especially as she is the one who has influenced this aspect of my life so profoundly).

Grace’s beautiful home yoga studio.

Grace’s beautiful home yoga studio.

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Overall the workshop went so well and as it was a smaller group, it became much more interactive and intimate (something I’ve taken on board for my next workshops). After the ladies went home, Grace and I ended up doing a little bit of acro yoga together, then I gave her a Reiki healing. I literally ended up being at Grace’s house for over 12 hours and she made breakfast, lunch and dinner for me whilst I was there. Yet even though I was there for so long, it felt like time hardly passed by (at least for me anyway). I think that this is how you can measure true friendship, when you’re both so in your element of being in each other’s company that time doesn’t even exist.

The delicious breakfast Grace made for us before our workshop.

The delicious breakfast Grace made for us before our workshop.

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Getting our Acro on!

Getting our Acro on!

Giving Grace her first ever Reiki healing session.

Giving Grace her first ever Reiki healing session.

Grace doing Crystal healing at our workshop.

Grace doing Crystal healing at our workshop.

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What’s crazy is that I pulled this card twice and it even was the New Moon in Pisces!

What’s crazy is that I pulled this card twice and it even was the New Moon in Pisces!

It was soo great to see Beth, who I haven’t seen in over 3 years since I moved to Australia.

It was soo great to see Beth, who I haven’t seen in over 3 years since I moved to Australia.

Bloom into Spring, Intuitive Art & Yoga-

Seeing as our first workshop ran so well, I jumped at the opportunity to hold a Spring Equinox Workshop with Heather (again using the combination of Yoga and Intuitive Art). We focused our theme around awakening the Manipura Chakra (the Solar Plexus), also referred to as the inner sun and where our personal growth and inner confidence stems from. I wrote a mediation about clearing and connecting to our solar plexus, which I intend on recording and posting online for you guys at some point. Before the art session, Heather gave us all some great tips and how to use the different art materials and how to create different affects. Once again I enjoyed this process so unbelievably much. We had the theme of creating a Spring Goddess, to worship the new energies of Spring. I found that this time around my process was much more intuitive. I didn’t think about where I was going to stick something or position it, I just simply glued materials and images to the canvas without thought. I have to say that I was soo pleased and surprised with the outcome and I think that it is my best piece as of yet (even though it’s not about judging the work or it looking good).

My Spring Goddess.

My Spring Goddess.

Photos from our Spring Goddess Workshop shot by @OlsinPhoto (IG)

Photos from our Spring Goddess Workshop shot by @OlsinPhoto (IG)

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Our beautiful workshop space.

Our beautiful workshop space.

Heather and I embracing our inner Spring Goddesses

Heather and I embracing our inner Spring Goddesses

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Creating some more art work at home.

Creating some more art work at home.

Our beautiful altar created by Heather (you can totally tell she’s an artist right)!

Our beautiful altar created by Heather (you can totally tell she’s an artist right)!

Vegan Eats- 

I’ve decided to add a new section to my blog and share with you guys the amazing vegan food I’ve eaten out this month!

Froindlichst - The Vegan Musketeers (Hamburg)

Henrik and I went for a date night to Froindlichst after my first workshop with Heather. I absolutely LOVE eating here as it’s a fully vegan restaurant and they do amazing vegan pizzas, burgers and wraps. I had a Mexican style wrap with guacamole and sweet potato fries with garlic aioli (my fav)!

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Badshah (Hamburg)

Badshah is a local and authentic Indian cuisine, which was recommended by one of my fellow yoga teachers who happens to be Indian. You know it must be good Indian food when an Indian lady herself is recommending it. Well it did not disappoint as the food tastes INCREDIBLE! What’s super great is that the prices are also extremely cheap! For this huge vegan thali it’s only 5 euros! I’ve been going there quite often now, espeically as it’s soo close to one of the studios I teach at (Urban Yoga).

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Wagamamas (UK)

Wagamas was literally my favourite restaurant to eat in the UK. They offer such delicious freshly cooked Asian food like no other. Unfortunately they’re not in Germany yet, so I made the most of eating there whilst I was home. I tried out Gaz Oakley’s new dish (a famous vegan chef from Cardiff who collaborated with Wagamama’s). The dish did not disappoint! He even re-created a vegan egg which I’ve had once before in Melbourne and it’s soo yummy!

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Café Katzentempel (Hamburg)

I’m literally obsessed with this cafe. Mainly because it’s a cat cafe (with rescued cats), plus it’s entirely vegan. In other words my form of heaven. They have amazing cakes but I often go there for my favourite dish, their vegetable curry. It’s soo unbelievably delicious, I seriously need to find out their recipe! If you’re a cat lover and are in Hamburg or are ever going to visit, I would HIGHLY recommend checking this place out!

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Favourite Recipe of the month:

Seeing as we’ve finally hit Spring, I’ve began to introduce some raw treats into my life. I try my best to follow the Ayurvedic eating suggestions depending on your dosha. Seeing as I’m mainly Vata (dry and cold), I should avoid dry, raw and cold foods as this will cause an imbalance in my body, especially in the winter and colder months. However as the sun is coming out to play and the weather is warming up, I can get away with a few raw desserts here and there without my skin drying out too much. If you’re interested in finding out your dosha, you can take a free test online with Sahara Rose (an expert in Ayurveda and she even has her own podcast ‘The Higher Self Podcast’ and a book about Ayurveda which I can highly recommend).

A delicious combination of my yogi bliss balls.

A delicious combination of my yogi bliss balls.

So I made my delicious yogi bliss balls, as I like to make them as treats for my workshops or after my Tuesday yoga class at Urban Yoga (I make it Free Vegan Treat Tuesday). What’s great is that they’re super easy to make, as long as you have a food processor or amazing blender. I can highly recommend Russell Hobb’s Mini Chopper which I’ve had for over 3 years now and it chops everything (nuts included) so perfectly for such treats. You can get super creative with these bliss balls and come up with lots of different variations, but for now I have written down my Gingerbread spice balls and chocolate peanut butter….enjoy!

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Some gingerbread bliss balls I made for one of my workshops.

Some gingerbread bliss balls I made for one of my workshops.

Favourite Read of the month:

You are a Goddess: Working with the Sacred Feminine to Awaken, Heal and Transform, by Sophie Bashford

I have to admit that I have not just yet finished reading this one, as I’m one of those people reads multiple books at a time (depending on what mood I’m in), as I have the luxury of doing so with a kindle. (I have the kindle paper white which I LOVE, because I can read at night as it has a built in light, which you can adjust to suit your eyes). I literally view my kindle as my most valuable item, I think I would be more upset if my kindle was stolen instead of my phone-no joke! This book is so beautifully written and it goes through each of the Goddess archetypes and what this Goddess has to teach us. There are a few little exercises and guided meditations to go with each Goddess also, and it’s such a nice way to tap back into our Divine Feminine nature. I can highly recommend this book for anyone who is looking to journey inwards to the Goddess Self.

Favourite DIY of the month: Celery Juice

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I’m sure most of you are familiar with the craze, but from trying it out personally, it’s something I can really recommend doing. The idea behind celery juicing is to drink (16oz) fresh celery juice in the morning on an empty stomach. The general consensus is to then wait around 45-60 minutes before consuming anything else. I’ve been giving this a good go, as I managed to find myself a second hand (but it was actually brand new) juicer on amazon for 12 euros. I haven’t drank it every single morning, but I try and do most mornings and I’ve really noticed a difference in my skin and energy levels. My skin has definitely cleared up a lot and I also seem to run on my natural energy a lot better after drinking it. Typically I will drink my celery juice before I teach my morning yoga class, then afterwards come home and have breakfast and I feel energised despite not yet eating breakfast and despite doing an intensive class.

Bottoms up!

Bottoms up!

There are also a huge number of heath benefits and you can read more about it on Medical Medium:

  • Controls blood pressure

  • Lowers cholesterol

  • Prevents and re-balances digestive disorders

  • Acts as an anti-inflammatory

  • Hydrates and supports glowing skin (due to numerous minerals, including calcium, potassium, magnesium and selenium, present in celery juice)

Favourite Yoga Pose of the month: TWISTS!

Please ignore my unintentionally moody face…I guess this is what concentration looks like haha! Here you see me deeply twisting in a high lunge.

Please ignore my unintentionally moody face…I guess this is what concentration looks like haha! Here you see me deeply twisting in a high lunge.

If you’ve attended any of my yoga classes lately, you’ll know that I’ve been working a lot with deep twisting motions. So this isn’t so much about a single pose to twist deeply in, but more about finding a variety of postures that you can add this twisting element which you wouldn’t typically see in a “normal” yoga practice. I’ve been trying to find ways to incorporate these twists throughout Surya Namaskar A & B (the sun salutations). I did record a video for you guys, but this was on my stolen phone. I do intend to record another one soon and get this on here in video form for you to try out at home!

Benefits of twists in yoga-

  • Helps to restore the spines natural range of motion

  • Cleanses and detoxifies the internal organs

  • Stimulates circulation

  • Improves the digestive functions

  • Reduced back pain

  • Releasing tension stored in the body and decreasing stress

TOP TIP:

Always twist on the exhale by drawing your naval to the back of your spine and engaging the core. This helps you to deepen your twist and receive the most benefits that twisting provides (detoxifying the internal organs and improving digestion).

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Favourite Quote of the Month:

“The nature of the true feminine is this: undefinable. She is total light and total darkness. She is the widest expanse of purity,  compassion, unconditional love and acceptance you can ever experience. She is simultaneously the deepest dive into alchemy, mystery, sexual transformation, night magic, creations forces and under-earth powers of truth”

-Sophie Bashford (You are a Goddess)

I really love this quote as it really allows opens you up to the mysteries of the Divine Feminine energy. I’ve been working a lot with this topic throughout my workshops and Moon circles, and it’s really something that I’ve been strongly tapping into and helping other women to connect to their wild woman nature. Wild in the sense of totally free to express herself, totally connected with nature and the Earth. I know I do go on a lot about the Divine Feminine without talking much about the Divine Masculine, as this is an area I’m not so familiar with.

Connecting to the Wild Woman within.

Connecting to the Wild Woman within.

Interestingly enough, I keep pulling the same angel card ‘Balancing Feminine and Masculine Energies’. I always thought I was quite balanced, but apparently not as the same card came up every single time I drew one. What was written in the guidebook did not help answer how I can achieve this. So I decided to channel the card (putting pen to paper and asking higher guidance to flow through me and provide me with advice on how I can achieve this balanced state). Here is what came out:

As you can see my altar is very feminine with a load of pink blossom.. definitely obvious to me now I need some more masculine energy in my life.

As you can see my altar is very feminine with a load of pink blossom.. definitely obvious to me now I need some more masculine energy in my life.

“Stop blaming the Masculine for all done wrong with the world. Recognise the strengths of the Masculine, which has allowed us to be in a functioning society today. With pure Feminine energy runs wild and chaos, Masculine energy brings the structure and order. Think to yourself which would you prefer? Too much structure and order or too much chaos? Appreciate the many positive qualities of the Masculine and allow yourself to recognise those traits existing within you also. Engage in activities that will stimulate the left brain, such as playing chess, planning events and taking your time to work out calculations on your own instead of hopelessly depending on a calculator. Engage in learning German and thus strengthening your self-confidence and independence, and playing less the damsel in linguistic distress. You have the capability to easily tap back into your Divine Masculine, so long as you also first recognise it’s worth and value. One force of energy without the other is completely useless and counter-productive”.

I found this information so useful and interesting. As I do quite often see only the negative traits of the masculine such as the greed of the male ego causing many wars, allowing others to suffer in poverty and contribute to the destruction of the planet by valuing profit over the environment. So this was a really good point from the channeling to actually acknowledge that we also need this masculine energy of structure, order and rules in order to live in the functioning society and world we do today. (As I know that Feminine energy is pure chaos, nonlinear and wild, so to imagine a society governed by this sole energy force would be a pretty hectic one). In fact, I would say that India’s society is mainly ruled with Feminine energy, where all chaos runs loose.

So anyway, I think that’s enough of me rambling on, and I’ll leave you to make your own conclusions about this piece of information. Thank you so much for taking the time to read, and please share with a friend who you think would find this blog interesting.

With love,

Maddie

Photo shot by: @LiveDelicioussly (IG)

Photo shot by: @LiveDelicioussly (IG)

Bio-

Maddie studied Psychology at university in the UK, and since travelled the world and lived in four different countries at 23 years old. She is now an International Yoga Teacher (trained in India), and Reiki Master. She is currently living in Hamburg, Germany, and is teaching yoga and running a variety of spiritual workshops, with the aim of helping others to become more in alignment with their higher selves.  

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In Hamburg?

If you’re living in Hamburg or even visiting, come and have a yoga class with me! I’m teaching in English in four different amazing yoga studios. You can check out my teaching schedule here:

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Retreats-

Are you looking to get away somewhere magical this Summer?

I am hosting TWO retreats in Mykonos and Croatia. Please check out my events section for further information!

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Workshops-

My next upcoming workshop in Hamburg is an ‘Introduction to Reiki’ on the 18.5.19. Click here to find out more.

If you want to find out more about Reiki and see how it can benefit your whole life, come and join our workshop!

If you want to find out more about Reiki and see how it can benefit your whole life, come and join our workshop!

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Pranayama, Pressed Flowers & Mushroom Risotto

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Six Rituals to Harness the New Energies of Spring