Flow – Q & A: Marie Burrows, England
We see the flow of life, like a river – as one great flowing journey. The essential flow of life is achieved when we understand the concept of flow and can integrate it into everything we do. As part of a regular series, we are asking people we know, people we have discovered and people we are inspired by, to share with us some insights into their life, their work and what flow means to them.
Q. Tell us about yourself and what you do
My name is Marie Burrows and I am a travelling yoga and meditation teacher. I teach Vinyasa flow, Yin,Yoga Nidra and a movement based therapy called Zen Thai Shiatsu. I am currently based in the UK, teaching at different studios after recently returning from 8 months studying and travelling across Asia.
Q. Why do you do this profession?
I teach yoga because quite simply it saved my life. It gave me the tools I needed to transform the fabric of my entire being, through mindful movement and self regulation, and pull myself out of a deep ongoing struggle with depression. Yoga was the only healthy thing in my life back then that made getting out of bed in the morning tolerable, and the key to stabilising my health. As it became an integral part of my life in that time of turmoil, I knew that I had to become a yoga teacher, to try and share this practice with others so that they too could access the mental clarity and general wellbeing it had given me.
I embarked upon a journey of self-healing, dedicating myself to my practice and striving to learn all I could about this ancient system. My journey took me to India and then on to Australia, where I continued to integrate all I had learned before finally taking my first yoga teacher training course, three years after the initial desire had been ignited. I began to teach regular classes in Australia and watched joyfully as my teaching skills developed, relieved that my passion was translating into my practice. When my visa in Australia expired I returned to Asia, exploring slowly from Indonesia to Malaysia and Nepal, teaching yoga at different resorts, hotels and hostels.
Q. What does being in flow mean to you?
Being in flow is something I think about regularly, as I strive to live with simplicity and grace, following the signs that the universe is putting before me. I find that this is only possible if you are fully present – fully open and listening. Like anything this intuition is something you can cultivate, learning to heed the signs when they’re a tap on the shoulder, as opposed to a slap in the face. To do this I try to maintain a daily meditation practice, be it sitting, a moving meditation through yoga (or other activities) or just a general mindfulness.
Being in flow for me means being present, able to take the right opportunities and make the right decisions, by aligning my true desires with my actions and morals; not pushing too hard, or grasping for a puzzle piece and trying to make it fit. To allow yourself to be gently carried by this stream is a challenge, to gently immerse yourself in its current, but I wholeheartedly believe that if you are following your passion and greater purpose, then everything else will follow.
The primary style of yoga I teach is called Vinyasa, a fluid, flowing style where each movement is married with the breath, each transition an essential part of the dance. The term in Sanskrit means ‘to place in a special way’ and this, I find, is the real ongoing challenge – to move mindfully, gracefully and compassionately in a special way both on and off your mat.
By Marie Burrows
You can contact Marie by email or learn more about her here on her website.