My health issues properly started around my final years of higher education. I had worked hard to get into one of the most prestigious art schools in the world, won awards for my work and was getting headhunted by dream clients all over the globe… but it all disappeared almost overnight.

I spent most of the next 10 years in bed and in and out of hospitals with very little answers about what was happening with me.

I’ve been through various diagnoses including lupus, connective tissue disease and Sjogren’s syndrome to name a few. I saw endless specialists (both conventional and alternative) but most treatments made me worse and hope started to fade. I reached a point towards the end of my 20s where I was really starting to question why I was alive. I felt like everything that I had worked so hard to achieve was slipping further away from my grasp and yet deep down I knew there was so much I had to give to the world and that there must be a different way of experiencing life, even if there was no ‘cure’.

But there was an unexpected plot twist!

I met a group of mysterious monks (Ishaya monks to be exact) in London, whose attitude to life intrigued me and I couldn’t help but put my scepticism and doubts aside and see what I could learn from them. It was then that things started to rapidly change. I learned their simple but powerful meditation practice, and with their gentle guidance I started to change my internal relationship to my body and mind.

Connection, clarity and joy started flowing back, and energy and strength soon followed. Before I knew it was living and training with them in the mountains of Spain – hiking up hills, staying up late, and laughing more than I could ever remember!

I now have the amazing privilege of teaching those same techniques, and although I would never advocate meditation as a cure, finding peace amongst the challenges of ill-health has been a lifesaver for me.

You can watch a short video of my journey with illness, meditation and creativity made by the documentary film makers of ‘A Mindful Choice’ here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYMNBoCoUmU

My top 5 tips:

1. Change your relationship with your mind (and body!) It doesn’t have to be complicated. For me that was learning Ascension Meditation with the Ishaya’s of The Bright Path, but many paths lead to Rome! I recommend becoming tenacious in your quest for peace. Don’t stop until you find a way to set yourself free – you owe it to yourself. Yes, you have a body, mind and emotions, but what you truly are is beyond all of those things.
2. Learn the difference between pain and suffering. Most people don’t truly know what this means, but I suggest exploring it. You can be in pain, but not suffer a drop… and again, for me, learning to change my relationship to my mind is the key.
3. Hang out with radiators not drains! Surround yourself with people who are at least one step ahead of you… or better yet, 10! I’ve learned that getting a bit ruthless with whom I spend time with makes a big difference to my health and well being. Model excellence. If you want more health and happiness, surround yourself with people who have achieved that and learn from them.
4. Listen to your body. Bodies are incredible. They have such an intelligence and wisdom. They know what they need. Learning to stop and listen to my body is an ongoing lesson in humbleness and awe.
5. Be an adventurer (not a warrior!) A wise person once told me this and it’s never left me! Facing challenge can sometimes turn us into fighters in an unhelpful way, but choosing to see life as an adventure changed everything for me. Adventurers know how to have fun… they’re creative at dealing with challenges and never give up or take things too seriously. I’d rather have an adventure then a battle!