Life gives you lemons

As humans, we are so hard on ourselves, we beat ourselves up, continually kicking ourselves to the ground, repeatedly with unkind words, filled with hurtful feelings and thoughts. This continual cycle can only be broken if we allow compassion, kindness and most importantly love into our lives. Not just for others, but for ourselves.

To truly love yourself, and I mean to love every fibre of your being, every part of your existence, to have full acceptance and love for your body, is one of the hardest lessons to learn. When you can finally look in the mirror and love the reflection you see, when you allow the light from within to radiate, expanding into your entire being, shining so brightly, that others can see - this is your testament to your growth.

My journey into the mind, body and breath started at 3 years old, I trained as a ballet, jazz and classical dancer. I understand the importance of connecting with your inner self. Mindfulness is a way of life for me, breathing techniques, meditation, are interwoven within my culture, heritage and DNA.

I am not a doctor, I am not a scientist, I am not a physiologist. I am only a human being, riding the same waves as you are, trying to keep my head above water. I am here to share my wisdom, my experiences and the tools and techniques which have been in existence in Asia for over 000’s of years, to help facilitate your journey of self discovery and most importantly, for you to know you are not alone.

With all my love, Farina

As the only girl and the youngest of six older brothers, living in a small house, in a small town in UK, was colourful at best. Finding my identity within the midst of an overwhelming household, with dominating personalities came with its own set of challenges. We are all by products of our environments, these experiences help to define who we are from an early age.

In order to know what we are made of, we have to overcome the indoctrinations from our home life, education system, and the countries we live in. First we have to break ourselves up into little pieces. Just like a clock, we dissemble the parts, give it a good clean, inspection, then we put it back together again, in the hope that we have not missed any pieces. This in essence is our journey of becoming whole again.

Grief, loss of loved ones, health issues, our careers and relationships both in friendships and with loved ones are some of our greatest teachers. You learn how to be mentally and emotionally resilient, you find out what you made of, in truth, you realise you are a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for.

Photos of Farina seen on the website were captured by the talented photographer Naoko. You can view more of her incredible work at naokokaneda.com