A little less serious

Name: Kasey Todd

Age: 29

Where are you right now- tell us what you can see?

Sitting in a concussion clinic after a collision with my head and my fiance’s shoulder.

What did you have for breakfast?

Homemade banana berry cashew-milk smoothie.

What are you usually doing at 11pm?

15 mins into sleep …

What is something most people don’t know about you?

I get really, really nervous before every class and presentation.

 

 

Tell us a bit about your story? What defines you?

I didn’t grow up wanting to run a mindfulness business (mindfulness wasn’t even a word in my vocabulary), I wanted to be a PE teacher. There was no other option and as a long limbed, energetic, tree climbing tomboy I naturally succeeded, and taught for 3 years. An accident, resulting in a compromised neck & nervous system in my early 20’s is what changed my path of direction, but evidently also what defines my character today. Gentle, delicate, indecisive and considerate.

I have had to make choices that support my intricate nervous system and while many of these often seem inconsequential, our choices build upon one another and in the end our choices become big decisions and define who we become.

What inspires you?

Going within. Yoga. Baths. Mid-meditation. Anything where there is opportunity to slow and connect.  In the morning, when I first open my eyes; A new day.

What has been the biggest challenge you have faced in your life?

Living with a non-visible and easily irritated injury and the frustration and lifestyle transition that accompanied.

How did you overcome that challenge?

Acceptance is a beautiful thing. It eases suffering and changes the nature of our experience. Coupled with the embrace for living gently and naturally, which opened my eyes to a new way of living and life itself.

What is the biggest lesson you have learnt?

Meditation or mindfulness isn’t a free-standing practice on it’s own, it’s a way of life. We don’t meditate to get get better at meditation we do so to get better at life. Every single time we have a positive thought or think of something we are grateful for, we immediately stop the negative thought or the worry. We scientifically can not have a positive and negative thought at the same time. This realisation changed my thinking and makes every moment in life just a little more enjoyable. .

What would you tell your 15 year old self?

Not everyone has to like you.

What is your biggest life tip?

Be you. Everything is easier when you just be yourself. It’s how it should be. Stress and tension arise from a lack of connection with our authentic self, in an already over stimulated world, when we can eliminate this as a ‘stress’ we give ourselves (body & mind)  a better start to each day.

What do you think is the biggest issue facing women today?

Social media. Without a doubt. If I look to the field of young women I work within, it is this accessibility, constant connection  and saturation of ‘perfection’ that places undue pressure on (young) women. We are in a ‘perfectionism epidemic’ and remembering that ‘… perfect is only captured in the moment – it’s not achievable long term…’ as a way of combatting this.

What do you think is the biggest opportunity for women today?

Conversely, the opportunity to be entrepreneurial and/or follow dreams because of this ‘connectivity and accessibility’ discussed above. The ability to have a passion or product or service and market it online is stronger than ever.

What message do you want to share with your community?

We live in a time where we are constantly bombarded by information and distractions. Constantly connected. A time where being present can almost feel unnatural, almost foreign.  But presence is our natural intended state, it’s what’s left when everything is removed. It’s who we are. There’s no past, or future, no judgements or worries. Just us, here and now. And we all have it. It’s not something just a few of us can tap into it. It’s free and can be achieved by all with one slow deep breath or feeling your feet in your shoes, keyboard under your fingers. In a constantly changing connected and technological driven world, the present moment is a tool for life.

Finish the sentence This Is me…… happy and free, as me.

@kasey_todd  

@eunoia_meditation