HERSTORY ~ WHY I BECAME A YOGI
Short bio…..written by a loving student …
“During her training as a Ballerina with the National Theatre St. Kilda in the 1970’s Libby acquired a pelvic injury which led her to yoga. She has more than three decades experience as a Yoga, Meditation and Pilates instructor having trained under Valda Moore, Jani Baker and Kimberly Garlic. Libby has held numerous community and corporate retreats and operates a small Yoga school in Australia’s Yarra Valley since 1999 , where she is treasured by her students. She has also studied permaculture, herbalism and iridology and is passionate about the body’s capacity to overcome disease. Libby describes her intent “is to be of use to you, to build you up, to make you realize that you are amazing and that you can heal your own body”.
2022
I’m 62. I feel very blessed most days. However after 30 odd years of reading, absorbing and working with what I believe to be some of the best books ever written by some of the most ingenious men and women of our time, I must conclude, Life is still a mystery to me. In fact the further down the rabbit hole I go the less I know. So I surrender to life’s duality knowing in my heart that even the saddest or painful circumstances can teach us many valuable life lessons. I commit to staying well so that I may enjoy this strange phenomena called life.
MY LOVE AFFAIR WITH YOGA
I had no idea what to expect when a good friend dragged me to my first Iyenga yoga class at Melbourne University. My back was always aching. I knew I needed more than doctors pills and physios so I gave it a go. The class was fabulous. My back felt great. The room it was held in was gorgeous. If you know Melbourne university you may agree that most of the halls and buildings are beautiful. It was magnificent experience.I was hooked. Yoga appealed to me in ways I didn’t understand. I was 24.It was 1984.
Yoga became a big part of my life over night. the philosophy filled me with light..the yoga postures made me feel alive and strong. My teacher Valda Moore was aware of my love for it and suggested I become a teacher. However at the point I was a hungry single mum. barely surviving on a pension so Valda offered me a 5 year internship. There was no question in my mind . I would do it gladly . On paper this would read as a 2 year Iyenga diploma. During the internship I worked at stkilda yoga school and 3 different gyms in firtzroy. I had a blast. I was in my element.Teaching was easy for me. I had found my life’s work.
MY DAUGHTER TESS PAULINA.
Tesspa arrived in 1993. The mother archetype is a potent vehicle. It filled me with purpose, strength, confidence and joy. Tess and I were one. I was ‘alive’ for the first time in my life. We lived in Fitzroy. I was a single mum from Tess’s birth .Her father’s abandonment of us both could have made me bitter but instead I chose the yogi path and became a forgiveness expert. Fitzroy was awesome in so many ways, but I had a vision for my daughter and city living wasn’t part of it so we hi tailed it to the bush in search of fertile soil clean air and a primary school that wouldn’t force me to vax my precious child.I was successful.
I thought I knew what love felt like. I did not. Not until I met my daughter. When a new baby comes alchemy occurs deep within the psyche. We shift from maiden to mother archetype. This is a mighty powerful moment in our lives.
TREE CHANGE > THE SEARCH FOR GOOD SOIL >PERMACULTURE.
Fitzroy was my beloved home, but its no place to raise a child. The pollution alone was bad, the soil was full of lead. I knew if I couldn’t feed my child home grown organic food there , I would find a place where I could. I began looking for towns with good soil. It was a simple as that. Before long I found a rental permaculture property in Narbethong. It was stunning. Narbethong is a tiny town between Healesville and Marysville. We lived there for 2 yrs. Realizing it was bit too far out I moved in the township of Healesville and bought this home, with the intent to create a food garden, a yoga school, a paradise .
I was successful. My daughter and I thrived. Permaculture doesn’t mean your garden will look like an instragram garden.My garden is messy.
BALLET. 
My first love was ballet. I began at 5 years of age. I was very good at it. By the time I was 12 I was being groomed for the Australian ballet school. At 14 I was training at the National Theater with Kathleen Gorum. Miss Gorum believed I had promise and pushed me too far. I sustained a hip injury from being forced to over extend. In fact Miss Gorum put her entire body weight on my right shoulder whilst I was in a split. Her weight forced me to the ground, tearing soft tissue in the inguinal ligament aka the groin. If there is a bit of scar tissue on the inguinal it may affect the entire balance of the pelvis. What followed were 4 decades of pelvic and spinal issues. This Injury in ballet class shaped my entire life to this day and is of course why I chose to become a yogi.
THE SPINAL INJURY TIMELINE.
1974 Inguinal ligament trauma. 14 years old @ National Theater Stkilda . This had to a domino effect leading to a weakened lower back.
1981 L4 L5 HERNIATION 21 years of age.Hairdressing further weakened my spine
1990 L4 L5 HERNIATION 30 years old. Whilst Performing a difficult ballet routine for Melbourne Uni Guild Dance Theater my spine popped again.
2010. L4 L5 HERNIATION I was teaching makeup for photography at Tafe, when one day my spine just gave up.
2011. The government awarded me a disability pension. It was a god send.
2014 The sciatic nerve had been crushed for approx 3 years now, leading to peripheral nuropathy.~~
2017 THE BUTTERFLY emerges … in brief~~after 7 long years on the floor~ living as a recluse ~ I have healed my spine and my legs but cannot feel my feet… Yet.
2019 ill be 60 next year. pain comes and goes.. I meditate and sunbake before 10 am daily when possible. My food intake is mostly organic and I rarely drink, and of course I do yoga pilates and breath work EVERY DAY
Now its early 2021. We are in the Covid Lockdown .
I took advantage of our hermit like existence during lockdowns and used some of 2021 to wean from all pain relief as I had a feeling it was making the pain worse by keeping me acidic… More importantly the regular pain relief had begun to affect my digestive system.
Coming off 4 years of pain meds was hell..I had insomnia for 3 solid months, ringing in ears for months… but interestingly not much pain. ! However if you’ve ever come off something you depend on you know its a tough journey….. Thankfully I’m very disciplined due to my years in ballet training so managed well.
2022
MY feet have almost no nuropathy at all….I have about 90% feeling… and very little discomfort in general.
I use MAGNET THERAPY on both calves. This keeps any inflammation at bay.
I also attempt to remain as ALAKLI as possible via food and by controlling my breathing and my thoughts.
The mind is more powerful than most of us realize !
A KIND MIND IS born from an AN ALKALI BODY.
AN ANGRY MIND is born from an ACIDIC BODY
SELF HEALING REQUIRES NEW KNOWLEDGE ….. CELL DIVISION MITOSIS
We have trillions of cells that divide and either die off or regenerate all day long every day. It is continuously occurring throughout our bodies it is even happening while you are reading this.
After a lot of research I gained a new understanding of disease. The most important factor in all healing is our acid alkali balance. Stress,poor foods and alcohol cause acidity. The equation is simple .I knew that no disease can exist in an alkali solution. so I figured the only way to heal my spine was to be alkali. I then began the very long exciting and grueling journey of changing my body acid alkali balance .
I also learned via DR BRUCE LIPTON that our belief systems literally trump all science. This belief meant I WAS IN CONTROL.This new belief was the GOLDEN TICKET to my healing
HOWEVER
Eating and exercising well etc is not enough though. We must exist in a some what euphoric state ~ in the firm and often unusual belief that we are ALREADY HEALING !
GRATEFUL
My healing journey lasted 10 years, during which time I have a altered dramatically. HEALING was all that mattered. The yoga school partially closed.I only taught 3 or 4 Classes a week~ I visited Magnetic Island off the coast of Townsville many times to soak my beloved temple in warm ocean .
MY ILLNESS IS MY NEW FRIEND
The injury or illness is my greatest alli. My life has changed in ways I could never have imagined .NOW my day consists of zero stress, eating really well, not working for more than 3 hrs a day. I garden , I dance and stretch every day
PERMACULTURE
In 2001 I studied permaculture ~ organic sustainable farming in 2001, with local permaculture guru , Graeme George. Now I grow organic herbs for all of my medicinal needs .
NATUROPATHY
1987-Whilst living in Washington DC, my hubbies home town, I began an on line Naturopathy course of which I completed herbalism and Iridology, but it was cut short abruptly when I decided to leave my hubby and come home. So even though I did not get a diploma I know alot and apply it all daily. I hope I can be of use to you. I do know this , if we are to rely on our doctors to usher us to into old age we may be very disappointed.
THANK YOU BLESS YOU
If you managed to read all of this ~ thank you. MY intent is to be of use to you , to build you up , to make you realize that you are amazing and that you can heal your own body .The only thing that is missing is information. Once the body becomes more alkali than acidic we begin to think differently, we become smarter ! or a better way to say that is~ when we r alkali , we are simply the best version of ourselves.
If you are in any way interested below is my cv.
MY CV.
EDUCATION: Formal
1996– 1998 formal teacher training with VALDA MOORE @CAE. Council of Adult edu. CBD. Melbourne
2001 formal teacher training with JANI BAKER @ AUSTRALIAN COLLEGE OF CLASSICAL YOGA Black burn. Melb
2005 formal teacher training with KIMBERLY GARLIC @ PILATES INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA
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YOGA & PILATES SPECIALIST- RESEARCH CLASSES / WORKSHOPS
April -Nov 2002 “NARI” (National aging Research institute) Healesville Vic 2 Yoga classes per week for 26 weeks 6 female students. 50-70 years of age.
Sept-Oct 2003 “INERGISE AUSTRALIA” (veterans affairs) Healesville Vic 1 Yoga class per week, with Vietnam vets all with post traumatic stress disorder.
July-Sept2006 “HEALESVILLE HIGH SCHOOL” Healesville Vic 9 Yoga/Pilate‟s classes per term.
Sept 2009 RACV Healesville COUNTRY CLUB 3 Yoga / Meditation classes over the weekend with chef extraordinaire SHERRY STRONG. Complimenting her organic detox weekend.
2009 – 2010 INDULGE SPA various one day yoga , pilates, and meditation events at Indulge Spa for private clients.
2009 Balgownie for ANZ ~ 1/2 day yoga meditation events for ANZ EXECS , focusing on gentle de-stress hatha yoga and spinal care
2009 Yarra Valley Conference Centre for YOORALLA .YIN hatha yoga and breath work ~caring for carers.
Jan 2009 RACV COUNTRY CLUB HEALESVILLE 2 HR Yoga /Pilates workshop held out doors
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DROP IN CASUAL CLASSES / IYENGAR YOGA / YIN YOGA – THERAPEUTIC PILATES TEACHING HISTORY
Jan 1998 – Feb 1999 “STKILDA YOGA SCHOOL”(“Skys”),Acland St St.Kilda Melb~~2 classes per week
March 1998-nov 1999 “BUSY BODY GYM” ~Johnson St, Fitzroy Melb ~~3 classes per week
July 1999-nov 1999 “HUNTS GYM” Johnson St, Fitzroy Melb ~1 class per week
OCTOBER 1999~~Moved from Fitzroy to Yarra Valley for a tree change . I WAS IN SEARCH FOR CLEAN AIR AND SOIL.
July 2000 – Present day~~Founded “YARRA VALLEY YOGA SCHOOL” Healesville Up to 22 classes per week ~ yin Hatha yoga/Iyengar yoga/ therapeutic pilates/Meditation/ dance
August 2003-04 REDHOUSE Warburton ~ 1 yoga class per week
Sept 2006 – Dec 2009 BEACH HOUSE FITNESS CLUB Chirnside park ~~3 Yoga classes per week /3 Pilates classes per week
Winter 2008 HEALESVILLE HIGH SCHOOL~~1 Yoga class for staff members per week
Autumn / Winter 2008 YARRA GLEN LIVING & LEARNING CENTER. ~~3 Yoga classes per week.
Sept 2008 – Dec 2009 YARRA GLEN LIVING & LEARNING CENTER.~~1 yoga class per week
2009 – 2009 HEALESVILLE LIVING AND LEARNING CENTER~~3 Meditation classes per week / 1 high cardio dance class/ 1 Therapeutic Pilates class
2009/10 HEALESVILLE LIVING & LEARNING ~~Tutor for certificate 2 hairdressing tutor for cert 2 professional makeup services
2010 May – 2010 Nov RACV COUNTRY CLUB drop in weekly class ~~ 1 Yoga /Pilates /Meditation class a week Sunday 10am – 11.30
present day ~~ post covid 2022 3 weekly drop in classes ,private classes, corporate classes events and retreats.
my cv ends here~
108 blessings
042420 70 18
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Healesville Meditation