The Soul of Our Brand
Our Creation
I sat with what I wanted to call the brand for a long time, nothing felt quite right until I thought about my personal journey and very quickly the name Release and Flow came to mind. For the past few years, it’s safe to say that a lot of my journey has been transitions, sitting within the void of the unknown, and embracing the mystery. This involved a lot of resistance and questioning, with times of surrender and release – releasing of old patterns and conditioning that no longer served me, releasing of attachment to my identity and who I thought I ‘should’ be, releasing of seeking external approval and lettings other people’s opinions direct my life, releasing of the need to control everything. It was in this unravelling that I was able to reclaim my authentic self. The word Flow represents the place from which I’m able to create, moving with life, allowing and receiving, another form of surrender. It’s in a state of flow that I found joy, play and inspiration, the ability to discern what was authentic for me, and a syncing with natures cycles and seasons.
On the surface it’s a simple name, but the words Release and Flow hold so much meaning for me, they are a true representation of my path.
Attunement
Attunement invites us to weave awareness into our lives, offering ourselves the ability to witness and tend to what is asking for attention within our body with self-compassion. Through mindfulness we can learn to relate to our body, demonstrating safety as a felt sense within over time, instead of projecting from our beliefs, thoughts, and environment. Attunement invites us to respond to and meet ourselves, to be present with our sensations and emotions, and give care to those parts of ourselves. This creates a shift from passive observation (awareness), to witnessing and processing, so that we can move towards self-regulation and supported reorganisation. Attunement supports us in unravelling and dismantling the layers which obscure our recognition of innate wholeness, and transforms our reactions and internal responses to the external environment. Beyond the self, it allows us to consider the collective and nurture genuine meaningful connections with others.
Balance
Balance involves recognition of how we flow back and forth on a spectrum, dancing between the polarity of darkness and light, inner masculine and feminine energy, expansion and contraction. It’s this pendulation of polarity that intertwines balance into our lives. These seemingly opposing elements can work symbiotically to create harmonious self-expression, for example the ability to find softness when we feel rushed by the chaos of the world, or the strength which makes space for flexibility as we move. Balance isn’t a representation of always being regulated, in control, or perfect, and it’s not something we need to strive to achieve. The path is different for everyone, and I invite you not to base it on an external model of what it ‘should’ look like. Balance involves meeting ourselves where we are each day, honouring what needs to be expressed, and tuning into whatever is present in the here and now - at times this means letting ourselves be out of balance without trying to fix it. It’s within this potential discomfort that seeds of growth are planted and we can transform.
Curiosity
Curiosity offers a feeling of expansion which supports us to bring a child-like wonder, play, and imagination to our practice, gently guiding us to lean into the uncomfortable and unknown. It invites us to de-armour and unravel our protective mechanisms, dialogue with our shadow with more ease, and soften in our experiences with the external. Being curious about what holds personal meaning for us, how we relate to others, and how this relates to the framework of yoga, creates a unique path where each individual can honour their beliefs, while understanding themselves on a deeper level without shame or judgement. Through the experience of play on our mat and approaching ourselves from a place of exploration instead of rigidity, we begin a process of heart-centred self-inquiry, opening to our limitless potential, and reuniting with the magic we felt as children in our daily lives.
Intuition
Intuition is a deep knowing within ourselves, it centres around self-trust and discernment, and requires us to examine our relationship with fear. Everyone experiences their intuition slightly differently, the most important thing is learning how our intuition communicates with us. We all have innate knowledge and wisdom beyond what our mind deems logical or possible. By connecting more deeply to ourselves, we can tune into the signs and sensations provided by our intuition, which allows us to take inspired action, and embrace the unknown with more ease. You already have everything you need within you, your own unique medicine from your soul, and yoga becomes the guide inviting you to turn inwards. Through building a sense of self-trust, and being in devotion to honouring all aspects of yourself, you move through the world feeling more embodied and empowered, from this place you can create a life aligned with your authentic self.
Inspiration behind our logo
The spiral is a symbolic representation of the journey back to the self – ever-unfolding, expanding, and unravelling, an endless process of becoming, and shedding what no longer serves. It’s an interconnected weaving, an intertwining and winding cycle of all that we experience throughout life, and a reflection of cycles and seasons. The four dots in the spiral represent the four elements, with the fifth dot representing spirit – a remembrance that the elements are within all of us, that we are an embodiment of nature.
The logo has deep meaning for me and my life; an authentic extension of myself, my practices, and what I offer my clients. My hope is that the purpose and intention of Release and Flow reflects in all aspects, even down to what may be seen as small details such as the logo.
