Radiance - The Juice Cleanse Co.

Can you give us a brief bio and background as to how you got to where you are today?

Hi, my name is Selda. I share teachings of yoga, meditation and sound healing. I was drawn to re-establish a practice that reflected my childhood and teen ballet/dance classes. I fell into yoga about 16 years ago and have practiced ever since. Interestingly, the word ‘practice’ can often be misinterpreted in today’s society. I relate it to anything, as long as it is done with good intention and awareness. I did a great deal of moving about in my 20’s and early 30’s. I trained with many yoga and meditation teachers who taught me a multitude of skill sets. Now I focus a lot of my time, attention and energy on stillness, in order to be a pillar of clarity and support for others. 

What experiences have been most important to you in life? 

Travelling. Each time I taste a different culture, my spirit evolves. I am beyond alive when ensconced in other communities. It grounds me, reminds me to be thankful and helps me to see everyone as ‘collective energy’. 

If you could describe yourself in 3 words what would they be? 

Supportive, loyal, passionate.

Do you have any rituals you follow day to day? 

Meditation, Breath, kindness, movement, smiling, interaction, sound.

Sound meditation seems to be finally having its moment - can you tell us about why it’s so powerful for you, and why people should try it?

 The universe gives us what we need, when we need it. It’s no different with sound meditation. The crystal bowls are blends of quartz crystal, metals, gemstones and minerals, so they are made from the oldest elements on Earth. And just like sound, we also are made up of vibrations. What makes these Alchemy bowls magical is that they resonate at the same frequency as our brain and body. When the bowls are played, our brain begins to alter from an awake state, to a very deep, meditative, relaxed conscious state. When our body is fully at rest, which cannot be achieved through regular sleep, our brain chemistry shifts, our Para-sympathetic nervous system activates, our energy bodies realign and we become well.

I was fortunate enough to grow up listening to music, attending concerts with my parents and playing the piano. When I experienced my first sound bath, I cried for the entire hour. It felt like I had come home to myself. For me, sound is like a story that can express the soundscape of your life. I find it deeply healing and I haven’t met anyone who doesn’t like the bowls. Everyone should try a session, even it’s just to see how they respond.

Can you tell us about your events and how clients can book one of your classes ?

After many years of living and teaching in London, I now mainly work out of Selda Soul Space at home. It has the most wonderful feeling and I adore sharing it with others.  I hold a sound bath here on the last Thursday of every month and it gets booked up pretty early on, so I always suggest to book in advance.

 I teach at a meditation studio in Belgravia called Remind, and this year I am travelling to Ibiza, India and Turkey to share.

 My website is seldasoulspace.com. People can stay updated, book on workshops or events and sign up for my newsletter here.

Passionfruit and Chia Pot Recipe

Ingredients - Serves 2

For the curd

• 2 Passionfruit
• 1/2 Avocado 
• 1/2 Banana
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 2 tsbp maple syrup

For the pot

• 8 tbsp Chia Seeds
• 1 Cup of your favourite mylk 
• 2 tbsp Maple Syrup
• 1 Passionfruit
• Coconut Chips 

Method

1. Stir chia seeds and maple syrup into the mylk, and split between two jars - put in the fridge overnight or for at least 4 hours.
2. Half an hour before you want to serve - blend the ingredients for the curd in a blender, and leave in the fridge to set.
3. Spoon the passionfruit curd onto the pots and top with coconut chips. Scatter with fresh passionfruit!
4. Enjoy!

This month we've been catching up with Abi Adams, expert Budokon instructor and friend of Radiance. We talk the mind-body connection, raw emotion and empowerment.

So, Abi - our clients would love to know a little bit about your backgrouond, and how you came to where you are today.

Massage was where it all began for me!  I was very lucky to have the support of my London born and bred family who sent me to study massage in the heart of London (Wardour Street to be exact). My fascination was sparked with the body and how it worked and how to make it work healthier. I travelled various places around the world learning deep tissue and facial release, Thai massage and Thai abdominal massage to name a few, before getting into yoga.  In 2010, I became a yoga teacher under the guidance of Brian Cooper of Union Yoga as an Ashtanga teacher and then, in 2012 I went to India to study under Yog Vishvketu, learning Hatha, Hatha Raja, Kundalini and restorative yoga.  Most of this I did whilst still working up in the West End and City as a PA (studying yoga whilst maintaining my social habits ended up breaking the camels back and nearly ruined the relationship with my now husband).  But it wasn’t the postures that was my main focus, it was the movement into them.

After a traumatic end to 2016 (nothing like a bit of trauma to kick you up the arse and put you back in focus), I booked myself a place on a one month MMA intensive at Budokon, Miami.  Studying with Koncho Cameron Shayne and the most amazing group of open minded people I’ve ever met has changed my perspective and life.  Studying the art of calisthenics, yoga, martial arts, grappling, animal locomotion and mobility has proven that movement is the key to health, balance and joy.

Budokon Yoga is still fairly unknown by most - can you tell us why it's so special?

Koncho Cameron Shayne founded Budokon over 20 years ago.  Coming from his love of movement, Budokon is about striping back the person you limit yourself as, allowing physical expression and exploration to pave the way to your most incredible life.  I’ve been on many spiritual journeys and spent time with many wonderful spiritual people, but these movers I met in Miami were the most inspiring I’ve ever met.  Not afraid to fall, hurt, cry, get pulled up on the drama they created in their day to day lives.  I feel privileged for that experience.  

Can you tell us a little bit about that experience in Miami?

We had to move 8-10 hours a day: Running and martial arts the morning, Mind Science, Budokon Yoga (inspired by martial arts), and a solid 4 hours of movement in the evening which included mobility/animal locomotion, sparring/boxing, finishing with grappling.  Come 10pm at night many of us couldn’t speak, but still we had to clean the dojo and kitchen before hitting the sack.  Emotionally drained the majority of the time, you began to see just the person you allowed to show up back home.  We were broken down and built back up again, and I loved every minute of it because I realised how I was responding to life.  I’ve never felt so emotional, the perfectionist coming out in me wanted to scream and run, but we did it and those tears that fell were like a damn bursting.  Pure, raw emotion draining out of me.  Budokon has been one of the most amazing, life changing experiences of my life (second to being blessed with my husband and son).

 As a qualified life coach too, what's the link between yoga and life coaching - why is this important to you?

The old school way of treating head and body as separate entities is slowly phasing out.  The body is a physical expression of everything you are thinking and have experienced.  You can’t just talk yourself out of depression and anxiety, the body holds the tension from the mind.  It's a bit like its dumping ground.  If you keep dumping with no creative outlet or expression, it builds up and physical disabilities start to manifest.  This is why for me personally, counselling doesn’t work.  Words, thoughts and feelings have a movement to them and this is what I establish with many of my private clients in elevating mental and physical imbalances.

Tell us all about the Mind Body Transformation Retreat in June - what can we expect to see?

Mind Body Transformation Retreat is about open minded women looking to understand their mental and physical strength.  To enable them to become the women they keep looking elsewhere for.  It’s about getting down and dirty, emotionally, mentally, physically and with other women supporting them, like family.  For 2.5 days we’ll live by the beach, our days consisting of yoga (Budokon, Vinyasa and Ying), runs to the beach, progression strength training to support your yoga practice (Calisthenics), learning why we react to life the way we do as we understand how we were raised and the blueprint it left, all supported with organic food (breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks included and freshly made on site) cooked up by our amazing plant based chef Rachel Dring of Crop Drop. Guided meditations will close our days empowerment, leading to a restorative nights sleep.

You’ll leave this workshop feeling empowered, inspired and tapped into the uniqueness of what makes you, YOU.

You can book onto Abi's Mind Body Tranformation Retreat here.