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Spring is here!

Hello Beautiful People,        Spring is in full flow here on the island and we are busy at Mandala completing everything and getting all the finishing touches in place for a new season.       Ben and I actually started our journey to Corfu this time last year  (4th March) and it is incredible to see the changes both in Villa Mandala and within Ben and I. We arrived here excited... but more then a little scared and now almost a full year on life looks very different.    We have learned a fair amount about how life works here, our business has taken off and we have made soo many incredible friends.  It no longer feels like everything is Shiva energy (endings) and Brahma energy (beginnings).... OK there is still a lot of that!  But there is also a little Vishnu energy (maintenance)  to balance things out now.     We have found stability in our yoga routine, in our lunches in the afternoon sunshine, in our dog walks at the beach, and in the flow we have found here at
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Recent posts

Summer of Love!

I have more to say then I could possibly recount in a simple blog post so this is a tricky one! I shall attempt to keep it brief and to keep my updates more frequent over the winter... I'm not promising anything though!    Wow- what a year. The summer flew past in a sunny whirlwind of activity. Ben and I both feel like we fell on our feet so many times since moving here. In short we took a massive risk, leaving our beloved boat, our amazing community of friends and family, our beautiful jobs and lives in Hampton for a mad, somewhat out of the blue and decidedly risky plan to move to Corfu, start work on a house that we didn't even own and try to integrate our selves in to new work and social lives.   All I can say is that the risks all paid off- a million times over. We bought the house of our dreams and many friends old and new stayed with us this summer. We have met people from all over the world and shared our house with artists, T.V  presenters, healers, actors, so
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Spiritual Art of Being a Tourist

I remember as a teenager I went to Florence with my Aunt and Uncle. I loved the architecture and the art, the food and the shops but one thing plagued me as I looked around the beautiful city... We looked like such a bunch of tourists!  I spent my time trailing behind my Uncle as he walked everywhere with a giant folding map. I used to hide guidebooks on my lap if they were left on the table (lest a waiter should see and discover that the non-Italian speaking, mixed race girl was in fact not a local!), and my stupid teenage brain must have missed countless amazing moments worrying about how much I looking like a tourist.   Now that I live here on Corfu (where in high season the national sport among locals is to moan about the tourists)  I have come to a new realisation.   Tourists actually understand a place far better then locals! Locals are busy. Locals have jobs to maintain, families to look after, routines to uphold and houses to clean.  Locals have an infinite t
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Doing up Mandala Before and After's :)

We've been here three months now but it feels like sooooo much longer.  We've made friends, we've run retreats, and we've made a huge amount of changes to the house.   We love Villa Mandala so much,we are still working on things everyday but we are very proud of how far we have come in such a short time.   Hope you enjoy the latest little film!   x s www.mandalayogabnb.com
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Doing up Mandala Film- Part One

Watch the calamities unfold... have we bitten off more then we can chew?!   
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Short Film of Our Drive From Villa Mandala to Corfu :)

It's been a bit mad really.   Ben and I have been working harder then I knew we even could! The long days are taking their toll on me a little. ( For instance I look like a troll right now!)   We are very grateful to have Ben's friend Chris here to help us for the week. The boys have almost completed the wall and ceiling re-vamp of whole of the upstairs rooms- Yayyyyy!   (...Thank you sooo much Chris. )      I have been painting not one, not two, not even three but four wardrobes and thankfully the graft is paying off and this particular phase of work is coming to an end. (Phew!)   But in our downtime we have all the beauty of the island to explore.  Here's a vid of us blowing off a little dust and heading to our local beach to catch a sunset...    Big Love!        :) s www.gofundme.com/launch-the-mandala-yoga-bnb www.mandalayogabnb.com
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Dealing with the unknown

Ben on the jetty at Arillas beach When we decided to move to Corfu I was envisioning a quiet life of  teaching yoga and meditation, of pottering around the garden, of doing lots of music and spending long lazy days on Arillas beach.    I dreamed of a simpler and more relaxing life (...not that my life was terribly frantic before but there is always room for improvement isn't there?!).      Ben dreamed of having more time in his shed playing with his lathe. Three weeks into life here and the penny has dropped that our dreams are a long way off!   Ben's lathe is still in pieces and I'm covered in paint and dust from morning til night, working and working to  uncover all the beauty in Mandala for our soon to arrive guests. Ben and I steal  glimpses of relaxation everyday in between the DIY marathons and thankfully we almost there with the work now :)     But the uncertainty we face is massive and I am realising that the only real way for me to feel truly secure r
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