Charlie Anderson-Fashion Stylist, Yoga Teacher. November Edition
I had the beautiful chance to meet Charlie, some weeks ago while I was co-teaching a teacher´s retreat in the outskirts of London. Her smile and the sweet fragrance of her presence is palpable. She brought this special old fashioned book for the altar (where all teachers were invited to place something of meaning), about this woman describing the beauty of every flower in her garden with full detail and delight. This already says a lot about Charlie´s attention to the small details and the pleasure she takes in the little great gems of daily life. As we shared meals in our break time, we also shared about motherhood, womanhood, glamour and her magic recipes. I invited her on board as our Special Guest.
Meet her:
1. Tell us 3 things about you? - Whilst I am confident in groups I have introvert tendencies. Parties, urban environments and large crowds drain me - I need time in nature (having fun, being quiet, whatever...) in order to thrive.
- I have always lived on top of a hill, I love the big views it offers and am not sure I'd last long on the flatlands.
- I am a fierce kitchen dancer - hip wigglingly big tunes and domesticity make excellent bedmates.
2. How did yoga happen to you? I was in my late teens, working & living in London and I went to a class at The Porchester Centre in Bayswater. I had no idea what I was doing, what style of yoga it was or what the hell the teacher was talking about but I knew that I felt better after that class than any thing else I had ever done.
3. How do you handle teaching with motherhood? Motherhood is one of the reasons I teach. When I had my eldest daughter I was Fashion Director at Tatler magazine and I quickly realised that I couldn't be the kind of mother my heart demanded while doing that highly stressful and time consuming job.
Teaching is a panacea - there is no way I could teach if I didn't practice and study. Its not that yoga makes me into a 'better person' - for me that's an expression which smacks of righteous indignation - It's more that yoga is my s**t filter. It helps me to tune into my most authentic self, to get perspective and see what's really important - something I have found indispensable as a mother.
4. What is your best advice for mothering? To trust your instincts and to search for the truth (both yours and theirs) in any situation.
5. What feels like love to you? So, so, so much feels like love! Mother nature, the smell of the top of my girl's heads, the feeling of my husband's arms around me, the ocean, my mother's voice, protectiveness, laughter, reading, making pastry, tending my garden, kissing, a hot cup of tea...I could go on forever.
But I can also easily get overwhelmed by negative emotions so I work hard to feel love even in difficult situations. The girls and I use this metaphor to understand it:
We imagine that the negative situation or emotion is like a really noisy party (you know those kids village hall parties that make your head feel like its about to explode!)...we know that it is all consuming, overwhelming and does not feel great, but we also know that somewhere in that room is love, its just that love is really really quiet and hard to hear over all that noise! So we find the door and step outside the room, and when we are out in the quiet, away from the crazy, love's voice sounds strong and clear again and we can choose not to go back in to the party.
6. Share with us one of your magical recipes? I am fascinated by herbalism and over the last few years I have been working on growing my own hedgerow medicine chest. One of the things I am trying out this winter is Fire Cyder. This warming, energising folk remedy is purported to improve circulation and boost your immune system.
You take fire cyder as a daily tonic - a couple of teaspoons will do - either straight down the hatch, diluted in warm water like a tea (perhaps with a tsp of honey), or slipped into some juice or a smoothie.
Normally Fire Cyder is made with apple cider vinegar (hence the name) but as I brew my own kombucha I simply left some to turn into vinegar (simply ignore a batch for 6-8 weeks, if it tastes like vinegar, it's vinegar) and used that.
Kombucha Fire Cyder
Basic Ingredients: 1 litre glass jar 2-3 inches of chopped or grated ginger 3 inches of chopped or grated fresh horseradish 1 medium onions chopped 8-10 cloves of garlic - peeled and sliced 1-2 jalapeño peppers - scored through A quantity of Kombucha or Raw Apple Cider Vinegar
Extras I added: A handful of rosehips from my garden A sprig of rosemary Tumeric powder (I would have used the root if I had it) 1 lemon - sliced 1/2 orange - sliced
Method: Prepare all of your ingredients and put them in a glass storage jar (I used a 1 litre clip top Kilner jar), It's important not to use a metal top as it reacts badly with the vinegar. Cover the ingredients with the vinegar - stir well to make sure there are no air pockets. Seal the jar, label with date and tuck away in a cool dark cupboard. Leave for 1 month turning every so often.
After a month use a cheesecloth (nut milk bags work really well) to strain out all of the pulp, squeeze as much of the liquid goodness out of it as possible. Pour the liquid into a fresh clean storage vessel (old passata jars work brilliantly). You can store your Fire cider in the cupboard but it will last longer in the fridge.
7. The best advice you had been given. Don't steal other people's karma.
Charlie Anderson Instagram: @charlieanderson/@charlieyogauk Yoga: charlieyoga.simpl.com Styling: www.stellacreativeartists.com