Friends of the Foundation

This summer we are looking at the things that we can do to help ourselves in the on-going battle against negativity and inertia.

Maria Tarr who is featured this month is a yoga instructor found by Elizabeth, the DK Foundations web manager in the course of her own quest for a more positive frame of mind. The feature takes the form of an interview between Elizabeth and the dynamic Maria.

Having nominated Maria Tarr, a local Yoga teacher and Life Coach, for our Friends of the Foundation scheme, I approached Maria and asked her if we could make an interview the basis of the profile as she has had an amazing life, full of unbelievable tragedy and hardship, but also full of wonderful achievements. She has four children two grown up and flown the nest and two teenage boys still in education. She is lively and vibrant and always very active usually baking cakes for her many group meetings, yoga classes and life coaching sessions, plus running the family home and now writing her second book.

A. I took up yoga because when I was in my early 30’s I was going through a really bad time, it was one of the lowest points in my life. I was in Toronto staying with my best friend Nancy.

She made me promise that when I got back to the UK that I would find a yoga class. It was relatively unknown then, but since high profile stars like Madonna, Sting, Gerry Haliwell etc. have started to practice it, it has become the ‘in thing’ but really it has been around for years.

I joined a yoga class a couple of days after returning from Toronto. My teacher Vi Gander was in her 60’s and an amazing Capricorn lady very strong mentally and physically and she continued to teach yoga until she was 81 years old a week before she died!

She went to every class on foot carrying her holdall bag and mat etc. She was very tenacious a ‘no nonsense’ teacher. She led with an iron rod and people were often in awe of her but at the same time full of respect.

She was a true inspiration to me and made me realize that yoga was something you could do up until the end. It is really timeless and you can tailor it to suit your own tempo, slow and peaceful or fast and dynamic what ever suits your mood.

I left school with absolutely no qualifications. The people I met in my yoga class encouraged me to join the local adult education centre. I started with O’Level English. For me this was the beginning of a whole new way of life, I loved learning and met so many wonderful people.

Elizabeth: “I would like to point out at this stage that Maria told me that she found out later in life that her mother had special needs. Her father came to live in England from Cyprus not being able to speak English. She said she could never remember being read to as a child, and that she thinks that this gave her that determination to seek the education she had missed out on as a child. She also brought up her two brothers whilst her parents ran a restaurant. Although she is not at all cynical she does feel she has been denied a huge part of her childhood and her childlike quality of ‘what’s next’ is apparent immediately you meet her.

She gets very excited about most things and is hugely enthusiastic about life.”

A. After the death of Vi I joined a new yoga class. The teacher injured her leg and asked me to take her classes for her. This planted a seed that was soon transformed into a huge tree and hence the beginning of my training.

The first qualification I got was the British Wheel of Yoga, a four-year course that is recommended by the British Sports Council. I also trained in India with the Sivananda yoga school.

It was fantastic – it was in an Ashram – the people were from all walks of life from Doctors to Cleaners. We were stripped of all material luxuries – the camaraderie was next to none – it was a bit like going through a war because it was so demanding physically and mentally and in extreme heat. We slept in a dorm with a squat hole and no loo roll!! and cold communal showers. We started our day at 5 o’clock in the morning with meditation chanting and no morning cuppa!

The whole experience was totally life changing and when I returned home I felt embarrassed going into Tesco because of the sheer decadence of the western way of life. I wanted to run out of the shop to escape as fast as I could.

Ashram life taught us the fundamental difference between needs and wants. It taught us that money and material possessions were not the answer to true happiness, and that inner peace although intangible and illusive is certainly obtainable and that happiness is in fact simply a ‘state of mind’. I returned to India within six weeks of being back in the UK. I had to go, it was as if I had left part of my soul there and the calling was too great for me to deny.

A. I saw an advertisement in a newspaper for a Life Coaching Course, and when I read it I felt that’s what I had been doing for the Samaritans for 17 years (which was listening to peoples problems and trying to help them) was a similar type of work, so I felt that I had something to offer and it was work I loved doing and felt very passionate about. I felt that if I enrolled on this course it would be another qualification and this time I could accept payment for my work.

A. There were 3 separate exams; it took a relatively short time if you put in the hours the work and the commitment.

A. I have always loved words and communicating with people. When I did my O’Level in English later in life the teacher told me that I had a gift for writing and that I could write for a living. Although I thought it was hugely complimentary I tucked it away into my subconscious, where it remained dormant up until Jan 2005 when the book of ‘If ‘ came into fruition.

Elizabeth: “Maria’s book is available on Amazon and she has now succeeded in having it stocked in Waterstones and Ottackar’s. She has been asked to do a book signing in Borders in Leeds, and a literary lunch and talk. Maria has also been asked to do an interview on air by a local radio station.

I can personally vouch for the fact that it has taken a lot of hard work, effort and determination for Maria to come this far, and hopefully this is just the beginning for her. But it shows how one can improve oneself and realize ones dreams if they are put into action.”

Maria say’s she feels that true spirituality is to help others to be the best they can and to realize their dreams and to encourage them to take that first step.

She says “ One of the greatest quotes from the real true yogic readings that date back over 5000 years was from the book ‘Bhagavad-Gita’” - ‘When a person responds to the joys and sorrows of others as if they were his own he has attained the highest state of spiritual union’.

“I have this saying with me at all times to remind me to do my best because that is all any of us can do”.

A. Yoga is a way of life, it is not just an exercise class, it is a way of thinking, it is a way of feeling and it is a way of being.

It is helping people to be more positive, to be more hopeful, to be more open and to be more giving.

It’s helping them to keep fit, flexible, to learn to breath properly and to improve their posture. Above all it can be practiced by everyone even the disabled and it is for all ages – it is Timeless – Priceless – Amazing and it really works. People that practice yoga look and feel great - if in doubt… try it out!! With Love and Peace to all of you, Maria”

Maria kindly supplied us last month with the instructions for the Sun Salutation

For Further information about Maria's services please visit her website www.getinspired.info

she can be contacted on maira@getinspired.info