Heroines With Heart: Lacey Haynes of The Yoga Emporium

I truly cannot condense Lacey Haynes to a paragraph (or two) and to even attempt to capture her spirit, passion, kindness, sexiness, humour, cleverness and creative brilliance would simply not do her justice.

But I can't just leave the intro there now can I? So I'll do my best.

Lacey is a who I'd like to be when I grow up. I don't say that to imply that she's a grown up (in fact she's a mega-super-fun-playful soul) but as a thriving writer and yoga teacher travelling the world, she certainly has a place in my Top 5 Lives I'd Like To Have.

As the lady-babe behind The Yoga Emporium, Lacey has shared her happy, joyful style of yoga in Germany, Canada, France and Portugal. And now based in Perth, Australia (conveniently for me) Lacey is my neighbour. Hurrah! We drink naked iced soy coffees and yak about things like life and learning. Acceptance and letting go. But mostly we chat about cute boys, consciousness and buckwheat pancakes. 

This girl oozes a rare form of realness, from the words she speaks (she has the best yoga teacher voice ever) to the gems she puts down on paper. Holy-Wordsmith-Batman, I could read her musings from the mat all day. You are in for a real treat here - there is something uber-special to behold in Lacey's wise words. Enjoy!

NOTE: For all the Perthies out there, make sure you check out Lacey's upcoming Yoga & Creativity workshops. Think yoga and dance, writing, drawing and singing. Yee-ha!

So, first things first. What is your dream?

To keep living this glorious life with continued bountiful health and love.

To write and publish an amazing novel. To direct and act in a film that I’ve written. To teach yoga all around the world. To make an album. To sing on stage. To own little abodes in a few different countries. To be with horses more often. To keep radicalising, loving and being loved by my partner. To drink really good chai always and forever.

What makes up your lifeblood?

Creative energy is what gets me all stirred up. I try to see everything that I do as being a part of a creative thread.

I love conceptualising. Throwing block on top of block and seeing what the pile looks like. I’m passionate about leading a liberated life that sees the inherent Godliness in all living being. I am dedicated to living a life of yoga.

What has been your biggest fear to date to overcome?

When it dawned on me for the first time that I would never circle back to the events of my past, I lost my shit. I was in Granada and it was hot and vibrant and I was falling in love. It was the first big traveling adventure of my life and everything felt so slippery. All this amazing stuff was happening and just as fast as it swept in, it vanished. I remember writing later that I mourned for the days of my youth - not because I wanted them back, but because I didn’t understand where they’d gone.

When yoga really took hold of me a few years later, I was introduced to the idea of impermanence. I cried. I wasn’t sad; I was utterly relieved. That’s when I stopped being afraid of loss or at least started the process of surrendering that fear. Life, love, decisions – everything became sweeter and lighter.

Being healthy means that I…

Listen to my heart. My heart tells me to live a vegetarian yogic lifestyle, to be gluten-free, and to ensure that my imprint on the earth lessens with the more knowledge I acquire. Being healthy is about balance; it’s also about taking care of my loved ones, the earth, and my students. If our earth is unhealthy then what chance do we stand!? If our neighbours suffer, then we all suffer. I try to stay tuned in so I know when balance has been lost. I practice, I love and I laugh all the time, everyday.

To me, the word 'healing' means…

Letting, letting, letting go. LET IT GO. It means forgiving myself and others and knowing that we’re all good enough. It means massages, relaxation, slowing down, sinking in. It also means eating pasta, cuddling with my partner and watching Survivor. As in the reality TV show.

Where is your ultimate travel destination? 

In October, I’m off to India, which is my current travel dream. Just in the last year alone I have gone from living in Berlin to living in Perth. In between, I’ve been adventuring through Johannesburg, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Melbourne, Nova Scotia, New York, Miami, the Florida Keys, etc. It feels so good to be still right now so I am totally relishing in that! You can see some fun yoga / travel pics here.

Choosing love over fear means…

It’s more of this letting go business, isn’t it? Osho says that fear is the opposite of love. Hate is closer to love than fear because it’s still full of passion, while fear is a void, a shrinking away.

Love is who we all are. It’s the true Self. Choosing love then is choosing to see ourselves as complete and perfect beings.

I feel really creative when I...

Go for walks. Turn music up really loud and sing. Touch books at bookstores. Make insanely delicious foods. Float face-skyward in the ocean. Use words. Finish something grand.

If you could tell your 14 year old self one thing, what would it be?

Dear 14 year old Lacey.

Having no boobs at this stage isn’t so bad because when they do show up, they’ll stay perky longer. Practice yoga. What you see as “failures” now are actually part of your path. Don’t get discouraged. Your creativity is boundless and doesn’t need labels. You don’t need boys to like you in order to like yourself. You’re good enough; you’re extraordinary in fact. Stop drinking Tropikiwi coolers and smoking cigarettes. Keep acting. Write more often. Sing and don’t listen to anyone who tells you not to. Don’t let people with bad intentions take your power. Sour cream is not a food group.[Click to tweet this!]

Can you share with us your secret indulgence?

Macaroni and faux cheese!

I don’t do measurements as such. I’m a chuck and taste and add, kind of cook. Just cook the pasta, sauté the garlic, and stir everything together on low heat. Don’t be modest, this baby is meant to be rich and comforting.

Gluten free spirals

Tahini

Tamari

Nutritional Yeast (tons)

Rice milk

Chili flakes

Garlic

Coarsely ground pepper

Sea salt flakes

*Add avocado and tiny tomatoes on the side to offset the beige colour palate

Lacey Haynes runs The Yoga Emporium, a traveling studio, blog and yoga resource. Together, they have ventured far and wide, teaching yoga classes and workshops in Germany, Canada, France, Portugal and now Australia. Lacey writes fiction, nonfiction and also creates across other mediums. She has trained as an actor and studied English Literature as an MA student in Berlin. She loves spreading the path of yoga and helping people to uncover their own innate happiness and love. At the end of this year, Lacey will travel to India for six weeks of further yoga study and practice. She is grateful to her stellar teachers - past, present and future - who help to light this glorious path.

You can connect with Lacey at The Yoga Emporium or LaceyHaynes.com as well as on Facebook and Twitter.

Ahh! What a spunk, right? Do tell - what was the best, most inspiring bit for you in this interview?