CHASING THE INTERNAL

Fliss Downes Aka The Yoga Barber

BY COLLETTE SAUNDERS

You have woken early, hydrated, consumed some nutritious breakfast, meditated on some expectations for the day, done some stretches or had a run. You feel fresh. You put on your favourite comfy work clothes, check your own hair in the mirror with a thumbs up, grab the keys and out the door.

You don’t mind the traffic at all because you are already 20 minutes ahead of time and your next favourite podcast is playing while you sip the coffee you made on the way out.

Your bookings look amazing as more of your favourite people are coming in today and you can’t wait to catch up after the last conversations you had. You’re prepared for anything really. That resilience you trained into yourself, that skillset fine-tuned over the years, and the knowledge you’ve gained to be able to engage in the most intriguing, scandalous, or even devastating conversations has you confident.

You know your projections for the week dollar-wise money in and out, that bank account is looking greener by the day thanks to that coaching you invested in. Your mental and physical health has never looked better, and your aspirations for your future are right on track!

Large numbers of people in our creative environments are living, or aspiring to live, a better work way. No longer are we sitting back allowing auto pilot to navigate us through our working lives.

Truthfully, there was a period when I was one who was swept along like a raft in a river, working endless hours in a business for a quarter of a century that toward the end felt like a weight around my neck. Travel forward to the here and now in our Industry I am listening to the purpose, focus and truths of young minds who leave indelible marks on people in their worlds.

Life doesn’t have to be hard! We have to brush that “life wasn’t meant to be easy” off ourselves because we live in a world of possibility. Make the most of it! Purpose is caught up in understanding ourselves better, and pursuing that knowledge is key.

Education in our hair industry doesn’t just stop at mechanics any more. There is a shift that has been evolving.

Whole, holistic, transformative, mindset, self-awareness, blueprints, limitless, are just some of the describing words that are thrown into our spheres as we scroll daily looking for something that makes sense out of our lived experience.

Our constructed realities are being pierced by those whose validated experience brings those who “belong” and those who are “other” together.

Fliss Downes aka The Yoga Barber has built rhythm and cadence, edging her closer to realising her deepest dream. That of helping others realise theirs!

She provides a healthy home for hair professionals and their clients within “A WHOLENESS PODCAST” which has entered 2024 with its 32nd episode! A hairdresser turned barber, yogi, and meditation teacher; she invites you to come on in!

More than a decade of industry experience had brought with it the price of her health… mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Having navigated all that and morphing through it, her podcast breaks it down with conversations with other hair professionals and specialists in the field of health and well-being.

She dives deeper into what this industry does to our minds, bodies, and souls, by empowering and inspiring not only fellow hair professionals, but our clients too. Honest, truthful, fun, and informative she gets stuck into some “juicy topics” every Wednesday.

Community and connection, no judgement or neglect, through collaboration not competition she knows exactly what she can provide the hair industry. She has changed lives based on one conversation and has learned first-hand the psychology of people.

We all base our actions on the knowledge that we hold within ourselves. So, with that in mind, let’s get into some lessons with this self-described “tough cookie” as she enhances through MOVEMENT, MEDITATION and MINDSET growth.

Who is Fliss Downes and what is your vision?

Despite myself experiencing poor mental health through mid 20’s to early 30’s, I always knew I was more than the label hairdresser/ barber. I am a deep hearted, vibrant deep thinker, resilient, crazy go-getter.

I love to adventure and explore. I’m a lover of cats, cafe crawling, travel, psychology, and I’m raising my vibrations to fall in love with life all over again.

My vision for the industry is for all hair professionals to be fully aware of who they are, know their core values, beliefs, and ethics. A place where we all look out for one another, cheer each other on and help each other grow.

This heightened state is oozed out onto our clients, impacting them and their life which passes on to their friends and family generating a movement for the greater good, for the planet.

It wasn’t until my own early days of self-growth in 2015 that I began to see that there was more! Now I am bringing this energy to the hair industry. This is UNLIMITED! My personal vision is to podcast and create retreats worldwide for those inside and outside the hair industry.

Online courses, teaching, leading, and speaking. Creating events where we move our bodies through yoga, walking, getting in the sea, saunas and cold plunges and then getting into meditation.

I have started putting things into action to have a location free business. More time, freedom, and money. The rest of the time I’ll be with the people I love doing the things I love.

How are you going to wake up the hair industry?

Now note, I have been saying “I am going to wake up the hair industry”, but the true question is, how are we collectively going to wake up the hair industry?! Through hair professionals consciously choosing to engage with what I have to offer and, in turn, what they have to offer to themselves and the world.

Think what unification that will bring to the workplace! The relationships between hairstylists and barbers! The connection between hair professionals and clients.

I see people such as Eoin McCarthy, Leigh Windsor, Jake Putan, Jack Case, some of whom have already been on my Podcast and one who will feature in the coming months, taking people on journeys of self, and self-realisation. I am only one of the many catalysts to the hair industry waking up.

The 3M Method?

MINDSET MEDITATION MOVEMENT

It’s all about the morning. Putting yourself in a positive, upbeat energetic level. Putting yourself in a higher opportunistic position to have an impactful day for yourself and for others.

To become the strongest, I have ever been mentally started with my mindset. I found the awareness that I had to change something in my life. It was recognition that I am not my anxiety, I am not my depression or suicidal thoughts.

It was my mindset that I needed to shift. From that awareness came the Meditation. I have changed the frequency. I had become unclogged by starting with small affirmations and short mindfulness meditations.

That pushed me to the realisation that this is so sustainable, so tangible and it was free. I reached a point where I realised that I needed to move my body. Short walks became longer, after that gym then adding swimming.

The 3M method is something anyone can carry with them and work with at any time of the day. Whether you’ve been in the industry for one year or for decades, this system does not discriminate.

The 3M method will “unmask”. It is such a gift, because we all play a roll, we all have different versions of ourselves, and yet we have to show up every day and be the same person day in day out for our clients and colleagues.

Through this system I want to break down the stigma of always having to put on the mask. For anyone who is struggling with keeping things down in the workplace. To feel confident to open up and feel supported amongst teams around them, instead of crashing at home at the end of the day.

Being our authentic selves through Mindset, Meditation and Movement over time allows us to go deeper into each area. It scientifically changes neural pathways. Our bodies respond.

You worry about how we treat each other in the industry. How do you want to see that portrayed differently?

Yeah, I do worry about that a lot, through my own personal experience and others expressing their personal experience. Feelings around silent topics and unhealthiness. Bullying, favouritism, unhealthy competition.

I believe this happens due to people being unhappy, not self-aware, on guard, insecure, unfulfilled, or just not satisfied with life. And I’m not saying this is only restricted to the hair industy, or to all salons or barber shops.

It’s because I have lived and breathed the hair industy for so long that I know there will be many in our industry who will relate. I believe that if we start seeing ourselves through consciousness and love, seeing others as a reflection of ourselves, then good things can happen.

Your direction of energy and envoking is expressed at a relatable level. You are intentional of what you want to project. What results do you want from your presence for people as individuals?

I wish to see individuals realising that they are not their thoughts, feelings, or emotions. That they are in control of their minds. I want to know that I have generated a shift in people’s mindsets from a state of uncertainty, unfulfillment, unsatisfied or unhappy, to a state of feeling alive again. Having a sense of direction. Being able to live in the here and now, not in the past or the future.

Your podcast is full of a variety of speakers as well as your own solo episodes. The width of topics will resonate with hair stylist and barbers alike. Where do you want your podcast to go?

The conversations my role models are publishing and putting out there are electrifying to me. Listening to podcasts has catapulted my life in a direction I never thought it would go.

I want my listeners to be utterly engaged in what my guests and myself have to share. To create thought provoking content, communication and conversations which will transpire out to humanity.

I would love to do live podcasts at Hair Industry Events, as well as live yoga and meditation classes in these settings. This would allow full engagement for those who wish to experience what I have to give.

My role models are a Rich Role, Aubrey Marcus, Steven Bartlett, Tom Bilyeu, Simon Sinek, Blind Boy Podcast, Dr Joe Dispenza, Joe Rogan, and Tony Robbin’s. I vision my podcast being among my role models, listened to all over the world, not just hair professionals but anyone and everyone.

At our first meeting in 2019 I immediately felt that this young woman possessed an innate magnetism that draws people from diverse backgrounds toward her. Whether through her compelling story telling, infectious enthusiasm, or genuine empathy, she effortlessly captivates and inspires those around her.

Her ability to connect with individuals from all walks of life stems from her authenticity and unwavering commitment to making positive impact on others.

Sign up with your email address at www.theyogabarber.com to receive news on upcoming podcasts, people, events, and free meditation program.

Fliss Downes @flourishwithfliss @theyogabarber

Collette Saunders @collettesaundershair

Founder @australianfemalebarbers @afb_recruit

Erin Matthews Photography @erinmatthews_photography