HAPPY DAYS
The joy ride
Listening to yourself and joining ‘the joy ride’ is what will bring you home, says Lissa Foley-Hughes. Elysia Fryer catches up with the founder of Life & Lillies, on a mission to help women bring joy, fun and adventure into their lives, amid very uncertain times
It’s a busy, deadline-looming Friday. Things seem to be cranking up a gear as the world starts to wake up again. The rush of back-to-back Zoom calls and busy weekend plans are creeping through those mindful, weekend thoughts. I started the day with a sunrise yoga practice on the beach, putting me in a positive mindset, ready for a productive day of list-ticking and deadline hitting. But as time ticks on and the 5 o’clock Friday rush approaches, it’s easy to fall back into the rush of day-to-day life. I’ve got a 3 o’clock call to squeeze in before a flurry of emails fall in and thoughts turn to how many dinner dates and brunch plans I can squeeze into one weekend. Luckily, for me, the conversation I’m about to have with Lissa Foley-Hughes, founder
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of Life & Lillies, is one that I can take into the final moments of my working week. A positive influence and a refreshing look at how you shouldn’t let life run away with you. I fire up the Zoom call and a big beaming smile is waiting on the other side. A bright and buzzy Lissa, fresh off the back of a week with the dogs in the Lake District. Lockdown restrictions are gradually being lifted and life as we know it is looking up. But as I chat about recent events with Lissa, we both agree that it’s important we continue to give ourselves the time to breathe - time to reflect and understand what it is we want from life. Like many in lockdown, life looks a lot different for Lissa, but much of what she has achieved in recent months comes down to years of research and realisation. Let’s go back to the beginning…
“Yogalillies was my original baby,” explains Lissa. “That was 15 years ago now - wow! It was my first outing into the wellness world. We were the first dedicated yoga studio to open in Newcastle,” she adds. “I guess into about year 10, I started to suffer a lot from burn-out. I didn’t realise that at the time. I didn’t know what it was because nobody talks about that in the wellness industry. There’s this pressure that you should have it all sorted out in your own head - your job is to teach it to others. “It started my exploration into why I was feeling so... the only way I can describe it is ‘blah’. I’d ticked everything off - success, business, helping people, meaningful life - all of those things that society says you need to feel like you’re living a really good life - but inside, I was very... joyless, shall we say.
“So, I wanted to find out why I was feeling that way. There wasn’t much literature out there, so I did what everybody says you should do and took a trip somewhere. I escaped for a little while to Italy. I went on a creative retreat and whilst I was there something just shifted inside. It felt like I was back to me again.” It was the lightbulb moment we all hear about. That moment in time when it all ‘just clicks’ into place; right where it should be. But admittedly, for Lissa, she had experienced this moment several times, for many different reasons, but this time it just felt different. A time to really change and listen to that ‘joyful’ voice inside. “When I came back home after that I started to do a bit of coaching - mind work that I’d never really explored on my spiritual yoga path. It wasn’t really something that was prevalent in the yoga world.
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