An interview with Sarah Wheeler

Question: Hi Sarah, thank you so much for sharing a little of your journey with me. Please can you tell us where in the world are you based and what geographic area do you cover with your work?

Answer: I’m based in Hove, East Sussex and I work in Brighton and Hove and East Sussex.

Question: How were you inspired to start your business?

Answer: I’ve been lucky enough to meet some really excellent yoga teachers and mentors while exploring my own yoga practice, and these women inspired me to just think for 1 tiny moment that, yes, I could be a yoga teacher. This thought had crossed my mind a few times but I kept it VERY private because back in my 20s, what I call the curse of too much and not enough kept me pretty shackled. I didn’t think I was bendy enough, calm enough, inspiring enough, strong enough and did not have my life sorted enough to be a yoga teacher.

As I kept coming back to Yoga practice (not only the physical aspects but the meditation, breathwork and behavioral observances) I discovered that my thoughts about not being enough were what in yoga are called Samskaras-habitual thoughts or behaviors. Some Samskaras are useful (like knowing where the bathroom is and how to use it!) but disempowering thoughts are certainly unhelpful to discovering the kick ass person who already is part of us, but is kept bound up by believing she is not enough.

So when I qualified to teach Yoga back in 2019, and was pondering on what to call the kind of yoga that leaves us nurtured and not totally spent, the kind that had me discover my own Enoughness, alongside the numerous benefits of yoga, You’re Enough Yoga was born.


Question: How much do you love what you do?

Answer: I feel enormously lit up by sharing yoga with people as a pathway for living into and expressing their unique Enoughness.

Question: That is beautiful… I am so glad you are doing what you love and I am sure that everyone you help feels your passion for helping them embrace their Enoughness. Now, may I ask. . . how were you inspired to become an author?

Answer: This is something that I speak to in my first book Shadow and Rose: A Soulful Guide for Women Recovering from Rape and Sexual Violence. I’d always had a funny feeling that I’d write a novel one day but I also had a ton of excuses about not having enough time, no formal creative writing training and a worry that nobody would want to read it even if I did somehow write a book-there’s those not-enoughs again!

Those worries became insignificant when I sat down at my laptop to start writing Shadow and Rose. I refer to my book as She because the words were coming through me but she is an entity of her own and now has a life of her own now that she’s out in the world and women are finding her. She and I no longer gave a f**k about lack of writing experience. She and I brought the words together to share my recovery story and guidance which all began as very scrappy journal entries in the aftermath of being sexually assaulted and raped in 2016 and 2017. At the start of my own recovery I could not find a book like Shadow and Rose, so I wrote it for the me that needed it in 2016 and for the millions of women healing from the patriarchal wound of sexual violence. 


Question: Such a wonderful way to help others through deeply challenging trauma. If you could go back to a point in your life when you were facing a challenge, what inspirational advice would you give yourself?

Answer: In my recovery from sexual violence I was very angry. I reflect on this in Shadow and Rose. I like to envisage myself back then and with me as I am now, imagine putting my arm around myself and saying “ feel ALL the feelings. Let them in because the way out is through. You have the capacity to feel it all and alchemise it. And when you feel that you can’t, ask for help.” Oh, and “It’s OK to be angry.”


Question: Yes, it is so important to give ourselves permission to feel how we feel. Okay so moving back to your yoga business. . . tell us how your business inspires your customers!

Answer: I’ve heard from feedback that my yoga classes feel particularly welcoming to beginners, or people returning to yoga after a long while away from their practice. I have been told that I teach in both a compassionate, laid-back style which offers challenges that people often do not realise they are challenged by. One person may be challenged by learning to hold a balance on one foot, another person may be challenged by being still and witnessing their breath.

I aim to teach with a focus on the fact that you are enough already. You are enough WITHOUT coming to Yoga class or learning how to do a supposedly perfect Downward Facing Dog, you are enough without sitting in silent meditation. AND, if you do explore cultivating your yoga practice you will receive insights from the quiet voice inside you about patterns that may hold you back in life such as, how come you doubt yourself, what niggly thoughts repeat like a broken record in your mind that make you believe you are not already enough. What we learn on the yoga mat is intended to be transferred into our wider life. I love hearing clients tell me that they are learning to listen to their bodies, slowing down from madly rushing through life giving everything 1000000% all the time, in favour of remembering that they are enough already



Question: Now, tell us, in your words. . . how your books inspire your readers!


Answer: I feel so proud of the women who choose to read Shadow and Rose because it is a huge powerful step to empower oneself in the recovery after sexual violence. Readers tell me that not only is Shadow and Rose helping them recognize and disclose their sexual trauma, but other traumas that have occurred in their lives. Readers tell me that Rose is helping them be more open during therapy, while others get inspired to honour themselves by setting boundaries to help them heal.

My next book called Enough! Healing from Patriarchy’s Curse of Too Much and Not Enough inspired an impromptu chat about the damage of patriarchy between somebody reading one of Enough!’s drafts, and her young son! 


Question: You clearly want to help others. Knowing you aren’t alone in something and that there is light at the end of the tunnel means a lot. What is a typical problem someone you work with might be facing and how do you guide them back into the light?

Answer: In the context of Shadow and Rose, women are reading the book in various stages of recovery after sexual violence. Sexual violence, particularly rape, is less about sex than it is about power, an attempt to rob the survivor of their power. I want Shadow and Rose to be a guide for women to reclaim their power, to shine light on their heart and bloom into their power. The book includes a 10 week Yoga Nidra program to allow women to land and feel back into their body, reclaiming their right to rest and recuperation. I also offer guidance on practical topics around sexual violence recovery such as reporting and disclosure, seeking professional therapy and what kind of therapy to beating up a pillow to let out the rage. 


Question: Please give us an inspirational tip or quote to inspire others!

Answer: You are enough, so stop giving so many f**ks.

Question: Now please give me some key words about what your business represents and how people feel when they work with you. I will make your key words into a graphic.

Answer: . . .

Question: As people we are always evolving and learning things on our life journey. Where do you find inspiration?

Answer: Nice Question. I find inspiration in facing things that scared me in the past, doesn’t mean I have to love those things but fronting up to them and acknowledging being nervous is an authentic act. At age 38 I have just renewed my provisional driving license and driving scared the shit out of me as a teenager. By the time this post goes out I will have probably been behind the wheel again!

Question: Businesses are always evolving too… what are you inspired to do next?

Answer: I have a vague plan for a monthly membership for You’re Enough Yoga where folks can play around with different yoga stuff, chill with guided rest and remember they are enough.


Question: Finally, what message do you have to share with the readers?

Answer: If anyone reading this feature relates to wanting to move their body with freedom, lightness and curiosity for healing and grounding I’d love to see you in one of my yoga classes.

Question: What should they do if this resonates with them?

Answer: Have a peek at youreenoughyoga.com to view my classes, one to one options, yoga events and books. You’ll find Shadow and Rose on all online retailers. For a juicy read, my next book Enough!


If you’d like to find out more about Sarah, her books and You’re Enough Yoga, follow the links below . . .

https://www.youreenoughyoga.com/

https://www.instagram.com/youreenoughyogabysarahwheeler/

https://www.instagram.com/reikirengebysarahwheeler/

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