YOGA BY MICKEY MUNROE

Mickey hits you with her energy, enthusiasm for life and her thick Glaswegian accent that she has never lost.

I was aware of Mickey when she was a young model, although I never worked with her, her energy shone through in the magazine that she graced. Later in life she had her 3 boys, worked in a different industry so I lost sight of her wonderful smiling face. However at 54 she started modelling again and is such an inspiration to all women showing us all that age shouldn’t be a barrier to anything. 

Mickey at the same time had a passion for Yoga and the effect it had not only on her physical health but mental health too, she has been practising yoga for over 25 years and teaching for 14 and as she has seen the benefits of this incredible practise she runs classes in North London and retreats nationwide. I asked Mickey some questions on her daily practise of yoga.  

1 WHAT HAS LED YOU TO BEING A YOGA TEACHER IT’S A LONG WAY FROM BEING A MODEL?

I have been practising yoga for almost 30 years, it is not something I do, it is something that is who I am. After a career in the fashion industry of 30 years I made a conscious decision at 50 that my next path led elsewhere. I decided to take a leap of faith.

It’s funny how things move in cycles IM back modelling now as well, after a 25year break!!! Which I love because I want to be a positive inspiration in media for women my age, over 50. All women are subjected to constant pressure about how they look and what they do, I want to encourage an ideal that is from the inside out, not the outside in.

2 TELL ME WHAT SORT OF YOGA YOU TEACH AND FOR THOSE OF US THAT HAVE NOT DONE IT, HOW DOES IT HELP YOU FIND BALANCE IN OUR BUSY LIVES.

Yoga is not something that we “do” like meditation it is not an action to fix something, it is a practice that helps us remember who we really are and that is what helps us understand our life, the response to the circumstances that life presents to us good or bad.

3 HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN PRACTISING YOGA AND WHAT LED YOU TO THIS PLACE,  WAS IT GETTING BALANCE IN YOUR LIFE? I KNOW FROM EXPERIENCE BEING IN THE FASHION INDUSTRY IT CAN BE SO OUT OF BALANCE

30 years. Back then I didn’t really understand or know what “finding balance “ was. In the 90’s that wasn’t really a “thing” like it is today. Yoga has always connected me to my physical self. Perhaps being in the fashion industry, we are very aware of the physical self, we are all creatives, and that I think makes us challenge the normal. Yoga was certainly not normal, being a vegan and a macrobiotic in 1990 wasn’t normal.

4 DO YOU DO THIS DAILY FOR YOURSELF AS WELL AS INSTUCTING OTHERS?

Yes, I love going to a yoga class with my favorite teachers, it’s the best thing!!

5 DO YOU HAVE ONLINE CLASSES AS WELL AS RUNNING RETREATS, AND RE YOUR RETREATS HOW OFTEN DO THEY RUN?

My next retreat is in January at Voewood in Norfolk, you all HAVE to come it is amazing. More of a wellness weekend , there is no pre requisite to have done yoga before. But a retreat is a fun,activity weekend with a very positive outcome.

Yes I teach personal training the yoga way. I have developed a “fit Over 40” programme , check it out on my website you can book a trial session there.

6 YOU HAVE DEVELOPED A CLOTHING LINE TO RUN ALONGSIDE YOUR YOGA WAS IT IMPORTANT THAT IT WAS SUSTAINABLY SOURCED, CAN YOU TELL US WHAT MAKE IT SO DIFFERENT.

With a long history in clothing production I developed a small sustainable brand which has now sold out. At this point it is not a source of development for me and my business. Since the pandemic I have a CBD business now online and look to develop more into wellness products for beauty and living.