holly terry
Share a little about yourself...
Hi! I’m Holly.
I’m an artist and a yoga teacher. I live with my partner, Tim, my best friend, Sarah and my pup, Billie. My favourite pass times change on the daily! At the moment in isolation, it’s finding second-hand lamps, painting the shades and baking and eating Keep It Cleaner Choc Nana muffins. I go mad for them.
Can you share a little of your journey into art and yoga teaching..
Yes! Both parts of my life were very separate and stop-started repetitively for the better half of 10 years. I used to paint when I was younger but took a break while studying, thinking I might become a corporate woman. It actually wasn’t until I began my Yoga Teacher Training with Good Vibes Yoga that my teachers and peers helped me build the confidence to paint as more than just a creative outlet. After my YTT I went back to full time recruitment work. Although it was a great environment, I knew quickly it wasn’t going to to stimulate my mind and heart. I then worked on developing my own business of teaching and painting. The journey into both fields as a career is very much intertwined, and both have been interesting challenges during the coronarama drama.
Your paintings and yoga practice speak beautifully to one another - can you share a bit about this relationship?
When I re-discovered my creative side after a little hiatus, I was mainly painting the female form in no particular posture. I was doing my YTT when one of my beautiful peers called my work ‘yoga art’, it was then I began to see the asana in most of my works. She actually saw it before I did! Since that day, I’ve been exploring both subtle and non-subtle yogic practices with colour, tone and line throughout my work.
Different people inspire me every day! From an art perspective, I’m a sucker for photography that captures the human body. Make it a yoga photoshoot with strong asana and I’m done. But probably most of all, my own yoga practice and those that teach me are my main source of inspiration from a teaching perspective, a creative perspective and just general life. My teachers teach me a lot beyond asana!
What is your Yoga practice like in your everyday life… do you have any poses that help you feel the most grounded?
To feel most grounded, pranayama breathwork is definitely key for me. I use it to cool my overactive nervous system most days. I definitely know it when I don’t practice.
A staple for me is sama-vritti breathing, Sanskrit for ‘same-same’, or ‘equal breath’. It’s a simple inhale for the count of four, exhale for the count of four through the nose. At a minimum, I’ll practice this for five to ten minutes at a time.
In terms of asana, nothing gets me more into my own body than a very challenging practice. I love asana that focuses on the spine and opening through the chest. Back-bending and chest openers have been really important for me during isolation. Gotta’ keep the love flowing!
We would love to know a little about your journey into Womanhood, have there been any defining moments?
Haha! It was rocky. I think I was a bit of a shit as a teenager! Though, as I moved into adulthood, I did spend a lot of time exploring new things. I went through many jobs, a lot of travel and attempted four university courses (and completed one). Some people might have seen it as a ‘millennial’ thing, but I see it now as finding my feet. All of the exploration has helped me figure out who I am and where I fit as a young woman.
Do you have any daily self care or ritual practices..?
I’ve never been one for self care practices from a products perspective. I don’t have much of an idea about skin care and beauty rituals. I place a lot of emphasis on what goes inside my body, viewing what I eat and how I move my body as my own form of self care. Big practices for me are daily movement (either yoga, lifting weights or trying to run) and probably most importantly, to sit down in a quiet space with a big mug of hot cacao packed with mushies, grass fed butter and collagen.
If you had one message for your younger self, what would it be?
I honestly feel like I think of new messages for my younger self, every day. I’m still navigating and learning, and there are definitely days when I don’t feel like I know much about much. ‘Always a student’ is an important mantra I try and come back to when I’m feeling a little ungrounded.
The biggest message I would have given my younger self, though, is probably to be the most authentic I can be. One of my teachers, Jennalea McInnes is very big on this. It’s something that I am absolutely still working on and exploring. Some days authenticity comes easier than others.
Connect with Holly, her art and yoga practice -
