“As a child I loved active, repetitive activities; cycling, walking, swimming. And I loved drawing and painting and making things; sewing, knitting, crotchet, pottery, weaving, wood carving.
As an adult, I slowly became aware that somewhere in the world there were my teachers to be found. All I had to do was search for them. Fortunately I looked for them where they were. I found them easily once I began looking. I was prepared to give up everything to be their student; no more crafting, no more art, no more doing. I had the idea that Buddhist practice was about sitting silently on a cushion. I was prepared to do that.
It was a wonderful surprise to find that, within the Aro Lineage, opportunities arise for active practice and artistic practice. It has been my great good fortune to be able to study sKu-mNye and thanka painting with Ngak’chang Rinpoche and Khandro Déchen for the last 15 years. There are so many series of exercises and movements that I can only follow through with a few of them. I’ve been involved in craft projects, embroidery designs and book illustrations.
I’ve earned my living as a teacher most of my adult life. I’ve taught crafts to adults and children. I’ve taught adults with learning disabilities and, for the last 15 years, I’ve taught in Steiner schools. I am currently teacher to a class of 13 year olds in Bristol.
Teaching sKu-mNye is new for me, an opportunity that has arisen with the opening of Aro Ling. I feel both daunted and excited by this privilege and hope that students of sKu-mNye at Aro Ling will benefit as much as I have from learning these amazing practices.”
People 
