Life has a way of throwing you tough circumstances, but the upside is that when you conquer those circumstances, what awaits you can be likened to bliss; pure bliss.
Back in 2004, I was all about outdoor living and I loved water skiing. I had an accident that changed the course of my life. During one of my water – skiing sessions, the rope wrapped around my legs, it cut deep into my muscles. My left leg was badly hurt. It was an incident that set me on my life changing path. My goal was to find a way to completely heal and restore functionality to my legs especially my left leg.
Start of the journey
I started my journey first by learning Pilates, as suggested by a chiropractor. I studied Pilates in the USA and opened my first Pilates studio in South Africa, which I ran for about 10 years. Little by little, I found myself travelling round the world to obtain both Vinyasa and Yin Yoga accreditation. I later went back to the USA to study under John F Barnes, improving my knowledge of the Myofascial system. Over time, I have come to appreciate the flow and movement of the human body.
Be-Bliss
It’s fair to say that I have probably spent the past 15 years in yoga pants. They were my regular outfit of choice long before it was cool to wear yoga pants everywhere. Yoga is now mainstream, but back then the market was still small and designs were more subdued. Yoga leggings were mostly made to suit the perfect bodies of models while lacking the practicality and functionality for doing actual yoga.
My love of art and movement led to a place of purpose. “art that you can wear”, the concept for be-bliss was born. Feelings one gets after a yoga session or when admiring art transcendent and can only be likened to bliss; pure bliss. A state of happiness beyond measure.
I designed the product ultimately for myself, with great attention to detail and quality. Through our designs, we want people to be free to be their most authentic selves, to not be afraid to stand in their own truth. This philosophy served as the standard for our artists to create inspiring designs.
To honor the injury of my left leg, all the artwork is done on the left leg of the yoga pants . It’s my way of showing gratitude and acknowledging my journey so far and also what is to come.
My hope for every customer is that they feel the passion and experience the quality of the design as they go about their daily lives. They will also live with the knowledge that their purchase goes a long way in helping young and upcoming artist grow and blossom in a previously unattainable market.
Throughout my journey, I have been led by intuition and fear sometimes creep in and I ask myself, “what are you thinking”, but it has all come together nicely. All the tears of frustration were all worth it, because I couldn’t wish for a better end product.
May my products and designs inspire self-belief every time they are worn.