About

“Don’t worry if you feel you can only do one tiny good thing in one small corner of the world. Just be a Buddha body in that one place” Thich Nhat Hanh.

I am an Applied Mindfulness Coach and Practitioner integrating Qigong, Yoga, Exercise, Breathwork and Meditation as hands-on practices in my programs and my own life.

I run a consulting service for not for profit and community organisations as well as private enterprise businesses in the areas of community engagement and participation, event planning and facilitation, public health and wellbeing, strategic planning and program evaluation.

For over 20 years I was a professional and community environmental educator, consultant and communicator. I was also a workaholic. I earned a PhD in Adult Learning (UTS, 2004) and the insights from this sustained research still inform my work today.

At the age of 50 I stepped aside from the environmental field and re-trained as a fitness, surfing and yoga instructor. A few years later I trained as a Qigong instructor with Lee Holden Qigong. I have been hosting community classes in Fitness, Yoga and Qigong at the Oxenford Coomera Community Youth Centre for over eight years in collaboration with Communities for Children, the Youth Centre, and Active & Healthy Gold Coast. This has now become an Emotional Health & Wellbeing Hub offering in-person and online coaching.

I collaborate with my wife Jennifer Jefferies, a long-time naturopath and keynote speaker, to coach people in healthy eating, nutrition support and wellbeing.

We also host the Smart Sassy Seniors Podcast and Smart Sassy Seniors Special Events Program.

For many years I have hosted and facilitated community, public and organisational retreats in the areas of self-care, wellness, mindfulness, taking rest, streamlined surfing and creativity.

 I am a published writer and poet (my most recent exhibition was “Hanging by a Thread” in August 2021). My books include “the dharma of surfing: wisdom from the water for life” (2016) and “Surfing as a Dance: How one woman found grace in and out of the water” (2018). I’ve had a number of articles published in MindFood magazine too.

I’m also a surfer, beach runner, student of zen, and an avid journaller. I actively integrate stillness and movement practices in my life. During 2020-2021 I undertook professional and personal development in Trauma Informed Practice, Gentle Somatic Yoga, Creative Community Recovery and Rites of Passage as I engaged with my own need to address nervous system overload. I love to laugh and play; and I am also surrendered to the huge benefits of rest, stillness, meditation and quietness. I am learning to hold this paradox a little more gracefully each day…