Finding your flow…

…so you can live the life of your dreams

Imagine trusting yourself so much that you quit your job to travel the world. Imagine taking the leap before you felt ready, but doing so because you know that you were meant for a bigger, bolder, braver life. That is exactly what Emma Maidment has done – and now, with the release of your book, Find Your Flow, she is teaching you how to do it to. Supported with years of experience finding her flow, taken from being a mother, meditation and yoga teacher, we were so excited to share her story.. and know you will be too.

Emma, you quit your job to travel the world…. TELL US MORE! How, when, why?!
I had everything I thought I ‘should’ want. My dream job straight out of uni in one of the coolest companies in the tech world in Australia, opportunities to progress, lead and further my career in a big way. The people were great, the office was amazing but there was just something missing. I couldn’t put my finger on it for a long time. After some health issues it became clear: I wasn’t living in alignment, I was instead pushing ‘should’ uphill. So even though on paper it made no sense, even though they offered me more opportunity and more money to stay, I followed the whisper in my heart, quit my job and bought a one-way ticket to Europe and began my life as a yoga and meditation teacher and wellness entrepreneur. That was 11 years ago now and I’ve never looked back.

What inspired you to take the leap?
Before taking my yoga teacher training I was going to yoga before work every morning. I remember chatting to one of my teachers and hearing how she was traveling overseas for training and then running a retreat in a different country on her way back. At the time I thought ‘how nice for you’, but it sparked something in me. If she could do it, why couldn’t I?

Your book, Find your flow, is all about letting go of ‘doing’ and moving into ‘being’.. tell us, what is flow and what are some practical steps we can take to achieve it?
You have probably experienced flow state before. You’re so deeply immersed in what you’re doing that nothing else matters. There are no other thoughts, no distractions. Just you and the activity moving as one. There’s no questioning, no ‘should’, just effortlessness. This is referred to by psychologists as a state of ‘flow’. To be in a state of flow is to be so fully immersed in what you’re doing that time ceases to exist, your mind functions at its peak and the sense of pure happiness permeates every cell of your body. It sounds dreamy, but it can be your everyday experience of life when you are living in complete alignment. You begin to understand that life is happening through you, not to you. And when you’re able to let your heart guide the way, not your head, things will naturally happen for you. It’s not about trying to manifest what you want, it’s about connecting with the deepest part of yourself, listening and following the path you were designed to walk.
Living in flow is your birthright. You are always being guided by an internal ‘knowing’. The challenge is most of us attach to the ‘shoulds’ and the stories we’ve created in the mind. And so the journey becomes to free yourself of ‘should’, stop trying to be a human-doing and come back to being a human-BEING.
On a practical level it’s very simple. Get quiet. Find practices like yoga and meditation that encourage a deeper relationship with your inner being. The more you do these simple techniques the easier it becomes to listen to the inner voice that’s guiding you to your ‘flow’. Block out the noise from the outside world and go within, that’s where all the answers are.

If there is ONE thing you want to leave us with… what is it?
Alignment before action.
In a world full of doing, can you take a moment to pause, reflect, ground and centre. Action for the sake of action creates a ping-pong effect and creates burn-out. Rest is the key to creation, however it’s important not to get stuck there. Find your alignment, then take aligned action and watch how your entire life begins to flow.

Emma Maidment: Find Your Flow. Available now!

For the full article grab the October/November 2024 issue of Women’s Fitness Australia from newsagents and convenience locations. Subscribe here.