26 things about Rowie Geraerts – Yoga teacher + Life enthusiast! 

1. What’s the best advice you have ever received? Be YOUR authentic self!

2. 6 things that make you smile?

Dogs, my boyfriend, savasana, sunshine, the ocean, lazy Sundays in bed.

3. I love to cook… Everything! I love being in the kitchen, having a tonne of people over for dinner and cooking up my usual favourites or trying something new. I especially love the challenge of thinking up/cooking food that is healthy, but tasty enough for my lover (who is not so open to the healthy/raw food movement) to still enjoy.

4. A proud moment in my life was when…I completed my second Yoga teacher training certificate in India February this year. It was my 500hr certificate in Advanced Vinyasa yoga teaching and although I completed a bachelor degree with distinction at RMIT in 2011 (don’t know how I got a distinction) this definitely felt like my biggest achievement.

5. Favorite thing to do on a Sunday? Sleep in (a sleep in for me is til about 7.30am mind you) let the dogs jump into bed with us, walk down the shops to get chai and a croissant at the local café and just laze about, hopping from café to café, grassy knoll to grassy knoll. I’m pretty easy to please and just like chilling on my day off.

6. Best meal you’ve ever had…My last day in India, I was hungry beyond all hungry and after a overly long and delayed train trip to Delhi from Agra we checked into our hotel, walked around the block and found the most amazing little kitchen and ordered enough food for 10 people when there was only two of us. Traditional India fare after a 24 fast. Can’t beat it.

7. Favorite subject in school? Textiles/dressmaking and Visual communication. I had the most amazing and encouraging teachers for these two subjects, I’ll never forget their support and encouragement to let my creative self shine through.

8. I can’t stop listening to…Jack Johnson. I’ve been listening to him consistently since I was about 14. Total creature of habit.

9. Saturday night out or Saturday night in? Both. Balance:)

10. Success means…Happiness in yourself. Not in your bank account or external appearance. When you’re truly successful and happy I think that it is an inside job and one that you don’t feel the need to show to other people.

11. 2 things that make me cry…Unfriendliness. I just don’t understand why people are dickheads/so mindless sometimes (sorry I know that’s not great to say dickheads-english /writing has never been my strong point) anger spreads anger, smiles spread smiles.

12. What is normal? Normal means something different to everyone. Normal is dependant on the person, the viewer and everything. I guess it doesn’t mean anything because it’s always different therefore it really is the opposite of what the dictionary says it is!

13. Vegemite makes me want to? Smile and sing…Happy little vegemite and bright as bright can be… Have avocado, vegemite and poached eggs on toast with roast cherry tomatoes! Currently obsessed with the ‘hungry Jimbo’ at Monk Bodhi Dharma Café in St Kilda who serve a similar version.

14. I can’t live without my…The only thing I can think I’m really attached to is my yoga mat. I have a few, I just need to have a non slip one otherwise I just get too frustrated and slip – I have a sweaty practice haha. I use Jade or Lululemon mats.

15. Seinfeld or Friends? Neither. Never really been big on tv/I wasn’t allowed to watch either of these growing up haha!

16. Where do you go to relax? The beach. It is my true happy place. I can just lie on the sand or float in the ocean for hours on end without feeling guilty

17. If you were a vegetable you would be a…I guess I’d be sweet potato… because why be plain or bitter when you can be sweet, nice and loved instead!

18. Who do you want to be when you grow up?

I guess I don’t really have any role models per say or things I necessarily want to achieve. I just want to be happy and making a difference whether it’s big or small.

19. I’ll have a one-way ticket to…Tarifa, Spain. I lived in Barcelona when I was 21 but travelled around Spain a lot in that time. I spent 6 weeks in Tarifa. It is my happy place. You can see Morocco on the horizon of the beach which I think is insane, the beach is amazing there. It’s like a Spanish version of Byron Bay (my second home) it has the most wonderful down to earth vibes. I also just love having to speak/learn other languages. They speak English there… but not the best so it’s really great place to work on your Spanish!

20. What did you eat last night? Not to sound like a complete cliché but I had a homemade kale, spinach and brussel sprout salad with tahini dressing.

21. Last movie you watched… Last night I treated myself to a golden oldie; Ten things I hate about you.

22. Favorite marketplace is… Notting Hill market, in London. Vic Market, Melbourne.

23. Don’t mess with me when… I’m hungry…. It’s actually horrible how hungry I get. My boyfriend calls me completely unreasonable and carries around emergency nuts and dried fruit for me to snack on to ‘save the day’ if hunger pangs strike.

24. Things I love about Melbourne…

• The bicycle culture. I ride my bike everywhere and love how accessible everywhere is by bike.
• The food scene. Need I clarify/say more?
• The yoga scene. Having travelled a fair bit around Australia, I can honestly say Melbourne has the best and most thriving yoga scene out there.
• Family. All of my family and friends are here in Melbourne. Having lived in different parts of Aus and the world for extensive periods of time, it is really nice to plant my feet down where my family and friends are. I’m not sure if it’s something that comes with getting older or not but I appreciate them so much. My family are amazing and my friends I have known almost my entire life (I have a strong group of five friends and we have known each other since kinder (3.5years old plus my twin is in that group as well and we were wombies)

25. I just learnt…That the saying goes ‘worth my while’ – not ‘worth my wild’ I make mistakes with a lot of saying’s like that. Lewis loves to pick me up on them.

26. One word to describe you? Happy

 

Want to know more about this local Yogi, head over to People + Profiles to read our conversation with Rowie!