Down to Earth: Aoife Kavanagh
Today, we’re getting into the flow state with Aoife Kavanagh, an Irish-born, Melbourne-based yoga teacher. Aoife usually teaches at Good Vibes Studio in Collingwood, but today we’re in nature, a place that feels like home to her.
The morning is quiet, cold, and misty amongst the ferns in the Royal Botanic Gardens. It’s chilly enough to see your breath and with the sounds of chatty birds, the rushing stream and occasional breeze, it feels like Mother Earth is breathing back.
We’re in the city but you wouldn’t know it under a cathedral of green in Melbourne’s urban oasis. Matching the environment perfectly, on her feet, Aoife wears Kumo Earth, the shoe inspired by the quiet, grounding energy of nature itself. Stooped on some rocks, we talk about her connection with Mother Earth, community and following the breadcrumbs of life.
Rollie: Our collection is inspired by the energies we feel in our lives, each shoe representing a specific energy. Kumo Earth (the shoe you’re wearing) is inspired by the feeling of being connected to earth, to Mother Nature, of being centred and grounded. How does being in this energy make you feel, what does it mean to you?
“I love this question. I’ve chosen the path of yoga as a full-time career and I feel like the most valuable part to me is the actual essence of connection: firstly, to self, to your inner world and how that shows up on the mat. But then how we can carry that into the rest of our lives: how we’re connecting to the land around us, to people, to community. That’s the essence of it.”
Rollie: We wanted to work with you because for us you truly embody this energy (calm, supportive, patient and in flow) and you bring this energy to your classes and community. How would you describe yourself, who you are and why you do what you do?
“It’s so hard to talk about yourself. If it was anyone else, I’d be like, oh my gosh, they’re amazing, they’re this and this and this! But I’d say I pride myself on how I take care of the land and how I interact with the world through conscious decisions and choices. Getting into nature certainly helps me feel really grounded and centred in intention.”
Rollie: You moved from Ireland to Melbourne. What drew you here and when did your love for yoga and meditation first hit? Did that love travel with you, or is it something you found once you landed?
“My love for yoga first hit when I was about 19 and it’s travelled with me ever since: I’ve woven it through Canada, New Zealand and now here. It’s been a long road, just following the breadcrumbs of life and that’s what’s led me to Melbourne. I never thought I’d end up living here and I’m so grateful that I get to. There was a pull: the scene, everyone doing fun, gorgeous, exciting things and such a strong sense of community and connection. We’re so lucky that nature is peppered right through Melbourne, in these small, easily accessible pockets: living near Merri Creek, having the Botanic Gardens close by. When I lived out in Warrandyte, I felt so connected to the land and the river there, and it reminded me of Ireland in a way (connected to nature, but a totally different landscape). Ireland is more low-lying moss, little fairy land, weeping willows. Very different, but both beautiful.”
Rollie: Meditation, yoga, breathwork: they are all ways for us to get out of our heads and back into the body, to slow down and connect when we need to come back to ourselves. How important is it for us to do this, especially in the world we live in today, at times often cut off from nature, our heads and minds disconnected from our bodies?
“I find it’s the most important thing: how can I show up for myself, so I can then show up greater for others? The most important thing we have in life is how we relate to people, to cultivate strong relationships. So how can I take care of myself, so I’m being the best version of me to hold space for others? Yoga has this beautiful ripple effect: you think it’s just a 60-minute class, but you take that into traffic, into how you move around the world and interact with people. It’s super important. Everyone needs to do it. Breath is the easiest way to access the depth of presence. Even now if I asked you ’can you hear your breath? Can you feel your breath?’ just hurls you into your body’s experience of now.”
Rollie: Your practise involves holding space for other people’s energy every single day. What does it mean to you to do this for a living? How do you protect your own energy while you’re giving so much of it away?
“That’s such a lovely reflection. It’s always a reminder of why I come back to yoga, of how much I’ve missed the practice if I’ve been teaching too much and need to pull back. The studios I’ve worked at have been incredible; they really allow you to prioritise yourself and your own practice too. Getting into nature, practising as often as I can, has been key for me. It’s taken a while to figure out. I’ve been teaching for over ten years now and at the beginning, you have to test what burnout feels like as a yoga teacher. There’s a real juxtaposition in that: teaching something so down-regulating to others while burning yourself out. Eventually you find that spot and you learn how many classes you can teach while still taking care of yourself.”
Rollie: Where do you go now to feel most grounded, most connected to nature (here in Melbourne or back in Ireland)?
“I had a really gorgeous experience recently. I had just come back from Ireland, near my mum’s cottage, where there is a running creek and a sacred well at the end of it. You light a little candle, wrap a ribbon around it and it’s just a moment of mindfulness. I can’t fly back to that well often, so when I’m in Melbourne, I feel so grateful to live right near Merri Creek. Just a stroll in nature there - it’s really nice.”
Rollie: Our campaign is called ‘About the Energy.’ We’ve spoken about your energy, but whose energy inspires you?
“It’s hard for me to pinpoint one specific person. I couldn’t be more grateful for the community around me, for the yoga teachers who’ve dedicated their careers, their lives, their days to this work. It’s really lovely to be inspired by them constantly.”
Aoife teaches yoga and meditation at Good Vibes Studio in Melbourne. We took her out of the studio and into Fern Gully to shoot this campaign. She wears Kumo Earth, available now in-store or online.