Traditionally the Three of Cups is a card of celebration. It embraces the energy of good friends, who love each other unconditionally and who are sharing a moment of sheer joy. Times are good when we have each other. The essence of this card is one of genuine friendship, and a feeling that together with our friends, we have all that we need.
The image on the Lightseers Tarot Three of Cups says it all. Arm in arm three women are dancing, under a star filled night, across a verdent field.
Take a peek at Wendy’s instagram @wendy_hansford_yoga and you find her celebrating her ‘epic women’s tours’ and Yoga Classes at her Awakening Yoga Studio. Examine the photographic evidence before you and you are left in no doubt that that Wendy and the team who join her on one of her overseas excursions to Turkey are having an exhilarating time together.
They say that a picture is worth a thousand words and there are thousands of words associated with these happy pics
What was the inspiration?
When you meet Wendy in her administrative role in the local Podiatrist Clinic, while you may pick up on her charismatic personality, there is no way that, as is the case with most people, you could imagine the events that have bought her from her day job with the ANZ Bank to managing three quite distinct roles as – Administration/Yoga Teacher/Tour Guide. Plus this driven woman also manages to be a Mother/Wife/Grandmother and so much more.
Titles rarely tell us about the person who stands in front of us do they? One has to dig a bit further to find out what induces someone to throw in a the security of a permanent position, take a hatchet to much of who they have been perceived to be, and completely reinvent themselves. In Tarot terms it is the classic Tower moment that leads to this kind of transformation.
“I was 52 and unhappy in a corporate job that offered no real direction, doing what was expected of me. Things changed one day when I didn’t balance my cash by $50. I decided I couldn’t do this any more, packed my things and left, never to return.
Some might say this was the Fool’s leap but she did have sixteen weeks sick leave and so she could decide to wait and see what happened. She decided to go overseas for five weeks with a friend. They went to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia and Turkey and she had the time of her life. It was there that she saw herself going home, quitting her 20 year banking career and waiting to see what life had planned for her.
Scary and emotional as this was at the time, she felt that she finally knew what she didn’t want to do.
I knew that I wasn’t going to do anything that was everyday, expected and that I was only going to do things that lit me up. To pull this off I had to be determined and selfish and you know what? I have not regretted my crazy decision for a second”
In 2016 and 2017 Wendy booked a 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training course in Edinburgh and traveled solo. Upon her return she taught Yoga and a tour guide asked her why she didn’t take a Yoga group to Turkey. Initially she resisted this notion on the basis that she didn’t want the responsibility, but then came the offer you cannot refuse and she decided to accept the support being offered. She decided to go and see what happened.
Now Wendy has a busy schedule taking women to places like India, Turkey and is planning a trip to the UK and Ireland. She is very clear about her purpose in planning and offering these trips.
“My purpose is to empower women. I want to show them that if I can do it they can too. I infuse them with self confidence by giving them permission to do whatever they want. It is a lot of hard work but I am driven and have good people to help me.”
To Join a Tour or Yoga Class
- Awakening Yoga Castlemaine
- Links to Facebook, Tours and Yoga courses
- Instagram: @wendy_hansford_yoga
- wendyhansford1@gmail.com
Waltzing With Matilda's 