Hello,
I’m Annabel, a writer and yoga teacher from London. I’ve written features for publications including Red, Psychologies and The Telegraph. I’m the author of the memoir, Hidden: young, single, cancer. And I teach public yoga classes at the beautiful Triyoga studios in London.
About This Beating Heart
It is a privilege to have a beating heart. Not least because once I feared mine wouldn’t make it this far. As a work-focused 31-year-old architect, life threw me an unexpected twist: breast cancer. This isn’t a newsletter all about having and surviving cancer, but I begin my story with it because it was a formative experience and one which, even several years on, forms much of the bedrock of how I perceive life.
This is a letter about being alive, and all the beauty, banality and heartache that inevitably accompany it. I’m curious as to how we can live our lives as richly and creatively as possible, in spite of – or perhaps sometimes because of – the challenges we face. And how we can we inhabit our life, in its ever shifting shape, with as much presence as possible. For, in my experience, it’s through paying attention to all life’s flavours and textures (including the less desirable ones, & the ones so seemingly ordinary we barely register them) that we end up feeling more alive and, ultimately, more joyful.
Why subscribe?
You’ll receive my letters free, direct to your inbox. Or, if your inbox feels rammed, download the Substack app and read from here, instead. This is where I’ll be sharing my most honest reflections and stories , away from Instagram’s algorithms (where my posts don’t always get seen), and into what I hope will become a community space, inviting connection between all of us, via the comments.
You’ll also be the first to hear about my yoga workshops and retreats.
And I’ll keep you posted on any great finds: be it a London café or gallery, a recipe, a film or a book.
A bit more about me
I live in London with my husband and our 4-year-old son. Alongside stories, yoga, meditation and mountains, food is a great love, and my trip to the local farmer’s market a weekly highlight. Even a supermarket excites me! I like my tea very strong, and while I’m not much of a drinker, I adore a cocktail in a hotel bar with my husband. Motherhood is very precious to me, but I miss the long swathes of time I once had. On a rare spare afternoon, I’m most likely to be found alone at the cinema. Even though I no longer practice architecture, I’ll always be an architect at heart, and love wandering round a city - not least my own - discovering its hidden pockets. Which remind me how, as long as we keep our eyes open, there’s always something beautiful waiting to be revealed.
Connect with me on Instagram
Read my memoir
Take my yoga class
Visit my website
