I’m making it a September to Remember. So the #WCW series is BACK! The Women Crush Wednesday hashtag and social media trend is nothing new. But I am trying to reclaim that title not just for half naked celebrities or women you actually know nothing about. The women I crush over are using their womenhood, their voice and their passions to make our world brighter. I have some incredible women in my life so I am honored to share them with you. I hope you find them as inspiring as I do.

Meet Yaz.

Yaz and I met in Australia at a random hostel in a tiny beach town called Mission Beach. My brother, Jackie and I had been backpacking the east coast of Australia for almost a month and when I came to Scotty’s I was ready to relax, detox and recharge. I will never forget the moment I heard Yaz’ strong welsh accent and saw her flopping into the pool. I could tell right away she had a personality that was larger than life. We got to know each other quickly and spent a magical 24 hours on Fitzroy Island together with my older brother. It was a day I can never forget. It seems to last a whole week in my memory and I knew that day Yaz would definitely be a friend forever.

 

Our traveling paths took us separate ways but we finally reunited when I came back to the U.K. with Harry last year. Since then we have just strengthened our bond and have so many exciting things planned for the future. I’ll let her take it from here!

1. What do you think makes a woman worth “crushing” over?

I think a woman who knows who she is & is confident in herself and what she wants out of life is really attractive and very important! Also a woman who has a good sense of humour and can make me laugh is a big thing for me. If you can make me laugh, you’re halfway there! A woman who also looks after her body, and her wellbeing is an attractive trait! And if you have a nice smile too, can’t forget that

2. What do you do for a living? What is the most challenging part about it?

I’m a yoga teacher and an insurance broker!. I think the most challenging part of my life is balancing two jobs! Working full time, whilst trying to work on my yoga business too! I have a busy lifestyle but balancing life is definitely a challenge but I love it! Keeps me going and drives me too!

3. Who are three women that you look up to and have inspired you the most in your career/life ?

Well first and foremost starting with my beautiful best friend who I’m doing this blog for! SUSIE! She inspires me in so many ways, and I’m so grateful to have crossed paths with her in Australia! She has so much life, beauty and energy about her! I absolutely adore her and so excited for more future adventures & events together!

Secondly- In the yoga world, a teacher I have learnt from for the last 2 and a half years and learnt so much from. Her name is Meghan Currie, she’s a global international teacher, who is so beautiful, free spirited, incredibly strong and a very inspiring yoga teacher. She’s definitely a teacher I look up to and have learnt so much from! Along my travels it’s been so amazing so open up my laptop and learn from her as I go! She’s a beautiful teacher inside and out and has inspired me in so many ways!

Thirdly! – My Mam! Love her to pieces! Can always count on her, she’s not just my mother but my best friend too supporting me through everything! She’s forever pushing me to do my best and forever driving me. She’s there for me through everything and I don’t know what I would do without her! Love my old girl! She’s the best!

4. What is one topic you wish more women knew about on a global scale? Why?

I think the topic more women need to talk about on a global scale is sexuality. I think more needs to be talked and shared about it around the world. I think sexuality is such a broad horizon, and should be embraced more! It has a lot more depth to it then I think most people think! Whether it’s woman and woman, or man and man, or man and woman; love is love and there’s only one love!

I think a lot of women struggle and hold themselves back when it comes to sexuality and don’t talk about it. But my response is, be open, be true to you, believe in your emotions and heart, and that way you can never go wrong. Sexuality should be embraced and lived! You can’t hide who you are, and I think it’s so important to be true to ourselves. We live in a day and age where it’s accepted to love more freely and openly than we ever have. As much as we have a long way to go in some ways, I think the more we talk about it and open up on a global scale, the better it will become for other women to talk about it too!

5. What advice do you give to women who feel that they are constantly surrounded by drama in their group of friends?

My advice to women who feel they are surrounded by drama in their lives, is simply to be conscious of what women you feel good around and what women you don’t. The ones you don’t, start to distance yourself from those people, energy never lies, and you have to trust your instinct when it comes to bad vibes. We have no time for drama and division in life, life’s too short! If you’re feeling bad vibes, and you don’t feel like you’ve done anything wrong it’s their problems not yours. Simply take a breath, walk away and keep focusing on the people who make you feel good and surround yourself with those!

6. Do you believe being a strong woman with a passion for her career takes away from a woman’s ability to be a loving partner/mother/friend/sister ?

It depends. I think a woman can have a driven passionate love for her career and also be an amazing partner, wife or friend for sure! I think it’s all about balance! Being able to balance every part of your life so it works can be done if you work at it. I don’t think being business driven takes away a woman’s ability to be a loving partner or mother. I think in some cases some women can be more focused and driven with their business than others and in some instances their relationships can suffer. But at the same time, if you love that person, and they love you, it should not cause problems. If it does, maybe it’s not the right relationship to be in.

7. What is something you are really excited about currently in your own life?

I am really excited about my life in general the moment!  And I’m feeling so happy and blessed! Now more than ever, I’m feeling so happy and grateful with all the opportunities that are heading my way, from all the teaching opportunities from different places, being asked to team up with different teachers, travel opportunities also coming my way, and new exciting things that are in the pipeline  for my yoga brand! I’m super excited about what’s ahead and feel a whole lot of abundance in my life right now!

8. Why is self love an important part of being a modern day woman?

I think self love is such an important thing for the modern day woman as I think not every woman loves herself how she should. I see so many women these days rely on men and women for happiness, and it shouldn’t be that way. In order for us to find true happiness and wholeness we must begin to love ourselves openly and freely first before someone else can! We must be happy and content in our own space,and love who we are. I truly think women should embrace it and love themselves more and see the beauty in themselves too because so many don’t and it shouldn’t be that way. True happiness comes from within. Love yourself! You deserve it!

9. If you could have a lunch date with any woman on the planet, who would it be?

If I could have a lunch date with anyone on this planet, it would be hands down….Angelina Jolie! She’s a woman of so much beauty, talent and purpose, and also so giving to this world. I think she’s an incredible person, with so much beauty inside of her! She also does a lot for charity and children in third world countries around the world. I find her so inspiring and always have! She inspired me to volunteer with young orphans in Thailand. For me, this was one of the most incredible experiences of my life! She really is such a beautiful woman inside and out! I luckily had the pleasure of meeting her in Sydney 3 years ago which was incredible. She would be my dream lunch date haha! World class woman!

10. How can anyone reading this keep up with you and what you’re doing in the future?

You can follow my journey on Instagram- Yazz.yoga
And also Follow my Facebook yoga page- Yazyoga or add me on Facebook Yasmin Muzil!

Bonus: What’s one question you have for me?

What’s your advice to girls who feel lost and unsure about where they’re at in their life? Would you say travel is the answer?

This is a great question and the follow up question is doing some of the work for me. But before I answer I just want to remind anyone reading this, we ALL feel lost sometimes. We all question our path, purpose, lifestyle, relationships constantly. This isn’t a bad thing. Self reflection and awareness is a super power. It’s much better to question your life than to stay stuck in a mediocre robotic rat race that doesn’t fill your cup. But I do think there are ways to jumpstart your self discovery. Since Yaz and I met traveling in Australia both of us have continued traveling for extended periods of time and have even gone on a few adventures together too. Travel is a huge passion for both of us.

I think traveling has a way of introducing you to yourself that nothing else does. I don’t just mean going on vacation. Taking a vacation or a “holiday” with your family or girlfriends is not the same as traveling. I say this with the utmost respect. I know not everyone can swing long term travel for their lifestyle. But I am telling you if you are feeling lost, there is no better way than going to a new place and exploring, meeting people, taking in the culture, asking questions and spending time listening to the answers. It doesn’t have to be international, it can be a new place in your home country you’ve always wanted to go. Just do something NEW and fully embrace what it will teach you about yourself.  Apart from traveling I think that the best way to find what you want in life is to write. Buy a journal and start writing. Don’t worry about grammar. Don’t worry about sentence structure. Just get out the thoughts in your head. There are awesome journals you can buy that have prompts with thought provoking questions or free templates on the internet.

Writing and traveling have been my two secret weapons for connecting to myself and the world around me. Both of these get me out of my comfort zone and force me to show up with my emotions, fears, hopes and dreams.

I am really excited to share that from our beautiful friendship and shared passion for travel, healthy living and making women feel great about themselves, Yaz and I are launching our first live event together this month! If you are feeling lost and you want some guidance connecting back to yourself, please join us September 22nd at The Swansea Wellbeing Center for a juicy yoga flow with Yaz and a self-love workshop afterward which will include journaling and heart to heart conversations. If this interests you head here for more details on the event.

It’s crazy what can happen when you meet like minded., strong, and passionate women and you join together to make the world a better place. I am so grateful for you Yaz. You came into my life by accident and you’ve turned into one of my very best friends. You have such a strong energy and I have loved seeing you develop into the women and yoga teacher you are today. I want you to continue to spread your light and don’t ever doubt your brilliance. This is just the beginning of many collaborations between Yaz & Sus and I can’t wait to laugh all the way through chasing our dreams together! Fair dos. You are definitely a woman worth crushing over.