First of all a very big fat sorry to everyone who was wondering just where the hell did I get to. I did want to have a big thing to say goodbye but I’m terrible at goodbyes so I took the easier option and snuck out the Yoga Manchester back door*. So where am I ? I’m in the good ol’ U S of A – Los Angeles to be precise and before you go all W.T.F on me , let me explain.
In January 2015 my wife’s company Vidal Sassoon asked her if she wouldn’t mind relocating to Los Angeles to be the Creative Director at the Beverly Hills salon ( my wife is a pretty fancy smancy hairdresser ). It was a dream come true for her as she loves L.A. having spent a good deal of time in the City. So last April we did a 3 week reconnaissance mission to see if it was possible – especially with a 2 year old daughter. And to cut a long story short we decided to go for it – who am I to stand in the way of my wife’s dream eh !
So we’ve now been here 4 months and let me tell you it ain’t been a bed of roses – far from it. Lots and lots of bureaucratic hoops to jump through. For me personally it’s been perhaps the hardest 4 months of my life. Due to the laws here I had to apply for a work permit before I could get my yoga freak on, and this has dragged on and on and on. So during this waiting game I’ve been playing I have been looking after Boo my 2 year old daughter which without wanting to sound like a right drama queen has been extremely difficult. Yes I thought it’d be easy peasy to babysit my own flesh and blood for a few months after all my 2 hours of yoga and an hour of meditation every day gives me the patience of a saint. Well not quite. I managed just one week before I had just a few strands of hair left as I’d pulled most of it out. Yikes, child care was no easy ride let me tell you!! Within a few weeks Boo was in day care 3 days a week– which to be honest was great for her to be playing with kids her own age rather than her grumpy father.
There’s a great book called ‘Wherever you go, there you are’ by mediation teacher Jon Kabitt-Zinn ( a must read for anyone who breathes ) (i.e. that means everybody including you!). And nothing puts that title into perspective more than my last 4 months – yes I’m in LA , yes the sun shines pretty much every day , but I’m still Matt Ryan , I still have the same nonsense going round my head that was going round my head when I was in Manchester. My yoga & meditation practices that help to ease the grip that nonsense has on my mind continue daily – they are both lifelong commitments.
Finally just last week my work permit has been issued and I can start to teach yoga over here – yippee !! I’ve set up a new website www.mattryan.yoga – so if you are ever in the area look me up and come and say hello and if you’ve got any ‘mates in the states ‘ pass them my number!
See you on the flipside y’all !
PS And don’t think you’ve got rid of me that easy , I’ll be pestering you all with regular LA updates let you all know what I’m up to , give you the low down, man !
* Even though I crept out the back door , I did it with the knowledge that the good ship Yoga Manchester would be kept sailing beautifully with some of the best Yoga teachers not only in Manchester but the UK – a big shout out to Marie , Lianne , Paul , Charlene , Hannah and Teresa.