MY ISLAND STORY | YOGA TEACHER + MARKETING LEAD OLIVIA HAZLITT
After graduating from Durham University, Olivia Hazlitt, our Yoga Teacher and Marketing Lead moved to the Isle of Wight to join Balance + Glo. Against the tide of her peers heading down to London in droves the beaches were calling!
Read all about how Liv found herself on the Island and her favourite spots.
Why the Isle of Wight?
The Isle of Wight has always been a holiday destination for me and my family, my parents actually had their first date on the Island! Then around 4 years ago my family got a holiday home in Brook on the west side of the Island. It was my mum that originally introduced me to Balance + Glo because she’d gone to Jenny and Evelyn’s “Strengthen + Flo” classes at Tapnell Farm. Since then, every summer we all loved going to SUP Yoga and Balance + Glo events.
As part of my degree in Italian & Spanish I had a year abroad and decided to use part of it to do my Teacher Training Course in Italy. I then headed back to uni a newly qualified yoga teacher. It was around then that Jenny was pregnant with little Freddie and asked me to cover her online Balance + Glo yoga class. From my tiny uni flat I zoomed in each week for the B+G members!
After graduating, I moved my job-less self to the island for the summer to teach some amazing beach yoga sessions and then in September I started my Marketing role with B+G and decided that the Island life was for me!
Best thing(s) about living on the island
There is something pretty unbeatable about a mid-week stroll down to the beach having taught a morning class for a dip in the sea. There is something rebellious about living on the island – it’s a slower life but no less invigorating!
There is something very yogic about island life, the community collaboration, the appreciation of nature, the small businesses, and Jurassic history.
Your favourite places on the island
Being a west wight girl here are my favourite spots on “this side”:
1. Freshwater Coffee House
You’ll find me in here with my laptop a lot. It’s a proper community hub, the staff are amazing they welcome absolutely everybody, the coffee is ace and the brunch is delicious.
2. Fuoco pizza
Having spent a considerable amount of time living in Italy it’s safe to say I’m a pizza snob. Fuoco pizza do amazing, authentic tasting pizzas and they are also lovely people. My ideal evening is a fuoco takeaway sat on Freshwater or Colwell Bay to watch the sunset.
3. Freshwater Bay
Swimming at Freshwater Bay just can’t be beaten especially on a warm, still summer’s morning. The water is crazy clear and there’s a lovely community of swimmers each morning.
