Jo De Rosa knows a thing or two about helping people transform their lives and manifest their dreams. She has first hand experience having moved from an abusive relationship, boring jobs, bankruptcy and countless destructive addictions, to discover a whole new life doing what she loves. A yoga and meditation teacher for over 20 years, Jo now runs her own holistic retreat centre from her home – a stunning 16th Century Grade Two listed Tudor house in the beautiful idyllic village of Lavenham, Suffolk. She loves what she does and is incredibly passionate about her work. She says: “I wake up in the morning and know I am going to help people on their personal journey towards a healthier, happier life. And when I go to bed, I do so in the knowledge that I’ve absolutely done the best I can do to help them reach their full potential.”
1. How are you ‘doing what you love’?
I feel like the luckiest person in the world to be doing what I am right now! I have taken my passion in life and created a successful business around it, working full-time in the job of my dreams.
To be able to help and inspire others to believe in themselves, and to teach people how to be happy and healthy really is the best job I can imagine.
2. Your inspirational book If you could have anything… what would it be? is an autobiographical tale. Tell us how you came to replace your unhealthy addiction to drink, drugs and cigarettes with a healthy addiction to yoga, meditation and clean living.
The past 20 years have been a real journey for me, and it is the experience of ‘waking up’ that I have written about. Yoga was the tool that supported me all the way through, so it is only right that it is yoga that I provide to others to help them also get in touch with their inner worlds. I host ‘Control Addiction’ five-day residential retreats, Control Addiction coaching, and also a monthly meeting: all based on yoga philosophy. Now it’s my turn to help others get unstuck from the dark world of addiction.
3. You started your business, Inner Guidance, in Koh Samui, Thailand. Why Asia and what inspired you to start your own business?
In April 2000 I arrived in Thailand with a one year visa, planning on staying for a long holiday and ending up living there for six years! I fell in love with Thailand: the people; the food; weather; and culture, and needed to do something after six months of lying on the beach! I saw back then that there were no clothing shops run by “farangs” (Westerners), only Thai people, and obviously I knew what Westerners wanted to spend their holiday cash on. So I set up my shop selling clothing made from linen, cotton and hemp grown in Chiang Mai. I also sold semi-precious stones and jewellery with lots of information about the properties of each. My hemp flip-flops which I sewed stones onto were an instant hit, and I became very well known for them!
Above the shop was my yoga studio, and it’s here that I first started teaching classes to locals and tourists in 2001.
Jo’s ‘Inner Guidance’ shop and yoga studio, Koh Samui
4. During your journey to become a yoga teacher you stayed in the ashram in India. What was this like? Did you have any big lightbulb moments?
I love India! And one month in an ashram was an awesome experience. At that time I was still heavily addicted to cigarettes and partying, and being within a very strict daily timetable was the exact discipline I needed. We were woken up very early in the morning while it was still dark for meditation, and one hour later when I opened my eyes in the temple it was light… wow! It was an amazing daily ritual and a practice I carry through to this day. Meditating first thing in the morning, before anyone else is up, and before the day gets going, keeps me focused throughout the day.
India is magic, and I return whenever I am able to. India teaches you tolerance, acceptance, trust and the art of letting go – all in the same day!
5. How did you become involved with the Tibetan Buddhist movement in Dharamsala? What impact has this had on you personally, and on your teaching?
Whilst I was in India I wanted to see the Himalayas so went up to Dharamsala when I left the ashram in Kerala. It was wonderful to visit both the southernly tip and the mountains of the north, and experience the contrasts in food, weather and culture. A friend took me to see His Holiness The Karmapa (who I had never heard of) and the experience had a profound affect on me; something that is very hard to put into words. When I looked into this person’s eyes there was a connection that I cannot explain, but it shook me to my core. I spent the next four months going to his teachings twice a week, and learning as much as I could from this wise soul. When I came back to India later I took refuge with His Holiness The Karmapa, and he gave me my Buddhist name ‘Karma Choekyi’.
Of course being a Buddhist has changed me, but it actually feels that I am now more ‘me’; like I’ve come home. And that is a wonderful feeling.
6. You believe that yoga is a complete lifestyle – what do you mean by this?
There are eight ‘limbs’ to yoga, with the physical postures being just one. Yoga is everything, it is our attitudes which turn into our beliefs, our beliefs that turn into our thoughts, thoughts that turn into our words, which turn into our actions, which become our destiny. We have control over everything, and as soon as we empower ourselves and stop being a victim we can be and have anything we wish for. Life is for living, and both yoga and Buddhism have guided me out of struggle and into a much happier and contented life.
Daily morning yoga
7. Tell us more about the Inner Guidance Retreat Centre you run in Lavenham, Suffolk…
Everything I’ve learnt in the past 20 years is now included in the education of an Inner Guidance stay! We are wheat, gluten, sugar, dairy and alcohol free. You can come on a mini-retreat, a full-retreat, a Control Addiction retreat, learn about manifesting, join a raw chocolate making class, or just join us for a yoga session.
Yoga class
Morning meditation is part of the package, along with super-healthy meals prepared by my husband, ‘clean-chef’ Dominic. Staying with us is an experience, and everyone leaves feeling a little bit different (some a lot!).
Jo and husband Dominic outside their retreat
Inner Guidance Retreat
Gorgeous accommodation at the Inner Guidance Retreat
Inner Guidance yoga studio
Inner Guidance dining room
8. What if people can’t get to Suffolk, can you support them online?
I have my ‘Online Meditation Course’ which can be done anywhere in the world, and I’ve also just launched an ‘Online Yoga Course’. Dominic is also currently producing the ‘Inner Guidance e-Recipe book’, so we offer a great deal of online support. We are very active on our Facebook page and you can ask us anything here!
9. What does sharing and community mean to you?
I only teach what I have myself experienced, and I have quite literally gone from bankruptcy, abuse, low self-esteem and addiction to living the dream. My job now is to share that knowledge, in fact, it is my responsibility! How could I keep this amazing information to myself and not share it with the world! That’s why I wrote the book, and why I now have the retreat centre where people can come and immerse themselves in self-belief, get inspired, and then change their lives for the better.
10. What are your current passion projects? What’s new for 2015? What does the future hold?
We filmed Channel 4’s Three In A Bed a few months ago and this is scheduled to be screened in the spring. We anticipate that being featured on mainstream TV will generate a lot of interest and we cant wait to see where this will take us! How exciting! Recently I have also been motivational speaking at events, which I absolutely love, and I hope that 2015 will be the year that I spread the message about self-empowerment further into the world.
Jo’s snapshot
Happiest place: Inner Guidance Retreat Centre, Lavenham, Suffolk
Quickest way to find clarity: Meditation
Yoga position you love: Handstand
Mantra of the moment: Om Mani Peme Hung
Favourite healthy snack: Kale crisps
Most inspiring book you’ve read: The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
Describe yourself in three words: Open, honest, passionate.
Quote you live by: “Be the change you want to see in the world.” – Gandhi
Wish for the world: For everyone to have the opportunity to meditate and find out who they really are.
For more information visit www.innerguidance.co.uk or visit
