Why APRANA?

Wellness, meditation, yoga and mindfulness are becoming increasingly popular to a wave of new adopters, people who have never experienced any form of mind and body focussed journeys. For the majority of people we speak to, exposure to yoga (where yoga is a way of life) is due to some form of personal necessity that drives them to find answers to challenging questions, either around health or personal development. Some people are lucky enough to be born into an environment where yoga, spirituality, wellness and self love is prevalent, I consider these people incredibly blessed; 

My own journey came from a difficult moment in my business life, from an early age I had a love of music, but also a love of entrepreneurialism, (although I didn’t know this is what it was called at the time). I started and built several successful companies in the space of marketing, branding and technology, it was a good time, I was driven, passionate, single minded and believed I could do anything. I still had a very healthy respect for my teams and my business partners, but being honest, it was my way or nothing, I had a very large ego, it drove my life. I was proud of my ego and relished any opportunity to speak, it was where I thought I shined. Over 17 years, we built a very large marketing and digital agency in the North of England, employing 50+ staff and working with some global brands. It was very intense, and very stressful...

I realised something was going wrong when I started getting bored at work, spending only a few hours a day in the office; and making excuses for not going in. I became very unhappy and tried to find happiness in ‘things’ I paid myself well, I bought all the obvious trappings of a successful businessman, expensive watch, clothes, cars, shoes… and 17 guitars… yep. 17. I needed the dopamine rush, but it quickly left me and I needed more. So I kept buying and buying, going out, drinking, partying…

Until one day, I turned up to my office and broke down in tears, I couldn’t get out of the car, everything was dark and I had no idea why, I drove home and laid in bed for days. 

I managed to drag myself to the doctors, who after 15 mins of chatting suggested I get some form of CBT and take some tablets to 'boost my mood'. I didn't realise I was ill at the time to need tablets. It felt an odd thing to do being honest, a tablet to make you feel less upset?

Anyway, I went on to have 3 sessions of CBT, discussing my past, my drinking and eating habits, discussing how I would be better now I had tablets. It all felt rather odd... so me being me, I started analysing what ACTUALLY was going on. It wasn't like I had caught a virus or eaten anything dodgy, this wasn't a tummy bug, I just felt different, I felt down in the dumps, sad, upset, lethargic, worried... I had been absolutely fine for 40 years of my life, so something must have made my thoughts change dramatically. 

I actually bought a book by Paul McKenna, I'd seen him on TV and he looked like he knew the brain, turns out the book was a great doorway to starting to unpick things like the monkey brain, fight or flight, buddhist learnings, breath-work,  chemicals like dopamine, cortisol, serotonin... it was a revelation. Most importantly, it made me realise that i wasn't going to be mended by taking tablets, I was going to be mended by finding out the truth about what was 'wrong' with me. I went to see professor Steve Peters and read the Chimp Paradox, bringing me nearer to buddhist practises. I gravitated to any books that had a relation to the mind, to wellness and a more balanced approach to life. I read the autobiography of a Yoga, the seminal 'Power of now' (although I'm on my third read through as it's tough). coming from a place of surrender, the untethered soul... many, many books. They all were saying pretty much the same thing, in a good way. We can change the way we think, by changing the way we think. 

I'd started meditating a couple of years after my breakdown, and found myself getting on a wim hof retreat after swimming in the icy cold sea one winter with a load of crazy, lovable women from Blackpool. The meditation and breathwork became a central part of my wellness journey. My morning ice baths are an essential part of my day. If you could see me now, versus the person I was 7 years ago, I'm very different. In the sense that I have control (most of the time) over my ego, I handle situations 100's times better, I see problems and challenges in what I like to term 3 dimensions, where I can visualise a challenging situation which in the past would have caused me to meltdown, hit the drink and lie hidden for days and days. Now, I can remove myself from the 'problem' visualise it and handle it in ways that I would never have thought possible. It has been simply life changing.

I had been wanting to start a wellness brand for many years, I just hadn't seen the right opportunity where we could make a difference as well as running a business we loved. Then one day I picked up a pack of incense that we had been burning to see what was in it. I was shocked...

The incense contained some pretty strange ingredients, artificial fragrances and had been shipped all the way from Taiwan. I looked into the manufacturer and it was far from the impression I had of who makes spiritual products. I then started seeing plastic Buddhas for sale in shops, scented 'meditation' candles that contained more artificial ingredients and a never ending world of badly made products that were trying to capitalise on the wellness boom. It didn't feel right. 

We started researching handmade, UK based (or very little air miles) sustainable products to replace the awful ones we were buying from huge supermarket and low cost retail chains. Yes they cost a little bit more, but they were much better quality, smelt amazing, and most importantly, weren't harming the planet. 

It became clear that this was going to be our new business. We spoke to a raft of suppliers and found an eagerness to be part of the gang, and to flag-wave on our behalf, so APRANA was born.

We are really new to this, I'm sure we'll make some mistakes along the way, but I really hope we can change some peoples way of purchasing products that assist them in their yogic lifestyle and their yogic practices, being balanced with themselves and the world around them.

Namaste

Simon