In 2005, Simone Callahan was a lost woman. Reeling from her much-publicised divorce to Australia’s most-famous cricket player, Shane Warne, the bubbly and infectious blonde that we were used to seeing was, behind the scenes, falling apart.
“I felt I had let my kids down when I got divorced – my parents are still married and I’d never contemplated being a single parent,” she tells Woman’s Day.
“I felt defeated, and I wasn’t just able to deal with it privately – it was being played out for all the world to see. That was a very difficult time.”
On top of all the societal pressures and growing public interest in her split, Simone was also at a crossroad in her professional life after dedicating the previous 10 years to her now ex-husband and three kids.
“I married at 25 and then had three kids in five years, which was a real blessing but simultaneously I lost myself,” she confesses.
“Between being a wife and a mum, I didn’t feel like my life was aligning with my true self. I had to find that again.”
FIGHTING FOR FAMILY
Following the divorce, Simone says she turned to yoga in a bid to restore her mind and body, and while she had practised the meditative form of exercise for years prior, she began to really hone her skills and found it not only helped her “heal mentally and emotionally” but find her life purpose.
“My practice made me stronger and more at peace internally, and it gave me the tools to take care of myself,” says Simone.
“It was important to invest time in self-care as I had three young kids that needed me, and I knew that I had to be strong for both me and the kids, so I made time to practice.”
Simone adds that she has since become a qualified yoga teacher, which she says has completely “transformed” her belief in herself.
“I still have so much to learn and so much I want to share.
It’s a life-long practice and I’ll continue to keep learning and growing,” she says.
GROWING WITH GRIEF
Now Simone, 54, is sharing her journey of self-discovery with the world in her new book, Growing With Grace.
Told through a combination of anecdotal passages, candid diary entries and interspliced with advice and exercises that readers can apply to their own lives, Simone hopes the book “helps and inspires people to live their best life”.
In one particularly poignant section, Simone opens up about how yoga helped her navigate the arduous waters that is grief.
“In yoga we practice non-attachment and appreciate that nothing is permanent – we have to live in the moment and be present in both the here and now,” she says.
“Grief is fluid – you carry it with you every day but having my little rituals keeps me aligned with my purpose and feeling well.”
In March 2022, Shane died very suddenly from a heart attack while holidaying in Thailand. He was just 52.
“Every day I have gratitude for my life, and for my three kids. Grief has taught me to not take anything for granted and to try my best every day and do the work to stay strong.”
NEW CHAPTER
Simone says that her kids Brooke, 26, Jackson, 24, and Summer, 22, have always been her “number one”, and admits that when she was first approached to create the book, she felt some trepidation around what it would mean for them.
“I wasn’t sure how I felt about sharing my journey,” she notes.
“[But] I spoke to my kids and my family and they all said that I should, so I put pen to paper.”
Growing With Grace is available at Booktopia for $26.50. Buy it here.
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