Welcome to Joyful - start here ⭐️
Why I decided to jump into Substack and what I *really* think of TikTok.
Welcome to Joyful, my friend! It means a lot that you’re here. I’m Chloe Markham, yoga teacher, joyful living coach, writer, habit nerd, and pastry fan who really thinks life is too short to not live a joyful one.
Whether you’ve found this word-waffle via recommendation, from my website or within Substack itself, let me introduce Joyful and what I’m on about.
I’ve been writing for years. Mostly through emails to my wonderful community based around The Yoga Revolution — my membership platform (discover how this is now a part of my Joyful subscription here). These emails became a way to write funny stories, reminders to breathe, about inspiring stuff I’d found, or to give actionable advice to folk in need.
I got replies on replies on replies — people loved reading what I wrote, I loved writing what I wrote and here we are years later; I’ve officially labelled myself ‘a writer’ (whatever that means) and I’m making more of a ‘thing’ of it.
I suppose I’m a yoga teacher at the core of it all. I know what you’re thinking. I’m writing this wearing yoga pants, sipping a green smoothie, and I’m just about to go do some chanting before a brief 3-hour meditation session. Maybe people don’t think like this anymore, but I know I used to. I know my brother thinks I’m some sort of weird shaman. But anyway, I’m not.
Yoga’s brilliant, but the stereotypes can be so damaging. It’s been my mission since 2016 to make it more accessible, to remove the barriers to entry, to make it feel more alive. And, after closing my brick-and-mortar yoga studio at the beginning of the pandemic (a story for another day, perhaps), I’ve realised yoga — the physical aspect of it, at least — isn’t enough to really get to the core of why I do what I do.
Because this is the thing: you’re going to fall off this mortal coil someday.
And everyone you know and love (and hate) will also disappear behind a Harry Potter-like Veil, their impact on the earth fading into nothingness and obscurity. Pleasant thought, no?
But, like those epic memento mori paintings of the seventeenth century, I use this as a reminder to live while we’re not dead. To dance in the kitchen, to do the scary things, to hug people more, and to definitely, definitely get dessert.
So yoga became an entire thing for me and those in my classes; living with this memento mori attitude; learning to surf the waves of existence, rather than be crushed by them; movement but also mindfulness, mindset, nervous system, perspective, philosophy…
I went through a horrible break-up in 2021 that seemed to’ve spanned years, but I’m still here and bigger, brighter, and more alive than ever before. That’s what this stuff is about, this Substack that you’ve landed on; I want to have these conversations with you, friend, about living more, finding more balance, ease, connection, resilience, and, ultimately, the joyful life.
Why Substack?
I stumbled across Substack fairly recently, and I’ve found some of my new favourite people on here, including the incredible
(has she changed my life with her kefir insights? Probably), (this post of his on The Villager is hilarious), (I recently read her brilliant book The Island Of Missing Trees on a trip to Cyprus and… well, she’s incredible), and .The community here is amazing, the ability to host a community is amazing, to co-create, connect, read, be inspired… And, quite frankly, social media can fuck off.
The effort involved in getting fleeting views, the judgemental and overly-angry comments sections on vaguely feminist posts or pictures of hairy-legged women or literally any post at all, the damn algorithm, the bots, the adverts, the spammy messages… I’ve finally admitted that social media isn’t for me (and, don’t get me started, but I think it’s properly toxic and will probably be humanity’s downfall).
There’s a relief involved in washing your hands of it all; the best TikTok hashtags, how to get maximum eyes on your Insta reels, or the general fouling wafflery of the social media behemoth. Poster-and-ghoster and proud.
So Substack shines brightly amongst the consumerist debris as a final bastion of goodness.
Because this isn’t about chasing algorithms or posting for the sake of posting. It’s real conversations, real people, and actual value. No bots, no doomscrolling, just stuff that makes life better.
Not content, but writing for writing’s sake. Not content, but love notes, stories, inspiration, talented wordsmiths making the world a slower and more connected place.
So this is a place for living like we mean it.
What to expect from Joyful
Joyful, which shares a name with my podcast, is about leaning into a joyful yoga practice and also everything else — morning routines, daily habits, how we see the world, how we navigate our nervous systems, good desserts, better guitar solos, and everything I come across that genuinely makes life better.
It’s about creating a life that feels good every day, and reconnecting to the things that make us feel most alive.
Because what else is there?
And this isn’t just me talking into the void. This is a conversation. I want this to be a two-way street, where we figure this joyful living thing out as a community. My paid subscribers get:
The Yoga Revolution’s entire library – 250+ on-demand classes, lovingly organised by how you feel, not how bendy you are. And most come with playlists you can only dream about in other yoga classes.
Themed series + courses – from my signature Couch To Yogi course that builds the foundation for a strong, healthy, totally joyful yoga practice for life, to the 7-Day Nervous System Reset, PMS bundles, slow-down series, and more—all with good music and good vibes.
Mindfulness + breathwork sessions – gentle, science-backed tools for nervous system regulation.
Restorative + meditation classes – real rest, made doable.
Monthly themes + journaling prompts - to keep you focused on what matters most.
Exclusive articles + notes – thoughts I only share with paying subs (think: behind-the-scenes, reflections, joy experiments).
Access to subscriber-only chats + comments – connect, share, ask questions.
Me, in your corner – everything I teach in Joy Unplugged or with my coaching clients starts right here.
Think of it as a front-row seat to joyful living without having to drink a single green smoothie.
Joyful is all about living like we mean it. If you’re ready to get involved, hit Subscribe to get my next post straight to your inbox. You’ll get updates, personal insights, and exclusive content, just for you.
Some of my most-loved posts to get you started
If you’re wondering where to dive in, here are a few of my most-loved posts:
You can dive into these to get a taste of what Joyful is all about. I hope you enjoy them, and please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments!
And make sure to leave me a comment below. Do you love those memento mori paintings as much as I do? Are you drinking a green smoothie right now? Would you like to be a shaman?
Respond to people in the comments, say hello to strangers, put out some virtual high-fives… it’s what this is about.
So. Much. Love.
Chloe 🧡
How do I access the library of Yoga and meditation?
I'm SO stoked you joined came to the light side, aka Substack. I "transitioned" a bit over a year ago, and love it.