From there to here; the twists and turns of my Yoga journey.

There is no doubting that Yoga and Mindfulness have had a dramatic effect on my life. Readers may be interested to know more about my journey which has shifted and grown with me.

It all began in 1998 while expecting my daughter. Pregnancy Yoga introduced me to the importance of the breath. Moving house during pregnancy meant missing out on NCT classes, so instead, I used what I learned during my Yoga classes to home-birth my daughter. It was an immensely powerful experience and one that had me hooked on Yoga.

A Hatha Yoga teacher enabled me to continue weekly classes and home-birth my son 3 years later. Following his birth we moved again which meant finding a new teacher. Like many of you no doubt, I had no idea there were different styles of Yoga! Some were really strong and left me with back ache after the class. Others spoke about Yoga philosophy which as a western novice, didn’t resonate with me.

I hit a wall and took up Pilates instead which my body loved! But my mental health took a dive after some triggering events and my Pilates teacher moved away so I returned to my search for a Yoga teacher. After a few trials, I discovered a Scaravelli inspired Hatha Yoga class with a fantastic trainee teacher. Tina Corbett’s classes took me back to my breath and in turn reconnected me to my body from which I had disassociated.

Tina encouraged me to train as a teacher. It took a lot of courage to attend a two year course with the London Yoga Teacher Training Group. When I began, I felt a complete imposter. I was a novice compared to the others. But by the end of the course, my tutor was in tears at the change in me; not just physically, but mentally too.

That was nothing compared to the change I felt in my brain after continuing my training with The Minded Institute. Yoga Therapy for the Mind was an extraordinary two year training, especially after being diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) part way through the course. One of my greatest takeaways was that mental health disorders begin with stress; either a stressful event or trauma or long term, chronic stress and so my ambition was to prevent others from ending up the same way.

Mid-life was another massive change for me. My energy levels collapsed, my sleep became more disturbed than ever and my nervous system became hyper-sensitive again. I found the need to slow down; be more mindful, make deliberate choices with self compassion. Having trained to teach Mindfulness through a Yoga lens with Clear Mind Institute, the time had come to integrate more of this in my classes. Restorative Yoga was something I had yearned for and Judith Hanson-Lasseter’s training was instrumental in the emergence of Slow Mindful Yoga.

It’s a cliche but Yoga is a journey; one that has the power to change with you. It can be dynamic and physical, mindful and interoceptive, philosophical and introspective. Now as I approach my ‘elder’ years (post menopause - 52 at the time of writing), I find Yoga helps me manage the ups and downs; be those in energy or mental strength. I use my experience to help other women manage stress as this for me is where Yoga comes into its own.

There is a need for strong asana, not only to metabolise stress hormones but also to maintain and build bone density and thus prevent osteoporosis. Both mid-life and our elder.years in this patriarchal society can be some of the most stressful but also the most rewarding. Balancing strength with interoceptive practices and a consistent focus on the breath are what bring us into the present moment. We can take these principles off the mat and into our daily lives and so live in the moment; for the moment.

There are always times when stressful situations trigger a downturn in my mental health; I’m sure I’m not alone. By integrating grounding practices into my Yoga, I find I can get though the difficult times. Sometimes we lose our way, we need to step sideways, question what works for us now. Life isn’t linear so nor should our Yoga practice be.

If you would like to discuss your Yoga practice, if you want help managing stress or are simply intrigued to experience how my style of teaching differs, please get in touch here.

Go well.

Anneliese