My yoga journey

Hi Everyone,

I hope you are all enjoying the incredible sunshine and where you can getting out into it and soaking up the wellness we get from the sun, all the vitamin D!

I wanted to talk about yoga and I thought where better to start but with my story about how and when I started practicing yoga.

Well, it was 20 years ago when I first rolled out my mat. I know it was that as my oldest now 22 years was 2 and the gym I went to had a creche which was great as it was the only way I could get to do some exercise and have some time for myself.

I decided I would try yoga and the name of my teacher was Mary. I did not know anything about yoga all I knew that it was stretching and some relaxation, which I really needed. Mary was so kind and gentle, I would go every week on a Saturday morning and do all sorts of poses. They were not dynamic or challenging but they felt so good. I had no idea of what they were called and to be honest I wasn't bothered as I just loved the feeling on how it made me feel and I felt so relaxed and in safe hands with Mary. When I look back now it was the most beautiful introduction to yoga. There was no social media so yoga wasn't commercialised as it is now, it was your own practice and no one else’s. With Mary’s caring way I always felt welcomed, relaxed and part of her yoga community.

Time moved forward and things changed Mary stopped teaching at the gym, I continued to practice yoga when I could with others teachers. We then made the big decision to move back to Ireland. Unfortunately after been here a year I was diagnosed with chronic fatigue and sent home from the doctors with antidepressants and a multi vitamin. I literally had no energy to even walk up the stairs, clean the house and look after my 3 boys. With chronic fatigue which is different for everyone you may experience anxiety, insomnia and chronic tiredness, I had them all, this is where my yoga saved me!

Each evening I would do a very gentle practice when the boys where in bed from a video in the bedroom. My yoga practice helped me to connect with myself more, in a sense of knowing how I was feeling each day, how to conserve my energy so I wouldn’t do too much one day and wake feeling totally exhausted the next. I became more aware of my diet, what I was eating, how was it benefiting and nourishing me, helping me become well again. I was going to get better!

Fast forward 4 years later 2016 I was on the road to recovery I decided I would train to be a yoga teacher, not to teach mind because I didn’t think that was something I was capable of! I did the training for myself, to learn more about yoga. During my training I learnt so much about myself and with very little confidence I started to discovery the qualities I had to offer as a teacher. So when I graduated in 2017 I decided what the hell, what's the worse that can happen I’ll go for it!

I absolutely love teaching yoga and the rewards of teaching are so great its been a real gift for me. I want to ensure as much as I can that everyone gets what they need from each class that they attend. Its not about achieving these fancy poses, it’s never been like that for me, even though at times they are fun and challenging. It’s more about the feeling that we get from our practice, the overall sense of balance and contentedness that we exerprience even if its only for a short time.

For me yoga is like no other exercise. We connect with our breath, we move our body into different shapes to release any tension, the physical and energetic and when all is done we relax at the end of class and bring it all back into balance before we continue with our day. Yoga teaches us how to be more aware of our body, physical, emotional and mental and knowing when to push forward and when to hold back. From practicing we begin to accept and love ourselves more and be more aware of what our body is saying to us. It's about the being with a community or tribe if you like of like minded people and supporting each other along the way in our life journey.

Thats my story of my yoga journey, I know it was a long read but it may help you reflect on your yoga journey and the benefits that you feel from your practice. Maybe you haven’t practice for a while and want to start, I have a few short practices on my YouTube channel the link is below and they are all around 10 mins. Whatever you do for yourself do it for you and make sure you enjoy it.

Finally, in yoga there is what is called the Yamas, its like a guide on how to best live your life and I have listed all 5 of them below that I like to remember for myself and do my best to live by.