My Journey with Mental Health & Yoga
19 March 2024
I started my yoga journey five years ago. At that time I was going through a rough patch, feeling lost, disconnected to my body/myself and lacking of any kind of motivation or purpose.
For many years I believed I was broken. I thought I needed to be “fixed”. Somehow nothing seemed right, everything I did felt like a failure or not good enough.
The good times never seemed to last and my mood swings were out of control. I felt trapped within an eating disorder, experienced bouts of depression and dark thoughts and I ended up applying the label “this is what my life will be like, I’ll probably never be happy”.
That was until I discovered yoga and went on my first yoga retreat where I met my first teacher Shankara. The retreat was pretty full on. I’d hardly done any yoga beforehand, apart from a few online classes. So here I was on this retreat, suddenly meditating first thing in the morning, doing yoga twice a day and spending hours listening and sharing about yoga philosophy (and we were on a juice cleanse!!).
Now, looking back, I’m so glad I went.
This retreat pulled me out of a tough time in my life and made me start to understand all that yoga could be. Not just the asanas, not just a physical practice, but way more than that.
However painful it is to look back to this difficult time of my life, I believe this is what led me to be where I am right now. Family and friends, people and teachers I have met along the way, the discovery of yoga, solo travels and meditation retreats are all things that have helped me heal.
But mostly, deep from within I understood that I am whole just as I am. I am not broken. I do not need to be fixed. And somehow all the harsh thoughts started to fade away, leaving space for kind and soft words. Respect and appreciation for my body, kindness to my mind.
Today I speak openly of this time of my life, as I feel it’s important to share, and know even when finding ourselves in a dark or unsettling place, that light can be found. We may not believe it in the moment, but there is.
I am still amazed everyday how yoga, meditation and mindfulness have changed my life, how much it still brings on an everyday basis. There are still moments of doubts or feeling low. This is part of life. But I know things shift and move. Always.
“Everything shall pass.”
Om Shanti.
Please know this is a story of MY journey and experience with yoga and my own mental health challenges. This is by no means a way of promoting yoga as a “cure all” method.
If you are experiencing your own mental health challenges and would like to reach out for support, the following services are available in addition to your GP:
Australia
https://www.beyondblue.org.au/
https://www.mindaustralia.org.au/
https://www.lifeline.org.au/
UK
https://www.mind.org.uk/
https://www.samaritans.org/
France
