My next Stress and Anxiety course starts on the 18th May @unionyogamargate. A little bit different this time, it will be made up of 2 afternoon session as apposed to the 5 weekly sessions.
Within the £75 this includes …
- 2 x 3.5 hour sessions (18th May & 1st June 1-4.30pm) with enough snacks and tea to sink a ship :-)
- a detailed booklet of all the practices we cover, guides on how to build practices for home, work, on the bus, wherever you need
- you get access to a host of recordings, meditations and lead deep relaxations
- you are also invited to a private Facebook Group to share experience with each other and access to articles and practices on the topic
- you also have email, facebook and Skype support from me as much or as little as you would like for the duration of the course
Each time it runs, the course evolves, new community and connections are built, more of us begin openly talking about and acknowledging stress and anxiety for what it is - getting to know it, change our relationship with it and have the tools to work with it so it no longer has a front seat in the every day choices we make.
As I plan for the next course, it’s lead me to reflect on what’s driven me to this point…
- intensive study to understand this area of therapeutic yoga and mental health
- my total heart commitment to getting out there and supporting others to navigate their mental health through complementary & yogic therapies
- why I keep reviewing and refining the course every time it rolls out
- and every time, I learn. I learn from every person who attends.
My own mental health has and is a winding path. At times it’s been like navigating a mountain of mud in stilettos in the fog, at others Ive become the ping ball in the ping ball machine until I finally ran out of ping and then there’s the periods of time that are dark but become ultimately clarifying in the longer term and life is never the same for the better once we’ve passed through it
Its a vital source of learning, growth, access to empowerment, love, vulnerability, compassion and connection that keeps me motivated to care for myself and seek ways to see things as truly as I can in that moment.
So here I am in this picture...my 24 year old self - easy going, would dance all weekend, up for anything, career driven, in love with an amazing chap… but like a swan, below the surface it was chaotic, chronically anxious, housing an eating disorder formed by learning that restricting food and controlling my weight channelled that unsettling fear around my low sense of worth and belief.
I woke up every morning and took pro plus to stop getting hungry and took laxatives every night before bed to keep weight down. I went through long periods where I wouldn’t sleep without nytol, had panic attacks regularly because of my to do lists, the constant pressure of work and the feeling that I was never quite good enough and whatever good stuff could be pulled from underneath me in a heart beat. No surprise then I regularly experienced pain in my chest and tension headaches that made me feel sick.
Finding the right Yoga practices and teachers gave me first and quite simply some reprieve … then they became eureka moments… that became empowering tools… that gave me a clear lens to begin seeing myself and life differently… that gave me some space…that gave me knowledge…that then became a part of my life. Through my own patience, commitment to keep getting back on the wagon each time, have new coping mechanisms and thought grooves began to take the place of the old. Each time things fell away for a while, or a challenging period swept me away - recurring miscarriages, a financial struggle, a family loss, a sleepless baby - my ability to soften instead of my habitual hardening during a challenging time, has allowed me to rise up again when ready and always feeling fuller and richer than before. It’s all part of the process. The practice. And its one I now trust, cherish and am truly grateful that I get to share it with others.
If you’re unsure if the course is for you, give me a call or drop me an email. I’d love to hear from you. The feedback so far from the 5 previous runs of this course has been resoundingly positive. So if you would like to take control of your stress and anxiety and find new ways to support yourself then this might just be the course for you