"It doesn't matter where you were or what you could do. You are here now in this place. Grow from where you are."
Those very simple yet beautiful words were spoken to me by my first yoga teacher Nicole when she first came to see me upon my release from the hospital after my stroke. I always carry them in my heart!!
I was first drawn to yoga for the calm that came over me when I practiced. I began with Vinyasa and for two years that was my form. I wanted to become a teacher. I had recently gone back to university to study counselling with the vision of combining the two and doing yoga to enhance mental health. Then I had a stroke and my physical practise was gone in an instant.
It was then that I realized I had learned a great deal more than just the Asana' s, my practice had given me an entirely new outlook on life and helped me to survive mentally post stroke. It is impossible to tell people what life is like after a stroke and hope that they will understand. Unless you have lived it you can never begin to grasp it.
I give credit to my practise for my post stroke recovery.
I still wanted to teach but also realized that I could no longer continue with my current practice.
Then I was introduced to Aunsara Hatha and I knew I had found the new place I was to grow from and the form that I wanted to teach.
My vision had changed, with my new life experience and a diploma in counselling the path that was before me was to teach yoga to others who had also survived neurological trauma.
With its heart centred practice of going with the flow, following your heart and the philosophy that we are all inherently good and that life is a gift that we should celebrate in our practise, I was able to get back on my mat.
To build further on that I also became a certified LV Chair Yoga teacher. This has the philosophy that yoga is for everybody and anyone anywhere can do yoga.
My classes are built on this foundation, they incorporate the principles and philosophy of Anusara Hatha, with the belief that yoga can and should be accessible to everybody and for everybody. I also include the principles of Somatic Movement as it compliments my practise so beautifully and also because I am a huge believer in Neuroplasticity and the brains ability to reorganize its self through slow, gentle, subtle, kind movements and mental imagery. I am very blessed to currently be providing Therapeutic Support teaching yoga to NDIS clients who have individual challenges. I am also proud to have been involved with the Stroke Recovery Association teaching online post stroke chair yoga.
Trauma impacts the whole person, not just the body. By taking this approach you can help to heal not only the body but also the mind and the spirit. This is something I know on a personal level and carry with me.
This is not about being able to get on a mat and twist and bend and turn in unrealistic poses.
You see yoga is much bigger and deeper than that. It's about each individual person connecting with their unique body and finding their own new place to grow from. In order to achieve this it's important to meet people where they are at.
I look forward to helping so many others who are struggling with the same challenges and making a difference in their lives, helping them to find their new place to grow from...
