Why I Practice

So today is the International Day of Yoga. I thought it would be nice to share a little of how and why I practice.

Yoga has not just transformed my life, it has given me a reason to live. Before discovering yoga I often felt lost, purposeless, easily knocked and lacking in confidence in every area of my life.

I have been practicing yoga on and off for 11 years and can still remember the absolute magical moment when I first 'got it'. My breath and movement were one, my mind was focused and still, I felt energised, calm, open, strong, fearless and excited to be alive again.

There have been peaks and troughs and for a while I fell completely off the wagon but thankfully yoga saved me from myself and I have been on the straight and narrow for over 4 years now. It feels like someone else's life but I can still remember a time when I was too scared to eat, to even be near food incase I inhaled the calories (this sounds insane but this actually happened!). I allowed anyone to treat me in any way they wanted to and had no idea how to stand up for myself. I drank myself into oblivion on a regular basis and just generally wasn't quite getting this 'life' thing at all.

These days I eat when I am hungry, I eat until I am full and I don't panic about how much 'exercise' I've done. I have a purpose, self-worth, self-confidence, I feel compassion, gratitude and love, I can see destructive patterns before they go too far, I feel completely and utterly content in my skin exactly the way it is and most of all I feel happy to be alive every day no matter what life throws at me and have yoga to thank for this incredible valuable state of mind.

#yoga #meditation #internationaldayofyoga #yogaday #eatingdisorders #sobriety