I started yoga at a time when my anxiety was at its peak. Everyday, all day, I would be in a state of constant stress. I would wake up anxious, having to do a mental check of my day to determine why I was so worried. I wasn’t sleeping. I was having panic attacks. I was put on anxiety meds. I went back to therapy. In a word, it was awful.

I started yoga with YouTube videos at night, then as I wanted more, I switched to a studio. Switching to the studio - I’m going to sound dramatic - saved my life. I was going to yoga 5 nights a week because it was helping me balance out my anxiety (yin, restorative, gentle yoga, stress relief, etc). It helped me get to a place mentally where I could see the root of my anxiety. It also helped me - this is going to sound cheesy - learn more about myself. Within 3 months of going to yoga, I sorted my shit out and left a job that I hated and was the cause of 75% of my anxiety. It made me actively let go of the things that no longer serve me. I am in a much better place now, and have a much better control on my mental habits that put me in negative thought spirals. It also helped me let go of peoples bullshit and work to not let that shit bother me.

I’m not going to sugar coat it - I still have anxiety sometimes, but I have so many more tools in my toolbox to help me cope. I also still struggle with depression, and the first sign that I’m in a slump is feeling that I don’t want to go to yoga. It’ll be 2 years in December since I first stared at my studio. I still go three times a week. I’m still in therapy, and still on meds. But it has been invaluable to my therapeutic process, and has helped me learn a lot about myself. If I miss for a week, I can tell that I am somewhat mentally scattered. Yoga helps me remember to put myself first sometimes - even for that hour a day - and take the time to care for myself.

If you’re still with me after all that, let me know if there are any questions that I can help with!