In this fast paced world, it’s so easy to get caught up in doing everything all at once. But when you never get a break, you end up burned out and exhausted. That’s where I was a few years ago. Stressed out, not sleeping, and wanting to limit my time around people. It wasn’t the best few years, but I can look back and appreciate it because now I can help some of my friends who struggle with what I went through.
During this stressed out time, I was having heart palpitations, severe anxiety, and depression. I literally felt like Chicken Little because I always had a bad feeling that something was going to happen. Little did I know, worrying about the heart palpitations made them even worse, increasing the anxiety and the depression because I felt like I had no control over what was happening. I ended up finally going to the doctor and ended up with a prescription for an antidepressant. I tried it for a few days, but instead of making me feel better, I ended up with a severe headache that actually didn’t go away until I stopped taking it. With that being a failure, my provider gave me a more holistic option, yoga. I wasn’t totally against it, but wondered how exactly yoga was really going to help.
I was used to fast paced cardio, like running, Crossfit, and cycling. But at this point I was in dire straights. I reviewed a few yoga classes at my gym at the time and picked one. It was a vinyasa yoga class. I’d been to it before a few times, but was never consistent. I arrived a little early and sat down on my mat. I had nothing to lose and everything to gain. The instructor arrived and low and behold it was one of my favorite spin instructors. Immediately, I felt at ease because it was someone I knew and talked with frequently. She had such a calm demeanor and spoke quietly throughout the entire class.
The hour class came in went, in what seemed like in the blink of an eye. It was a little challenging in a way that my other fitness regimens lacked. But at the end I couldn’t help but smile. I had such a wonderful time in that class. But most importantly, I found myself able to actually focus on one thing at a time while being fully present in the class; rather than worrying about everything that I still needed to do at home. However, the tell-tale sign was the fact, later that night I was able to sleep soundly without the aid of sleeping pills. Needless to say, yoga became a go to for me after this wonderful experience and made me want to help others, which led me into becoming a yoga instructor.
I am now a 200 hour certified yoga instructor. If what I say registers with you please check out my YouTube channel Fun Joy Peace. There I breakdown what you can expect in a yoga class. I don’t want anyone to feel anxious about starting yoga because they don’t know what to expect. Let me help you along your journey, so that you have the peace in your life that everyone should have.
Hopefully I’ll see you around!
Alaina
Fun Joy Peace 