yogaspace introduction
“We are all just walking each other home”
My first experience of yoga was in my late teens. As a child I was hypermobile or overly flexible but while playing sports had made me stronger I noticed as a teenager that certain parts of my body had become stiff and sore. When I was seventeen, for several months, every time that I ran downstairs too quickly my mid back would seize up into a painful spasm and stop me in my tracks. Breathing would be difficult too. Not what I expected to be feeling in my body at seventeen. So I bought a video on yoga (Barbara Currie VHS) and practiced most days. The back pain slowly disappeared and I began to notice how my body could change and I could progress in the poses with time and practice.
Later, yoga classes began to emerge and then yoga studios and I would go in and out of phases of attending in my twenties. In the beginning I was only interested in the postures and would regularly be the one to leave a class at the end when Savasana started.
After an episode of postnatal depression and anxiety in my thirties, I began researching ways to manage my mind. Everything I read pointed to meditation. Incorporating meditation into the end of my yoga practice really helped me to find space and inspired the name of this website. Yoga took on a whole new meaning for me and I began to look into the history of yoga, Ayurveda and yogic philosophies.
I am currently carrying out a yoga teacher training diploma and wanted to write a blog to share my experiences and to keep me accountable as I work towards my goals. I am not and never will be an expert in this topic. I am a student and hope to continue on a path of lifelong learning or as Anthony de Mello said it, ‘unlearning’.
I hope by sharing my experience I can help to make yoga accessible to those who think they are not the yoga ‘type’!
Disclaimer: Content on yogaspace.ie is not a substitute for medical or health professional advice. The content reflects my experiences and my views and should not be taken as personal health advice. If you have concerns about your health always seek out a medical professional assessment.
Am I enlightened yet?
