This was how I came to yoga! I knew I needed to balance out my life and I heard that yoga gives you some kind of magical energy gift so I thought I best get in line for that! Being the kind of person that I am and loving the sweat, the work and the fast pace of life, I was drawn to Ashtanga and fast Vinyasa Flow. This style of yoga is energising but it isn’t restorative and is probably not far off the energy output of a workout in the gym. Funny how the things we are naturally drawn to, aren’t necessarily what is best for us! People who naturally give out high amounts of energy will feel huge benefit from calming and restorative activities…all of which, have never much appealed to me.

When I did my first lot of yoga training, my teacher was actually a trained yoga therapist who knew a great deal about Ayurveda. My first experience of meditation resulted in nothing but rage at how cold the room was and how bored I was to not be moving. When I explained honestly how I felt to this yoga teacher, she nodded without looking surprised at all. Later on she said to me, “do you do high intensity exercise?” (yes) “do you eat at regular intervals?” (no – I eat when I can) “do you eat nourishing hot food when you eat?” (no – I eat what I can get) and then finally “do you suffer from anxiety?” I admitted to her that I did and that anxiety has always been a battle for me since childhood. She said, you are anxious because you are not balanced. Your dosha combination (natural energy combination) needs you to not exercise at high intensities but to do yin yoga or low intensity cardio activity for no more than 30 minutes, you need to eat regularly and eat hot nutritious food.

So I have been told I am doing too much. So I need to look at my self-care: I have successfully rehabbed bicep tendonitis with physiotherapist, strength training, chiropractor appointments and sports massages. But I have stopped my own yoga practice: the time when I can just think about me, and what I need both emotionally and physically. It hasn’t been a conscious choice but more that everything has been so stretched since my boy was born with my wife and I juggling two jobs that there hasn’t felt space to consider it. But I am going to see this back episode as my body calling for it and me recognising that teaching yoga isn’t doing yoga – physically going through the movements is not internally doing the work. 

You need to prioritise self-care so you can care for other people, so you can do daily tasks without pain and so you can make the most of the only life you have. You totally deserve it, do not wait until it is too late.