Louise's Story

Meg Thompson
Jul 26, 2017
2 min read

I've been doing yoga for a few years on & off, but on a more regular basis over the last year or so. I've always been very active, but yoga used to take a bit of a back seat in preference of running & lifting weights. Around the middle of last year, my life took a bit of a turn & after a long, stressful period at work & some time working away in the US, I found myself wanting to take part in activities that were kinder to myself, instead of hammering the pavements & chasing weights, so turned more to yoga. The first time I went to Meg's class at Millais, I was so surprised to find that this was much more hard work than I remembered & also quite shocked at how awful my flexibility was! However, I was hooked and I soon started to see the benefits. I found it much easier to focus and relax & for that hour during the class, it became 'my time', where I could free my mind & switch off from the day to day stresses of my busy job. Little did I know just how much yoga would become like a lifeline just a few short weeks later when 2 of my close friends sadly passed away & then my Father became very ill and passed away. I was often feeling so overwhelmed with sadness, I am sure that yoga has definitely given me some good coping mechanisms and is helping hugely with the grieving process. I now practice yoga almost everyday - I still enjoy running & lifting heavy stuff, but I have noticed that my range of movement & strength has definitely improved in the last year & I have to give yoga credit for this. Every yoga day is different - some days things will feel impossibly difficult & then the next day, they'll seem so easy that I wonder what all the fuss was about! Some days I'll want to push myself & then the next day, I'll crave a more restorative practise & half an hour of savasana is fine for me! I truly believe that yoga really is for everyone, whatever your age or ability. It'll help to get you through the worst of times & make the best of times seem even better.