Three years ago, my long-term relationship ended; I felt lost and didn’t know where to turn or how to cope. In the pub after work, my manager mentioned that she practised yoga and joked that the stress of the office would have turned her into an alcoholic if she hadn’t found yoga. Desperate to try something, I timidly ordered a DVD online, and a few days later tried yoga for the first time.
Lying on my mat, following the breathing patterns and tuning into things I didn’t realise my body could do, I felt normal for the first time in weeks. Since then, yoga has been a constant in my life – it’s helped me to manage stress, boost my self-esteem, find a supportive community and understand how strong my body, and mind, really are.