"I grew up in a family with a variety of issues, including drug abuse, domestic violence, shifting homes, & incarceration"
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Meet RYT Teresa @teresayogardner kindly sharing her yogasavedmylife with us. These are her words ❤
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I was 15 years old when I told my mom I wanted to learn yoga and she bought a book entitled “Yoga” & gave it to me as a gift. I would sit in my room & study the postures and philosophies and recreate the shapes with my body
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While I was interested in the asanas of yoga, I felt a pull deep within, a connection to the spiritual practice. It had a familiarity I hadn’t expected, as if I’d known all of this all along and I’d just been called home
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Yoga gave me the tools through meditation, breath awareness, and a focus on the present moment to cope with my depression and anxiety, when a psychiatrist and medication had made it worse. I continue to occasionally suffer from depression, and anxiety is always by my side. Yoga keeps me stable & aware of the fleeting nature of the present and therefore I rest within it more
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I firmly believe that one of the greatest gifts I ever received was that yoga book from my mom 21 years ago. My mom passed away when I was 19 & now my yoga practice is like a connection to her & the gift she gave me in opening up the world of yoga to me, even though it was not something she ever practiced herself. I will forever be grateful that she supported my interest and loved me enough to give me a guide
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Now that I’m a mom, I hope to pass on the love of yoga to my son. I’m reminded daily how fortunate I am to have a happy and healthy life now; yoga reminds me that this present moment, filled with love and good fortune, is impermanent and, therefore, precious. I am filled with gratitude for that awareness"
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Namaste, Teresa 🙏