"To my yoga teachers who couldn't know what they meant to me at the time, I give my sincerest & heartfelt thank you: #Yogasavedmylife & your teaching gave me hope when I thought there was none"
Meet Kate @kates_yogapadma a yoga teacher in Berlin. We're very grateful to her for sharing with us to inspire others. This is her story ❤ "When I first started doing Yoga, I saw it as an exercise. I didn’t give much thought to how Yoga affected your overall wellbeing , even though I noticed the effect it had on my state of mind after practice. I became addicted to my practice, being able to feel it if I had missed a few days, but , still saw it as a ‘work out’ . I then experienced a very difficult time in my life, & I went through a long stage of depression & extreme anxiety. I had moved home after living abroad for 3.5 years, I was separated from my then boyfriend who I thought I was desperately in love with, & I really didn’t like my job. I worked with wonderful people, but I was burnt out, overworked, working in the government medical system, often short staffed I started to suffer extreme insomnia because of my mental state & I think that for at least a month I slept no more than 1.5 hours a night - followed by busy & intense shifts in the hospital: although this time was tough & I saw nothing but darkness & hopelessness, I am so grateful for the experience: for this is when I truly discovered the true meaning of yoga It was my practice & my attachment to my breath for just that 90 minutes a day that kept me going. I knew that if I could get through another day to get to Yoga I'd be ok, that that was the only time when I could reconnect & get some peace, I could feel myself & forget about my sadness & pain that I felt at the time Yoga helped me through a very dark time in my life, & this is why I now am a yoga teacher myself I decided to leave my job at the hospital & share the gift of yoga to help others & to me, Yoga is how we can heal ourselves & find connection; Yoga is what gives us the ability to be mindful & observant of our minds, body and breath"