"Yoga got me though divorce, infertility & brought a joy & playfulness to the darkest times. When I was forced to turn my back on everything I held dear. Yoga saved my life when it was all I had left 🙏"
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Meet @joey__yoga sharing her #yogasavedmylife story with us story with us. These are her words 💚
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"Just after getting married, in 2014, I went from loving yoga to needing yoga. After ten years with my husband, we were ready to start a family & I followed him & his job to Saudi Arabia, where things quickly went downhill. I developed depression, anxiety attacks, very bad acne, an eating disorder & eventually diagnosed with PCOs. My ovaries were covered in cysts & doctors told me it was unlikely I would ever have children. Instead of bringing us closer, I felt my relationship slipping through my fingers. This country had completely disempowered me & robbed me of the family I had always dreamt of
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The only way I could pause my racing mind was to lose myself in my yoga practice. Some days I cried my way through meditation, but the routine and dedication gave me something to focus on
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By this time, I was teaching yoga everyday on the compound where we lived. I poured my heart & soul into helping my students grow. It felt like the only thing I could get right. As my body got stronger, I built up the mental strength to leave. The environment was making me ill & the only path for healing was to walk away. My husband wouldn’t come with me so I left everything: my students, my home, my cat & the deepest love I had ever known
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Fast forward to today & I have built a life around yoga. I teach full time & specialise in empowering women, running Shakti women’s circles, pre & post-natal yoga, teaching hypnobirthing & offering yoga to support female refugees
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My body has healed beyond recognition & I hope to one day have a family of my own. As my physical strength has developed, so has my mental strength, confidence & sense of self. I feel so much gratitude that such a tough journey has made me the fierce yogi I have become. Helping others is something I find deeply nourishing. Yoga started out as an escape from my life and ultimately saved my life 💚 "
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