"In 2013 I survived a very serious illness. My recovery, in many ways more challenging than the 'survival' phase, has been a journey of a lot of chemo, persistence & ....Yoga!
The inflammation in the brain & nervous system was painful beyond imagination & unrelenting. I had no idea how to cope with that & the diagnosis that my illness was incurable at 24 years old. .
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Before the illness I used to be an ambitious achiever, perfectionist, impatient- working 24/7 for my goals. Never stopping. Then suddenly I had to learn to live in stillness, without judging myself for not being able to ‘achieve’ in a society where we’re judged by our achievements. I had no idea of what real ‘self-love’ was before I had to learn to love myself for just being.
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I'd practiced yoga for 11 years, before the illness. After the long hospitalization I rediscovered yoga in a new way, beyond the physical asanas
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I learned how to rebuild strength; learning to breathe through everything, be gentle; learning acceptance & patience; gratefulness; non-comparison & non-judgement
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I learned how to really listen to my body in a way I had never before. I was learning to observe my wandering mind & to still the mind. Mindfulness& meditation transformed my way of thinking. I was changing
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My practice changed together with me: no matter how physically challenging the practice I do today, I move from a different start point - with a new intention & inner peace: a moving meditation. My priority is always not how it looks but how it feels
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Yoga helped me realize my potential, providing inner strength & happiness no matter what I do or accomplish, or how strong the wind blows around me
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By letting go of expectations I now see all the new possibilities, taking nothing for granted. I’m happier than I’ve ever been. Turns out, those years of illness when I thought I was achieving nothing, I was really growing!
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Because of the way yoga helped me I had to become a yoga teacher!
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Helping people find inner peace in the midst of life's challenges is the most rewarding thing in the world 💚 Maria" .
📷@umbertomezzadra
