"I had open-heart surgery in 2012 to repair an aneurysm with aortic graft & mechanical valve. This mechanical valve was supposed to last forever; however, in 2014 l found out that my body was rejecting this valve. I went through a second open-heart surgery to replace the mechanical valve to a human tissue valve"
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Before that, I was an active person who used to enjoy indoor climbing, power yoga, jogging, spinning, pilates. I married in 2007. I did have congenital heart disease, & tests revealed a huge aneurysm in my aorta. My cardiovascular surgeon explained that I'd probably developed the aneurysm during my pregnancy
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After the second open heart surgery, I was expecting to feel better, instead I felt weaker & developed strange symptoms. In June of 2015, I was admitted & diagnosed with infection of the graft that was placed from my 1st surgery. I went through a bypass surgery, 3rd open-heart surgery, & abdominal surgery to replace my arteries to human tissue. I was in the hospital for a total of 89 days
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Not only my physical but mental health suffered so much. I lost hope & wanted to give up on living. I was tired, cold, & done with everything
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When I left the hospital, I was skin & bone. My rehabilitation started from walking from my bed to the living room. It took me a year until I gained the strength and stamina to walk for a mile. After I gained my strength back, I resumed gentle yoga practice
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This was when I discovered the true meaning of yoga. I was introduced to breathing exercises & meditation. I was still suffering from depression & anxiety. All the pain & scars started to soften with yoga practice. It was such an amazing experience. Not only yoga brought strength & flexibility back to my body, but it also brought peace to my heart 💚
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And I wanted to share healing power of yoga with others like me. So I completed 200-hour teacher training in February 2019. I don’t practice social work as a social worker role, but I still utilize the skills that I developed on the yoga mat. I am very grateful for this entire experience 🙏 Motoko"
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