Harriet’s Story
The alarm was so loud, I thought I was in the middle of an earthquake.
How could it be THAT time again?! Time to drag myself into the shower, into that packed school & into a busy classroom for yet another long, tiring, overwhelming day. I needed to get up NOW. I could already hear the chaos, the drama, the stress “do you have a minute Miss King? Can I ask you a question Miss King? You'll never guess what happened.”
“Surely there was more to life than this."
On the way home, I was mindlessly driving through rush hour traffic, tears streaming down my face, yet again..when I got home, I collapsed onto my bed after another day unknowingly battling anxiety & depression in a job that was wearing me down...and I rang my Mum.
“This is when you need to use your yoga practice”.
I was about to start complaining again when I realised she was right.
''All the calm & joy you find in yoga. You should use this to support your mental health more. Isn't that the whole point?! I just imagined myself sitting in the studio, quiet, still, peaceful.
I was a normal person with no mental health challenges before. Why was this happening to me? Why was life so hard right now?!
I realised, the only difference between myself & others was choice. Now was my time to make a choice.
I grabbed my mat &headed to the studio, on a packed out tube across London, trying to block out the big city. I sat on my yoga mat, & just started to tune into my breath.
“Just breathe”. I thought. My mind was still racing.
“How am I going to get out of this mess I've made for myself!? It's too hard & I don't have enough time!”
After class I felt so calm from meditation & energised from yoga. I got on the tube & felt the rush of stressful life filling my brain up with thoughts & stories again. Everything felt too much.
''How does anyone fit this into their day?”How am going to prioritise this?''
I tried everything. Youtube videos, blogs, free tips on instagram. I was overwhelmed, making no progress. I wanted to give up.
Then, one afternoon driving home from work, crying at the steering wheel, again. I thought... “I can't do this anymore. I can't live like this. I'm so unhappy.''
I’d been too busy to ask for help. But I knew it was the right thing to do. I took a deep breathe & rang my Mum.
Sobbing down the phone I finally admitted defeat. “I'm not happy. I hate everything. I can't do this.”
We had an amazing conversation. She told me to ''stop being so hard on myself, that I'm human & that it was ok.'' I was signed off work, moved back up north, quit my job & made my mental health my number 1 priority. I gradually began to incorporate everything I learnt on the mat into my life... & tons more.
By combining the physical movement of yoga that I loved & the meditative state of awareness through pranayama & mindfulness I created a system that gradually allowed me to fit self care into my day. Mum & I also went to yoga together to hold ourselves accountable.
I’m so glad I swallowed my pride & asked for help. After years of practice, learning & unlearning, I became a full time meditation & yoga teacher. I get to teach yoga & self care to so many amazing souls & remind people that we CAN prioritise self care in our busy lives.
If you want to join the programme that enabled me to feel happy in my mind & confident in my body again, without spending hours at the gym or feeling stressed out & overwhelmed, hit the button below!