Yoga first came into my life as a teenager healing from meningitis, and it truly became the bedrock of my personal healing journey. Yoga is profoundly personal for me, a practice inextricably intertwined with deep healing and growth. 

 

Practicing yoga through the ebb and flow of illness taught me the importance of tailoring my practice to honor my body where it is in each sacred moment in time. What it also did was identify the scarcity of resources that help people to do so in a safe and intelligent way.

 

I created bodinh based on the belief that yoga can and should truly be accessible for everyone. If you’re not sure where to start, or don’t believe you can practice because of a current illness or injury, know that you too can benefit from the healing power of yoga. There is a place for you here. 

 

Recovering from meningitis felt like living with a chronic illness - I was in no way cured when I left the hospital. Although from the outside I appeared to be physically unscathed, I emerged with manageable neurological deficits and a feeling of being less than emotionally whole. Persistent fatigue, balance and coordination issues, anxiety, depression, and headaches became part of my lived experience. 

 

Through it all, the physical and the emotional obstacles, I’ve continued to practice yoga - often as the student in the back of the room, modifying extensively. I’ve had disheartening experiences with teachers who made me feel shame for honoring my body instead of doing the poses as they instructed. 

 

Along my journey, I was introduced to yoga master Arkady Shirin, who recommended that I begin a nourishing home practice in order to avoid yoga teachers and classes that didn’t honor the needs of my body. Practicing alone at home, without fear of collapsing in class or being scolded for erring from instruction due to my health, is what helped me to develop confidence and empowered me to become a teacher. I credit learning how to breathe and how to truly see to my first teacher training with Ana Forrest. 

 

The path of healing is not linear. I’ve experienced it all - from a diagnosis with a lifelong neurological disorder, to Lyme Disease, to a fluke scuba diving accident that resulted in a spinal cord injury where I struggled to walk for a period afterwards. Whatever it is that you are going through - in your illness, or in your wellness - I honor where you are in this place in time and hold you in my heart as we practice together. 

 

Yoga isn’t simply the contortionist, gravity-defying practice that it can sometimes appear to be on Instagram -  it’s a healing practice that helps you to build strength and resilience that will serve you always, even at unexpected times off of your mat.

 

I don’t know if yoga can cure an illness, but building a personalized and thoughtful practice can help to heal your body, mind and soul. Classes can be tailored to omit poses that can exacerbate specific illnesses so that the individuals can reap all of the powerful benefits of reduced stress, increased presence and productivity, and lessened depression and anxiety. It can foster feelings of connection and compassion, both to oneself and to others. And in that way, we all are better for it.

 

bodinh, welcome home. 

 

With love,

Lauren