I believe that my human journey deepened when I started doing yoga. Therefore, I would like to share click number 1, which had one of the biggest impacts, not just on my body but also on my mind and Soul, in the past seven years: Yoga with Adriene.

I started yoga because I had numbing sensations and shooting pain in my right leg. A scan revealed that I had sciatica. At the time, I was working in Billing, the Finance department, and was sitting at my desk for many hours, which made it worse. One of the recommended treatments to ease the pain of sciatica is exercise, and someone suggested I give yoga a go.

My yoga journey began in a small studio in a house in my area, with once-a-week sessions; it was lovely. After a while, I realised that the pain was gone. Not only that, but yoga had a positive impact on my mind as well, as I was juggling the month-end madness at work.

However, due to changes in my life, I had to look for another yoga class option. It was then that I found yoga with Adriene online seven years ago.

I’m going to be honest with you. I liked Adriene’e videos a lot, but I really struggled with the fact that there was a lot of talking. I was unaware of my ADHD traits at the time, and I found it hard to stay focused and still. I wanted to give up many times, but I realised that I enjoyed doing yoga at home by myself more than going to a studio. Then I did one of her 30 days of yoga programs, and that changed everything.

Showing up every morning on the mat was challenging but very rewarding, physically and mentally.

But I got annoyed with her chatter, her bursts of singing while I was shaking, trying to hold a position. The feeling persisted, and I decided to look for other videos. Nevertheless, again and again, I kept coming back to her channel.

Slowly I realised that Adriene and I were similar. What annoyed me in her I also had in myself; it’s just that I didn’t like it and refused to see it. It was actually her little idiosyncracies and her authenticity that drew me back to her videos. The annoyance at her wandering off turned into smiles; now I even join in when she starts singing some of my favourite songs from the 90s.

My yoga journey was on and off in the past seven years as I juggled a full-time job and my counselling course. But it has become such a big part of my life that if I don’t do yoga for a few days, I feel a bit off, physically and mentally. My morning sessions are mainly free-flowing now, however I always go back to Adriene’s one-off videos or her 30 days of yoga programmes once in a while.

I told many people who were thinking about starting yoga about her. And I will continue to recommend her. There are many other great teachers out there. But for me, Adriene has a special place in my heart because she helped me connect, accept, and even fall in love with a part of myself that I used to hate; this part brings so much richness to my life. She also helped me to connect with my body and listen to it.

So, if you haven’t heard of Adriene yet, or maybe you were pondering starting a yoga practice, check out her youtube channel or website.

And make sure to check the comments on her videos; many of them will warm your heart and make your day! No surprise there because that is what she has been doing for us for many years.

Thank you, Adriene!

Yoga with Adriene

https://www.youtube.com/user/yogawithadriene