03/08/2024
It’s been a while since I’ve posted and I just want to thank everyone for being here on this page and in this wellness community.
A lot has happened this past year—a relocation (a positive one!), full-time focus on my healthcare and deeper understanding of what a disability truly is which has led to more understanding and compassion for the challenging path I’ve been on for over 20+ years now.
I started my yoga practice age 21 after being diagnosed with an incurable illness that was extremely difficult to manage and would nearly end my life at one point.
Yoga quickly became my best friend and my dream was to one day teach people who also are coping with a chronic condition seeking some refuge from pain and stress, even it’s just one hour in a weekly class.
That dream became my reality in my 30’s and a classroom with bolsters and bricks and lights off was right where I belonged. Yoga therapy was home. I enjoyed connecting with so many students from different walks over the years. It was an honor to teach them all. I learned as much from them as they said they did from me.
In my 40’s, I felt a relapse coming on and unfortunately, didn’t have doctors who took me seriously for many years…until the disability rendered me bedridden. And then doctors still didn’t know how to help.
So I made a big change and moved someplace better for my overall well-being and with better access to healthcare providers who are trying to help me get better and support me where I am right now.
My feelings have run through cycles of disbelief I have relapsed to this point, to anger that there is so little awareness or treatment for the rare conditions I have, to sadness of time passing by seeking help and feeling I’m going in circles, and finally to acceptance that life isn’t always fair and it’s certainly not easy. My power continues to lie in using tools to manage living with limitations and uncomfortable symptoms.
Healthcare is my full-time job at the moment so I haven’t had a lot of extra time to post. But I will be back as my schedule and health allows. And I look forward to sharing the continued education I have received in neurological health and PTSD, which is my speciality as a yoga therapist because this is also my own challenge.
Be well and take good care,
Lauralyn
