Have you been affected by mental illness?
Has your life been affected by someone else with mental illness?
Are you suffering now?
People ask why I do what I do. Why do I go into schools to teach mental health and well-being through yoga? Let me tell you…
My Story
When I first met Collin, I was young and naive. He came up to me at a party with the most beautiful sincere blue eyes and looked deep into my soul. He had so much confidence. He was the life and soul of the party. Little did I know, this confidence covered so much hurt, trauma, pain and anger. My life became the biggest rollercoaster of highs and lows. As there were so many highs, I learnt to live with the lows, always thinking they would get better. They did not. Collin tried taking his life… finally, on the third attempt, he succeeded. The emotional pain he must have endured was just too much. The fear I had been continually living with only became apparent to me once I let him go. After the shock of finding out, was so much pain. Telling our 3 beautiful children was so hard.
3 years ago, a beautiful Irish friend and school Mum who was there for Collin in his darkness, took her life on Mental Health Awareness Day. She was making a point.
Her life and my late husband’s life MEANS something.
Finding Meaning after death
We need to do more. We need to give all children well-being education and techniques for their self-care. We need to help them feel valued. We need to make them aware of the consequences of not looking after themselves. Children need to understand how important it is to keep themselves healthy, in body, mind and spirit. Well-being techniques should be an everyday routine, just like cleaning your teeth. It all starts from the seeds we grow.
I teach children ‘Your well-being, is your responsibility.’ If you are struggling get help. If you are in pain, physically, mentally or emotionally, do yoga, meditation, eat well and sleep. If you are suffering, seek support. Everything has consequences. Everything is a choice. Your life is your choice.
The theme for Mental Health Awareness Month back in May was ‘Tools to Thrive’. I owe it to Yoga, as this practice gave me everything I needed to get my children and myself through our grief and pain. Yoga helped me continue to keep my body healthy, rather than sinking into a bottle of wine. Yoga helped me notice when my thoughts would start to spin into a downward spiral. Yoga helped me to feel my grief, so I was able to acknowledge it and let it go. Yoga helped me connect with an understanding community of teachers and people who provided a safe space for my healing process to unfold. Yoga gave us all a purpose. Yoga gave us meaning.
Check out how Yoga can help you using some of these free breathing technique videos. Use them with your pupils in school, with your family or use them yourself.