eilidh swan yoga
My experience with yoga had been lightly scattered in-between other activities
throughout my life, probably becoming more prominent in my early twenties and
primarily used as a form of physical exercise. I was one of those people who
left before Savasana because it gave my mind too much space and time to run free
- in all honestly I found it relatively torturous and uncomfortable. At this
point movement was for physical gain and mental distraction - which I’m sure
many people can relate to. I had experienced issues with my mental health from a
very young age and in 2015 was diagnosed with BPD. During that year I had two
hospital admissions for issues relating to severe self harming and substance
abuse. During my time as an inpatient we were offered yoga as a form of therapy,
which I utilised but could not fully hold space for at the time, although the
teacher gave me hope which was enough. Upon leaving I discovered the practice of
Ashtanga with my wonderful teacher Mo Still based in Aberdeenshire. The
structure, asana, pranayama and power filled me and I practiced daily. I don’t
want to suggest that yoga can fix all problems, physical and mental, but what I
will say is that having a practice to call my own and follow daily was crucial
in my recovery.
