14/08/2026
✨ The more the progress on my healing journey, the more able I become to look back, reflect and share ways that yoga has enabled and supported my journey (alongside other modalities and a nourishing and supportive environment).
So here's (part of) the story...
✨ In March 2020 I was infected with covid. A few weeks later I developed intense symptoms of long covid including breathlessness. I was unable to breathe without discomfort even when lying in bed.
Even normal breaths felt painful. Deeper breaths meant extreme pain and triggered extremely intense coughs. For months, I felt like a heavy boot was pressing against my chest. Fortunately, there were occasional breaks from this hell!
My brain learnt that full breaths were the source of pain and discomfort. So, my breath became very small.
✨ In autumn 2020, I started my yoga teacher training with the British Wheel of Yoga thanks to the full support of my tutor Yoga Earth - Catherine Hope . Catherine kindly put all reasonable adjustments in place to enable my attendance.
During our 3+ year training, we regularly practiced all breathing and pranayama practices that we were being trained to teach. We started by simply observing the natural flow of our breath. I became fully aware of how restricted my breath had become.
As we started gently building up the practices, I noticed my breath expanding little by little, reclaiming its space in my body. The sense of pressure gradually subsided. My brain was being retrained, alongside other physiological benefits.
These practices kept signaling safety to my nervous system enabling and supporting the healing process.
✨ Within six months, my resting breath had recovered. Long covid clinic measurements provided tangible evidence of my experience. I was able to experience the benefits in real time in my own body.
I still had a long roller coaster journey of recovery ahead of me, but I had built the foundations. I felt so grateful that when I started teaching, I devoted my classes to an expansive breath reclaiming its space in our bodies; to an open unobstructed breath 🫁✨
