Written By Brittany Folino
When it comes to talking about mental health, for some this can be a very vulnerable topic albeit a very important one. My personal struggle with mental health is what began my transformation and spiritual journey as a dedicated yoga practitioner. Although this topic is very vulnerable for me it is important that I share it in order to share with you the most authentic version of me. I don’t want to say that I identify myself with these issues but rather that the struggle they provided me with have helped me to grow and evolve and essentially become the person that I am today.
Yoga and meditation found me at a very dark time in my life where I was struggling deeply with GAD (generalized anxiety disorder,) frequent panic attacks and chronic depression. I remember being at a point where I was so tired of hurting, feeling down, stuck and low of self esteem that I prayed and searched for ways that I could find a way out of this darkness that I was living in. Everyday felt like an uphill battle against myself and my own personal negative thought process which caused recklessness and self-destructive behavioral patterns. Thankfully, I didn’t want to stay in that place and I was determined to find a way out of this web I had tangled myself in. I began searching for the light.
I had stumbled across a yoga website article written by a yoga teacher who shared their journey about how yoga had helped them overcome addiction, depression and bi-polar disorder. After reading this persons inspiring journey and story I felt inspired to take up yoga with an open and hopeful heart, ready to transform. I signed up online and walked into my first yoga class greeted by a friendly face and even though I was alone I instantly felt welcomed and open to this new beginning I was about to experience. I remember my first few classes and for a long time I would cry in almost every class. The teacher would say things about how we release emotions, trauma and energetic blockages as we hold postures and that if emotions surfaced, to allow them to. So I allowed myself to be vulnerable and I allowed the tears to stream down my cheeks as I reflected in moments of pauses and stillness. The discomfort of postures taught me how to face myself, see myself and most importantly understand who I am.
I continued to practice yoga very consistently as it soon became an addiction that I was unaware would soon become my life. Yoga helped me to find a spiritual connection that I didn’t even know I had. In finding this spiritual side of myself I started to feel more connected, grounded and able to let go of things that were no longer meant for me. I started to become inspired to flourish, to grow, to leave behind the past and strive toward a bright and happier future. I no longer wanted to take part in things or people that brought me down or caused me unhappiness. My heart had been closed off from many years us sadness and self-abuse. I used to find things that were only a temporary distraction to swallow up the feelings I didn’t want to face. Through yoga I learned to feel what I feel, breathe deeply, be in the moment, connect with myself, and open my heart again. Yoga was like a candle in
the dark to my suffering. Just like a caterpillar becomes a butterfly, I soon began to find my way out of that darkness, grow my wings and learn to fly.
Without yoga I am not so sure I would be where I am today or who I am today. Yoga was there for me through times of utter hopelessness and heartbreak. It taught me how to see clear when I could no longer see past the illusion of fear I was crippled with. It is yoga I give my greatest of gratitude to for allowing me to grow, expand and become who I have become. Through the transformative power and inspiration of yoga (and yoga teachers) I wanted to share this amazing gift with others. If yoga had helped me at my darkest hour, I believed it could help others too. It was shortly after that I enrolled into YTT (yoga teacher training) to begin my journey as a teacher. I am so incredibly grateful for the ability to do what I do, the lives I may impact or inspire and the incredible students I get to connect with everyday as they show up on their mats to practice. We are all reflections of each other. I am so humbled and honored for the privilege to guide students through their practice with the hope of giving them light. My mission as a teacher is this and has always been this: I inspire to inspire before I expire. Furthermore, I believe I have found my purpose on earth. As Pablo Picasso once said “The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.”
I yearn to inspire and help others to believe in their fullest potential, to become the greatest version of their selves, to find their edges and blow past them. Know that you are infinite. Know that if you are in the dark, there is a light. Know that you deserve much more than you give yourself credit for. Roll out your mat, take a deep breath, and begin