I was a 27 year old paralegal for a social security disability attorney, with no idea what I wanted to do with my life, all I knew is I didn't want to do that. Even though I was really good at my job, I hated everything about it. I hated sitting at a desk from 9-5 everyday, and how fast paced and stressful my job was. Over the course of one year I was diagnosed with 7 painful illnesses, one right after another.
The first thing that caught my attention was the pelvic pain. I had a dull pain all the time, and sometimes there would be a spider web like pain pulling everywhere stopping me dead in my tracks. One day it was so painful that I was doubled over in pain, unable to walk straight and pale as a ghost. I went to see my doctor about it, and he didn't think there was anything wrong with me, but since I was having pain everyday he said he would do an exploratory surgery to see what he could find.
After the surgery was over, he apologized to me. He had found Endometriosis every where, so bad that my fallopian tubes and ovaries were plastered to my pelvic wall. He also found uterine fibroids and an endometrioma on my ovary. I was told that having children would be hard for me and that there was no cure for endometriosis, but I could try to manage it with birth control. I started seeing a pelvic physical therapist, and changed my diet, along with taking birth control hoping this would help the pain go away, but unfortunately it remained.
Soon after my surgery I started to experience extreme nausea, and pain on the right side of my chest that felt like it went all the way through to my back. A few hospital visits, Gastro Doctor visits and an endoscopy later, I found out that the pain was Gastroparesis and Gastritis. Which are just fancy terms for saying my stomach doesn't like to move very fast and I have more than a regular amount of heart burn. Once again I was told there is no cure for these illnesses, I could only try to manage them with medications, and a change of diet.
At this point I was committed to completely changing my diet to stop as much of the dietary pain and inflammation I was having from all these illnesses as I could. I realized alcohol was causing me a lot of pain and issues, so I decided to stop drinking. I also cut out any food or drink that could cause inflammation, which was mostly dairy products. However, just like with the endometriosis, the pain and nausea didn't go away.
Next I started to notice I was having a lot of pain in my back, neck and wrists. My back and neck were hurting me so bad that I literally would have to lay down as soon as I got home from work. I had pain and numbness in my wrists that shot all the way up to my shoulders. After seeing my doctor and doing an MRI, I was told I have 3 bulging discs in my back and a straight neck, instead of the natural curve I was supposed to have, which was the reason my back and neck were hurting so much. They also diagnosed me with carpal tunnel.
I started going to three different physical therapists, a chiropractor, got epidural and cortisone shots in my back, and was wearing wrist braces everyday. I couldn't take any pain medicine because it would make my gastroparesis worse, so instead I worked on fixing my posture and did everything the physical therapists told me to do. Nothing seemed to help the pain. At this point I was having 1-2 doctor appointments everyday, which made it so I could only work part time. My boss was not happy with this and eventually he fired me for it.
I was depressed, and I felt like there was no job I could possibly do with all the illnesses I had. I felt broken, and I even thought about applying for social security disability for a while until I made the decision that I wasn't going to let my illnesses defeat me. I knew there had to be something I could do to help myself heal that didn't involve modern medicine. That's when I decided to go to a yoga class.
The first yoga class I ever took was a hot yoga class. I had no idea what was going on and it showed. I didn't know what a downward dog was, and I could not touch my toes no matter how hard I tried! I had never done any gymnastics or sports in my life and I was not flexible or strong at all. I just listened to the cues, looked at everyone else to see if I was doing it right, and tried my best.
I was going once a week, and after a few weeks I started to notice I was getting better. I was gaining strength and flexibility in my back, neck and wrists. I would come home after a class and still have to lay down, but the pain was different after yoga. It was more of an exercise pain rather then a falling apart pain. Eventually, I got to a point where I didn't have to come home and lay down anymore.
I started going to classes twice a week, falling more and more in love with yoga with each class. I was feeling much stronger and more flexible then ever and it was starting to show! My back pain was slowly but surely disappearing, my neck pain was going away, and my carpal tunnel pain and numbness was going away too! I could even touch my toes!
Eventually much to my surprise, my pelvic pain, gastroparesis pain, and nausea was going away too. I didn't realise it at the time but all the yoga poses I was doing in class were actually massaging my internal organs, helping my stomach to move and my pelvis to relax! I was even able to stop taking all my medications!
I was hooked on yoga and it's amazing ability to heal me. I knew I wasn't the only one who was suffering and in need of a way to heal, I had to share this gift I was given with the world. That's when I decided to become a yoga teacher. I took a 200 hour registered yoga teacher course, became certified to teach, and started teaching at my local community center.
Eventually yoga led me to Reiki, and I became a certified Reiki Healer as well. I love being able to help my students overcome the obstacles they face in their lives. Whether that be regaining mobility after an injury, reducing back pain, calming anxiety, gaining confidence, or just finding that inner peace we all yearn for.
My story is why I fully believe that if I can heal myself through yoga and Reiki, so can you! I believe it so much that I have dedicated my life to doing just that! I am here to guide you down the path of healing, and cheer you on as you go on your journey. There is no greater joy then the joy I get from being able to help you.
If you'd like to start your healing journey click here to book your first session.
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