Namaste, Friends

Yoga found me. I never set out on a journey of self discovery or went looking to find something that would help me get into better shape. Although many people use it as a method to work on those things, yoga became a sanctuary for my mind. I was diagnosed in 2018 with burnout. It's two friends, anxiety and depression, jumped into the back seat and decided to come along for the ride. While therapy and my faith were both stepping stones to my healing, I decided to try a yoga class. "This wasn't for me" I thought, as I sat in the front seat of my car after class. There had to be a quicker remedy then just breathing and moving my body and then "taking a nap" afterwards. But, I went back with an open mind and with hopes I was wrong in my original thinking, and I never looked back. Yoga taught me to let go of judgement, to stop listening and believing the thoughts that were clamouring for my attention. After finding a consistent practice and showing up for myself, there came a solitude, a place where I could find introspection within my own mind where I was no longer afraid to face my thoughts. From yoga, I learned how to breathe again. I learned how to feel my emotions but not get lost in them. Over time, I grew to accept myself as a whole person who is not perfect, nor does she need to be. I learned that loving others meant loving myself first. I watched as others found the same healing each time they sat down on their mats and it was unlike anything I had ever witnessed before in my life. My yoga journey didn't end when I became a teacher, it had only just begun. My heart longed to offer a space where I could share that same love, community, and space where others could find whatever it was they were looking for.  Thus, the Sanctuary was born.