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.