Since I can remember...
I found great pleasure and fun in moving my body. Dancing in the living room was - and still is - my favourite thing to do.
As a kid I also played tennis, a lot of tennis. My dad used to drive me all over Italy to participate in tennis competitions. When I was 16 years old, during training, one of my teachers said “you should lose a couple of kilos to be more agile on the court”.
Trauma alert!
Those worlds made me feel inadequate, fat and not enough. I struggled with my body image for many years afterwards. In my twenties, I was mentally counting calories of every food I was eating. And I was running like crazy to burn them.
A few years later...
my friend Louise convinced me to try Bikram yoga in Brussels. I was VERY skeptical and I didn’t want to go. After a few classes I realised that on top of burning a lot of calories, I felt strong and relieved after the class. Yoga became an integral part of my life.
3 years went by and I moved to London. New city, new job, new friends, same willingness to practice. I joined a studio close to my workplace and slowly yoga became my obsession. The studio was my second home. I liked the friendly environment, the smell walking in, the practice, the people BUT there was something missing.
I started realising that there was something beyond the yoga poses.
In July 2015,
after 12 hours of labour my first daughter was born. I was in awe of this tiny baby sleeping in the crib next to my bed, but I was also feeling a huge sense of responsibility on my shoulders.
My perfectionism and insecurities guided me straight into postnatal depression.
I reached a point where I almost didn’t like my baby, I was angry at my husband and I definitely didn’t like myself.
That’s when I hit rock bottom, and I didn’t even know about it.
Meditation saved me
I’ve never meditated before and I started slowly. I kept meditating until I finally realised I was depressed and I needed help. So I chose to go back to my happy place: yoga.
Both yoga and meditation became a place of nourishment, happiness, self-expression and freedom. I started eating what I wanted, forgetting the notion of burning calories and gifting myself with moments of stillness. I won my battle against the darkness and I felt a strong desire to share my story to help others.
In March 2017,
I completed my first 200hrs yoga teacher training and I’ve never stopped learning since.
A week later I was teaching classes at The Walt Disney Company, across EMEA. Tears of happiness ran down my cheeks when I was asked to be the company Wellness Lead.
This opportunity not only gave me the chance to advance professionally but over the years I built a beautiful community of yoginis committed to their heath and wellbeing which is like my extended family.
I'm grateful
you've landed here and I can't wait to MOVE.BE.LOVE. together so you can discover your super-powers!
Namaste,
Consuelo