Introducing Yogibela

Hello and welcome! This is my very first blog post for yogibela, so I thought it was the perfect place to introduce myself and tell my story. Yoga has helped me work through my grief, and I’d love to share how it can help you too. 

I’m Natalie, I’m in my early 30s and I’m from the UK. I’m a primary school teacher by day, although I’m currently working as a teaching assistant, which I love. I also run a small craft business (head over to www.buttonbela.com if you’d like to know more), and I’m about to start my journey into Yoga Teacher Training. I believe that sunshine is good for the soul, friendships should fill you with nothing but joy, and chocolate should be one of the main food groups! 

I first fell in love with yoga in January 2021. It was the first form of exercise I ever truly enjoyed, after a lifetime of always making excuses to skip PE lessons and being forced to play team games that I never had the coordination for. Yoga was a way of moving my body which I genuinely fell in love with. 

The first Covid lockdown in March 2020 was strange but seemed to really bring out the best in people at the time – community spirit was high, weather was good, and I guess we all thought it would be a short term thing. However, by the time yet another new lockdown was introduced the following winter, my positivity had waned and I was feeling really drained. The short days, long dark nights, and lack of social interaction all made the winter lockdown feel a lot more difficult. I was looking for something to improve my mental health during this time, so I tried a few yoga videos online and was instantly hooked. It soon became a daily habit for me, one which my mind and body looked forward to. I also connected with a wonderful, welcoming community on Instagram, which inspired and encouraged me each time I felt a bit lost – join me on Instagram here.

Honestly, I strayed away from my practice once the world started opening back up post-lockdown. It had been such a long time since we’d all been together and making fun memories that I fully embraced every opportunity to make plans, and yoga was left on the back burner. I did the occasional practice, but with no real intention or regularity. Life was good though, and I was surrounded by great people, and so lucky to be making great memories again. 

Fast forward to December 2022. I was all ready for a perfect Christmas with my lovely family, and I was so excited for my wedding day which was due to be New Year’s Eve 2022, after already having to postpone once due to Covid. Sadly, my whole world was turned upside down in an instant, when a drunk driver crashed into my fiancé and killed him, just 2 days before Christmas and 8 days before our wedding should have been. There is no real way to describe this tragic situation, and the next few days passed by in a blur. I feel incredibly lucky to be surrounded by supportive friends and family, but the hole that my amazing fiancé has left in my life is immeasurable. He really was sunshine in human form – I’m devastated that we never got to have the perfect wedding and the life we had planned, but I’m so lucky that I got to spend 9 wonderful years with him. 

A couple of weeks later, in January 2023, I decided I needed to get back into my yoga practice to help me process my grief, and that’s exactly what I did. I tried out new classes, joined a new studio, surrounded myself with yoga-related books and podcasts, and just threw myself back into the world of yoga wholeheartedly. I cannot express how much gratitude I have for it – if it wasn’t for yoga, I honestly don’t know what state I would be in right now. My yoga mat feels like a safe space and it’s definitely one of my favourite places in the world; somewhere I can be myself and show up for myself, no matter what else is going on around me.

As I write this blog post a few months later, my yoga practice really has given me strength in a way that I couldn’t have imagined. Yoga has become so much more than a physical practice for me, and I’m starting to take what I’ve learnt off the mat too. My wonderful fiancé embodied all the qualities of a yogi (without ever practising any yoga!), and he always inspired me to become a better version of myself. He was kind, patient, optimistic, grateful, and a million more positive qualities. When he died, I made a promise that I would try to make him proud every day. Whilst I’m not sure quite what that will look like in months and years to come, I’ve tried to embrace his gratitude and positivity and tried to look after myself and the people that were special to him. I really feel that my purpose in life is to continue to spread more of his love and light, and I feel like I’ve been called to do that through teaching yoga. I’m starting my YTT early next year, and I really hope that I can help others who are struggling with grief or tough situations to adapt their mindset and lean into their internal strength. 

My intention for this blog is to share my real life, including ways that yoga has helped me and can help you too, but to also include snippets of wellness, self-care, meditation, and anything else that I feel may benefit others. It’s so great to have you here.

What brought you to yoga in the first place? How has it helped you? Is there anything in particular you’d like to see in the blog? Let me know in the comments below, I’d love to connect!