As June Student of the Month, congratulations to Carol Nadine Byrd! She lets us in on her special connection to yoga and why she deepens her practice at Bella Prana.
Yoga makes me feel as if there is nothing I cannot do or get through. Yoga centers you so the fact that you can do anything becomes your truth. Loving yoga is to accept yourself and to embrace your journey – a journey so unlike any other. I relied on yoga to survive nurturing my husband into the next life. So many times I had to simply stop and breathe or do ten sun salutations just to get through that moment. It’s simply unimaginable to me how I would have made it through those challenging hours without yoga, and without the warmth and peaceful feeling that embraced me every single time I walked through those Bella Prana doors. I cannot imagine my life without my yoga practice and all the loving, caring, outstandingly beautiful people that it has brought into my life.
Before going to bed, I excitedly check for the next day’s schedule at Bella Prana! Bella Prana was my refuge but now it’s my second home. If I don’t practice for a couple of days I so miss it. Yoga changes lives, and mine is no exception. It is by no means an exercise program to me but a way of living your life – living life in a thoughtful, joyful, calmer manner.
The connection between the mind and the body is remarkable but yoga makes you keenly aware that this relationship takes nurturing and, yes, hard work. The dividends of embracing the yoga lifestyle are immeasurable! I faithfully come to Roni’s class on Tuesday mornings – I venture to say her classes saved my life many times over. Often I felt as if she knew exactly what I needed to hear at that particular second in my life. So many times she brought tears to my eyes – tears from deep sadness, and joyful tears from comprehending that I wasn’t alone in my feelings and that in the end everything was going to work out.
I so embraced yoga that I’m almost done with my yoga teacher training and truly hope that I can devote my practice to shouting out that yoga will get you through any situation! My biggest desire is for everyone to try yoga and to ultimately embrace it. Thank you Bella Prana for just being there, beckoning and faithful. Love, light and blessings, Carol Nadine Byrd