We were lucky to catch up with LAUREN YATES recently and have shared our conversation below.
LAUREN, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Was there a moment in your career that meaningfully altered your trajectory? If so, we’d love to hear the backstory.
My first career right out of college was as an elementary school teacher. At that time in my life, I didn’t have any self care skills or ways to manage my stress and anxiety. For six years, I worked myself into the ground. I was in constant pain, couldn’t sleep, ate way too much sugar, rarely exercised, and stress ran rampant through my body. I had no idea that my body was starting to send me huge red flags, so I just kept going, with the elusive carrot of summer breaks pushing me forward. Finally, I had had enough and decided to leave the classroom.
The year or so following that, I was completely lost without the pressures of teaching. I missed the art of teaching and the relationships I would build with my students, but I did not miss all of the planning and paperwork. As I started to unwind, I noticed I was still in constant pain and always tired and never had any energy. I was also steadily gaining weight, despite getting back into exercise and movement. I had no idea what was wrong with me, but I thought rest and time out of the classroom would get me back to ‘normal’. Not a huge fan of doctors, I resisted going to the doctor.
I continued to feel poorly, and in March of 2015, I finally went to see a doctor. I remember walking in with a page-long list of everything I was experiencing. After listening to me, he diagnosed me on the spot. We confirmed his immediate diagnosis with bloodwork, and he was spot on–Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, an autoimmune disease that affects the thyroid, and adrenal fatigue. His treatment plan was to take a thyroid medication, supplements to bring my body back in alignment, change my diet by going gluten free, and to go to yoga. I sat there in disbelief, only comprehending part of what he said. What is an autoimmune disease? What will following a gluten free diet do for me? How will yoga alleviate the tiredness and fatigue?
The year that followed that initial appointment was the beginning of my life-long self care journey. I read everything I could about my condition, the causes, the treatments, autoimmune diseases, diet changes, and lifestyle changes. I cleaned out my pantry and began restocking with cleaner, gluten free options. I tried endless new recipes, most of them good, some of them flops! I found recipe bloggers who were advocating for their own health and helping others by creating accessible, clean and tasty food options. I started going to yoga classes. At first, I could only make it through gentle restorative classes because I was stiff with so much inflammation. I took the medicine and supplements regularly. After several months, I finally woke up one morning to a quiet ease in my body; it was the absence of pain. It was all working! Looking back, I am also extremely grateful that I not only found a doctor who listened to me and supported my health journey, I also unknowingly stumbled into the world of holistic health.
As I was researching, one of the biggest shocks was discovering that a high level of unmanaged stress and my poor lifestyle choices in previous years were most likely what caused me to develop Hashimoto’s. I had no idea that my diet and unmanaged emotions could have had this big of an impact on my physical body. I continued to learn as much as I could about holistic health and wellness. I wanted to be as knowledgeable as possible so that I could always be my own best advocate and not end up sick and tired again. I was so intrigued with yoga, that I started searching for yoga teacher trainings in my area. The closest city to me at the time was New Orleans, and one day I walked through the doors of Wild Lotus Yoga. My six month journey in Soul School, Wild Lotus’ teaching training program, with Sean Johnson and Mitchel Bleier, completely changed my life. With everything that I was learning about yoga, food, and overall wellness, I was hooked. After just one month in teacher training, my teacher’s brain piped up and said, “You have to share this!” What I was learning was blowing my mind, and I thought, if it helps me, then I can share and help others! Soon after, I began teaching my first weekly yoga class.
And I have not stopped! The Hashimoto’s diagnosis did more than change my diet or get me into yoga. It prompted an entire lifestyle change. It not only helped me become healthier and balanced, it inspired me to help others. The changes and improvements that I have personally implemented and experienced have enhanced my life and drive me to share this practice of yoga, meditation, healthy diet and mindfulness with everyone that I can.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
After a Hashimoto’s diagnosis in 2015, I committed myself to learning as much as I could about health and wellness so that I would be better equipped to navigate the ups and downs of health, sickness, emotions and life changes. Shortly after, I began yoga teacher training at Wild Lotus Yoga in New Orleans with Sean Johnson and Mitchel Bleier. Heart centered, this unique training blends the soulfulness of Bhakti yoga with yoga asana (postures) and anatomy. Bhakti yoga is a sweet love affair with yourself, the divine, and the world around you. This experience opened my eyes to a new way of being, and I began the inward journey into my own heart. As my heart opened and my perspective shifted, I felt called to share this beautiful practice with as many people as possible!
It’s with great care that I develop and share yoga experiences that are heartfelt, mindful and infused with music, mantras, meditation, poetry, breath awareness and life inspiration. My intention is for my classes to be welcoming and accessible to all levels of practitioners, and the movement is safe and mindfully sequenced. My school teaching background allows me to break things down in a way that is clear and easily digestible for both new and experienced students. I encourage students to tap into their inner wisdom, listen to the whispers of their heart, deeply relax into the practice, and revel in the sacred time they have dedicated for themselves. Asana is the doorway and with the additional mindful modalities that I incorporate, we can journey inwards, deep into our hearts.
I offer weekly yoga classes, beginner yoga workshops, educational workshops and series, meditation classes, and various community collaborations. My next steps are to start developing courses and moving more into the virtual space so that I can connect with open hearted seekers near and far.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
For three and a half years, I lived overseas in South Korea. I enjoyed living overseas and traveling, but a whirlwind romance convinced me to move back to the States. After moving back, just as quickly as it started, the relationship was over. I was alone, heartbroken, and lost, the promised plans and dreams shattered. I had landed in a new place and had no ties to where I was. In one of my darkest moments, I made the very difficult decision to move back to my hometown. I had never wanted to live in my hometown and didn’t have the fondest memories of my time there. But sometimes, home is where you need to be. I’ve been back for over a year now, and it has given me more gifts than I could ever imagine. Moving back home was the nudge I needed to put my healing first, journey inwards and heal deep wounds I had been ignoring. I have been able to improve the relationship with my parents. The new friendships I’ve made here are deeper and stronger than previous relationships I’ve had. I’ve also started sharing yoga classes again and it’s thrilling to watch this dream turn into a reality. I’m seeing the community with fresh eyes, meeting new people, and making connections with other artists and entrepreneurs. From the place that I least expected it to happen, I am growing and blossoming.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
Throughout my childhood, my parents modeled independence, strength, and resilience. So I adopted those characteristics as well, putting lots of value in doing things myself and being a real Rosie the Riveter. The last few years have been full of intense life changes and painful transitions. It was in those hard times that I finally learned how to humbly ask for help. It started with living overseas in South Korea, where I needed assistance just to get through daily tasks. From the language barrier, to the vastly different social customs, I required lots of help to navigate my new world. Fellow expats would swap tips and recommendations, while kind Korean locals helped with things like translations, doctor visits, and sharing the ins and outs of a new culture. While living overseas, I broke my leg. Being immobile made me request help from my friends with my dogs and grocery runs. And now, back in my home country, the personal hardships I’ve recently been through have forced me to ask for support more than ever. It was still so hard for me to reach out, and I saw it as a sign of weakness. As I continued to struggle, I slowly realized that the only way to get through this time in my life would be with a helping hand or two from those around me. I swallowed my preconceived notions and started asking for small favors. I was so unaccustomed to asking for help, that I was actually surprised when friends and family said yes. Asking for help has given me the opportunity to become gentler with myself, exercising self compassion and grace in a way that I never had before. It didn’t mean that I was less capable or not strong enough. And with the relief of assistance, I realized that accepting help felt good. The strength I have now is much deeper. It is the confidence in knowing that I can handle a lot of things, but also knowing when I’ve reached my limit and that I can lean on others’ generosity and strength.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.theinwardjourneywithlauren.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theinwardjourneywithlauren/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LearningYogawithLaurenYates?mibextid=LQQJ4d
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-yates-4b75ba240/
Image Credits
Greg Achord