Discovering the Powerful Benefits of Yoga in Midlife

My yoga journey – Chapter 1

How yoga helped me through a life crisis

Hi – I am Kirsten. I am 58 years old and living in greater Copenhagen. I am living alone. I have a boyfriend, two grown up sons and their families, very old parents, a job and good friends. I am content with life. In fact I am grateful and feel privileged. This is my yoga journey which helped me to reach this recognition.

In 2020 my life changed in an unexpected direction. The foundation of my life for the last 38 years was past. My at that time husband moved and I was living alone for the first time in my life. Big crisis that words cannot describe but I think that all can imagine at least some of the pain such a breakup after so many years causes. What to do? I immediately realized that I needed some professional help and found a psychologist. She mainly listened, which was good but I was missing some tools. I also had good help from friends who very patiently listened to me telling my story over and over again. However, the big breakthrough in my psychic wellbeing came when I started practicing yoga.

Stroke of luck – my youngest son had approximately at the exact same time meet a young professional yoga teacher. They fell in love and soon they also moved together. Let us call the yoga teacher Julia😊 Both were very caring and wanted to help me. Julia suggested I start doing yoga and soon I was dragged into the yogi world. It became my saviour. It was during covid lock-down so first I was practicing in Julia’s yoga studio and later when she was forced to close it due to covid it was via online classes.

In the beginning I mainly did yin yoga. It helped me so much finding peace in my mind and to reduce all the pain I had in my body due to tension. Later I added Hatha and other yoga styles but my heart is still very much with the yin. I have though acknowledged that to have the full benefit of the yin yoga I also need to do the more physical and strengthening yoga disciplines such as hatha or vinyasa.

Today, 2 years later, I enjoy practicing various yoga disciplines in addition to yin and hatha such as fascia yoga, face yoga, breathing exercises and if I have a very good day: office yoga. Today it is non longer about reducing pain. Today yoga helps me find peace in a very hectic world as well as to focus on and prioritize what is important in my life. Not to forget the physical benefit in terms of a stronger and more flexible body.

How I manage to incorporate the different types of yoga into my daily life. Well it is a challenge, not always easy to find the time to be on the mat but the way it works for me is this: When Julia teaches in Yogaladen in Stenløse I go there for weekly classes or workshops. In addition I use the online classes that Warrior Princess Yoga offers. The variety of classes is big and I can do it whenever it can fit into my day. As a supplement I now and then attend a yoga retreat as the benefit of focusing on yoga and healthy food more days and together with others is enormous – but more about that in my yoga journey chapter 2😊

If you ask me, we should all do yoga. I think the world would be a much better place if all did.