This month our ambassadors were two beautiful and shy souls. I am so honored to capture their inner light and showcase their love on the blog! Barefoot Yoga Shala is truly blessed to have such amazing members of our community who add such sparkle, love & light to our world.
Brianna is one such light. She is a nurse who will be joining our yoga teacher training in January and adding even more love to our community by integrating more holistic practices into the world of medicine. We are truly grateful to have her here today on the blog and can’t wait to share her story.
1) How long have you been practicing yoga? And what brought you to the practice?
I have been practicing yoga consistently since May 2015 when I starting coming to Barefoot Yoga Shala, but have had a practice on and off since 2008. This spring I was just beginning my first full time job as a registered nurse on a Trauma/Medical-Surgical Unit. I could feel that I was getting more and more distant from myself. I knew I needed to do something for myself to stay centered, connected, and balanced. Throughout my life, yoga had always been a treat for me. When I could afford to go to classes in college I would go, and when I was in high school I had found one of my mother’s old workout DVD’s that had a yoga section on it. I would use it to practice yoga as often as she would let me.
This spring, I decided that it was time for me to make yoga not just a treat in my life, but a part of my everyday routine. The growth and strength that has taken place since I began to practice yoga again has been greater than I could have ever imagined.
2) Being a nurse has some intense challenges. You’ve mentioned that you’re a bit more holistically minded; how does that translate to your job?
It was difficult at first for me to find a place for my authentic self in the hustle and bustle of a fast paced hospital that focused on getting patients medically stable and on the next phase of healing. However, since I decided I wanted to be a nurse I knew that I wanted to make a difference in health care. It is fascinating to me that many patients coming in to get knee replacements, or life saving surgery’s after they have been in traumatic accidents are lonely and distant from themselves. I see so many beautiful souls, sink into a place of sadness and hopelessness during their stays at the hospital. It dawned on me one day that maybe I could not make big changes right now, but I could make someone smile each time I walked into their room. I could remind others and myself that the people laying in those hospital beds are not just their diseases or illnesses, but they are humans just like us. They have people and pets they love. They have favorite places and memories that warm their hearts like all of us. There are people they miss; there are things they have lost things. Just like you and me. I offer my time and do my best to be present with my patients. I make time throughout my shift to take a few deep breaths to refocus and remember why I became a nurse in the first place; why I love what I do. I love to love people, and be there for them when they need a little extra light in their lives. {Did everyone else just fall madly in love with Brianna?? I did … swoon…such a blessing that nurses like her exist in the world!}
This is a stepping stone for me, part of my journey; it is where I am supposed to be right now in my life. My dream is to someday be able to incorporate and offer patients non-invasive, holistic
3) Tell us a fun fact about yourself!!
I love to write. I have boxes filled with journals I have kept since I was 10 years old. It started off as just little stories about my dolls or adventures I would have with my brother and our beanie babies in the outdoors of Maine. Then it became a way for me to process the world around me. It is how I am able to hear my heart now. I love to sit in cozy coffee shops and cafes everywhere I go– just writing for hours with a warm cup of tea.
4) You’re taking the RYT in January, what are you hoping to take away from this experience?
I am hoping to learn more about the theories, the healing practices of yoga, and to deepen my own yoga practice. I am also hoping to be able to learn how I can offer yoga to other people and guide them on their journey through their own yoga practice. I love to help others and see the beautiful transformation that takes place when people decide to open their hearts and minds to their authentic selves. I am so excited for this opportunity and to be able to get to know everyone going on this journey through RYT with me!
5) What is your favorite part of yoga?
My favorite part of yoga is the moment at beginning of class that I begin to listen to my breathing and feel my mind and body connect. It helps me to get in touch with where I am experiencing resistance
6) What would you tell your pre-yoga self?
You are beautiful, you are strong and you are capable of great things. You are valid and your heart is sincere. Accept yourself for the gift that you are; be proud of what makes you different and when people call you unique, take it as a great compliment. Listen to your heart and trust the journey ahead. The things you expect and plan for may not be what you need most, so be open to all opportunities and beautiful moments that come into your life.
Brianna is a girl of my own heart: writing in cafes, healing the world with her love and seeing that yoga is so much deeper than the asanas. The world truly is lucky to have Brianna in the health profession and BYS is even luckier to have her practicing with us daily and sharing her love.
Thank you Brianna for being an OM-azing ambassador this month! We love you lots.
Namaste
Jenny