Leoné, a 26 year-old PhD student, uses our free Park Yoga sessions to support her endometriosis and pain management…
“I struggle to do high intensity exercises due to my chronic inflammatory condition: endometriosis. I struggle with fatigue and I’m sometimes in extreme pain so the strain of high intensity exercise on my adrenal glands, which also have a big impact on my hormones and inflammatory responses, doesn’t help.
It was difficult for me when I got diagnosed with endometriosis because I used to exercise quite frequently, but following the onset of my chronic symptoms I was really struggling to keep up with the pace of other exercise classes. At some points I even hated exercising because it was so painful and I felt so fatigued. It even made me hate my body in a way, which is really sad. However, yoga helped me find a way to fall back in love with movement because I felt that I still needed that.
I’m a PhD student, which means I work a lot behind my desk and sit quite often. I also suffer from endometriosis sciatica related symptoms. So, for me it’s important to open up my joints and create some space for my nerves to relieve any pressure.
But not only that, yoga also gives me a space where I can switch off and safely be present in my body, offering me the opportunity to really relax and fall back in love with my body by being able to move in a way that doesn’t aggravate my condition.
What I love about Park Yoga is that it’s outside and because I’m inside most of the time due to my PhD work, I like being able reconnect with nature and to exercise outside as it grounds me in another form. When I was lying down on Sunday doing the Savasana, something as simple as touching the grass and playing with it through my fingers gave me the biggest sense of joy.
As a student, cost is also a large contributing factor for me to decide if I will be able to participate in an activity or not. So, the fact it’s free is amazing, and I think that counts for a large amount of the people that go to Park Yoga – it’s so nice because it’s making yoga accessible to everyone.”
Park Yoga is suitable for all physical levels and abilities, and no experience is necessary – last year 30% of our participants had never tried yoga before. There’s no need to book, just turn up with a mat (or towel or blanket) and enjoy the session. Visit our venue page to find your closest Park Yoga location.