Tales from the mat: Liz’s story
Former model Liz finds new steps with Yoga
If you are lucky enough to remember the classic ‘60/70s TV shows New Avengers and Thunderbirds, think of ‘Purdey’ mixed with Lady Penelope. Now see that gorgeous character on a yoga mat and you’ve got my friend Liz, one of the most glamorous gals I know!
For most of her life, Liz has looked after herself with a mixture of running and other high impact sports like aerobics and power classes. Born in a Cambridgeshire farming family, she loves the outdoors and grew up appreciating the joys of wide-open spaces and working the land. She has run her own very successful marketing agency and, with her tall, willowy build and constant smile, has also been a model for a women’s fashion retailer.
Always on the go with running and cycling
The unstoppable Liz was firing on all cylinders as usual when, just a few years ago, she was diagnosed with ‘burn out’. This manifested in many distressing ways including complete hip stiffness and immobility, leading to her doctors advising a hip replacement. The fear of this was enough to set Liz on a path of finding what else she might do to get back on her feet and, at the same time, deal with the crippling tiredness and anxieties that came with her upsetting condition.
She started to explore yoga and, in particular, the deeply meditative style of Yin Yoga. A teacher near home taught her to breathe into her joints, relax the muscles and sink into stillness. “Amazingly, I realised that I had always been quite inflexible, despite being athletic. While many people in a yoga class could sit happily with crossed legs and knees out to the side, my knees were always up near my chin!” said Liz. Within a few short weeks, she started to notice her knees dropping ever so slightly outwards during her seated ‘Sukhasana’ or Easy Pose “what started as anything but easy for me began to feel a lot more comfortable – I was thrilled!”.
Encouraged by this, Liz found an online yin yoga class so that she could do her own practice every morning. She started with ten minutes and is now up to a regular hour before breakfast each day. “The big turning point for me was when I began to trust the process, understanding that I wasn’t going to hurt myself and that this type of yoga is all about accepting what my body needs rather than my usual habit of chasing goals. It has transformed how I look at things and has been hugely helpful in dealing with the stress and tiredness that I was feeling before”.
The biggest result for Liz is that her doctor has now downgraded her hip condition from moderate to mild and she no longer needs a hip replacement. “I am astonished by how effective this has been for me. Not just in avoiding surgery but the sense of mastery I seem to have now over my mood. I am so grateful to have found this beautiful practice.”
Read more of this month’s ‘Glamour’ issue of OX Magazine here