Yoga- and the Yoga Happy app -have been pivotal in my health and healing journey, but to understand just how important they’ve become, it’s necessary to understand where I started.
After having my second child, my son, I experienced a difficult and extended recovery from a C-section. I had an open wound for almost a year, and with limited mobility and little energy, I gained a lot of weight. I’d never been into fitness and had always felt uncomfortable in my own
body. Deep down, I didn’t like myself much – I carried around a constant undercurrent of self-consciousness that shaped everything I did. My confidence was incredibly low, and my self-worth felt almost non-existent.
When my son was diagnosed with severe autism at two years old, it was a moment of love, pain, and heartbreak all tangled together. I adore him and his uniqueness, but I also grieved for the future I thought we would have. It was a complex grief – one that felt isolating. I felt guilty for grieving at all, but also overwhelmed by what this new road meant. I didn’t know who I was anymore. I told myself I was “just a carer now,” that life would be smaller from here on out. I stopped looking after myself. I comfort ate to numb the exhaustion and fear. I felt lost.
The internal dialogue I lived with was vicious. I’d walk into a room and automatically assume I was the least worthy person there. I compared myself constantly, always unfavourably. The intrusive thoughts were relentless: “You’re not good enough.” “You’re disgusting.” “You’ll never change.” I didn’t just dislike myself, I actively hated who I was becoming.
Eventually, I hit rock bottom. And from that place, I realised I had two options: collapse or rise. Collapsing wasn’t an option – I had to try. I started a weight loss and fitness journey and eventually lost seven stone. I began with strength training, but as I followed Hannah’s content online, I became curious about yoga. It looked peaceful, grounding – something deeper than just movement. But the thought of walking into a class was terrifying. I didn’t feel strong enough, flexible enough, or “yoga” enough. I feared being judged.
That’s when I found the Yoga Happy app. Being able to practice in private, at home, at my own pace, felt like the kindest gift I could give myself. I wasn’t ready to be seen, but I was ready to try. Through Hannah’s classes, I started to connect to my body in a way I never had before. Yoga wasn’t about how I looked – it was about how I felt. It gave me a moment of stillness amidst the chaos of raising a child with complex needs. It offered a break from the noise, externally and internally.
As I deepened my practice, something inside me began to shift. Yoga became my space to breathe, to be present, and to treat myself with compassion. It was where I rebuilt trust in myself and created room for confidence, resilience, and inner peace to grow. I’ve now started attending a local class, something I never would’ve believed possible before.
Yoga has helped me not just physically but mentally – it’s helped me challenge the deeply rooted belief that I am unworthy. It taught me I don’t need to be perfect to be deserving of care and love. The Yoga Happy app made this transformation accessible when I needed it most. Yoga is no longer something I “do” – it’s part of who I am, and it will continue to guide me as I navigate motherhood, mental health, and healing.
It’s not about perfect poses. It’s about showing up, again and again, for myself.
