My Yoga Journey: From Addiction to Connection

I was seventeen and in my car bawling because I arrived a minute late to my hot yoga class and the door was locked. For months, I planned my whole day around when I could take a hot yoga class.

I would skip hanging out with friends after cheer practice and miss out on countless family dinners so I could make it to a class each day.  I had read somewhere that a hot yoga session burned calories; since all I wanted to do was burn calories, I was willing to sacrifice anything to make it to a class.

The Oxford Dictionary defines yoga as “a Hindu spiritual and ascetic discipline, a part of which, including breath control, simple meditation, and the adoption of specific bodily postures, is widely practiced for health and relaxation.”

That definition does not say anything about burning calories.  Nowhere does it say that missing a day of doing yoga should negatively affect your wellbeing and cause you to eat less to make up for it.  I was listening to my teacher talk about breath and love and balance, yet I was only focused on burning calories.

Fast forward to age twenty and I decided to start Yoga by Adrienne’s 30-day yoga challenge called “Breath.”  Since age seventeen, I have done quite a bit of healing on my relationship to my body, fitness, and food.

Participating in The Body Project freshman year changed my whole perspective.  It allowed me to analyze my relationship to myself in a way I had never imagined possible.  And while I still had struggles with my relationship to my body, this 30-day yoga journey made me realize just how far I have come with the help of The Body Project.

I listen to the wisdom Adrienne shares, I focus on my breath filling my lungs, I notice minute parts of my body, I clear my mind, and I do not think about how many calories I am burning.  My relationship to yoga had completely changed.  My relationship to my body had completely changed.

After three years of telling myself positive affirmations that I didn’t quite believe, I finally was believing it.  I move my body because it makes me feel relaxed and connected.  I eat to fulfill my needs so I do not live in the cycle of binge and restrict.  I look in the mirror and see myself as I am.  I no longer obsess about missing a workout.

By comparing my relationship to yoga from when I was seventeen to now, I realized the impact The Body Project had on me.  Life is so much happier when you learn to love and accept the body you are given.  I am so proud to be a part of this loving community and hope you allow yourself the same kind of love and acceptance, even if it takes some time.

“Inhale lots of love in, exhale lots of love out. Namaste.”

Learn more strategies for body kindness, self-love, and eating disorder support during Love Your Body Week 2021. During the week of February 21-26, twenty-three events will take place virtually, focusing on educating, celebrating and creating a sustainable and supportive campus environment for all body types and experiences. Love Your Body Week offers a wide range of programs including fitness classes, educational programs, art therapy, mindfulness, and more.

All OSU students, faculty, and staff are invited to participate.

 

Bella Fiore, 3rd year 

Major – Public Management, Leadership, and Policy 

Minor – EEDS & Economics 

 

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