The Transformative Power of Yoga: A Journey of Healing, Awareness, and Change

From Gym Junkie to Yoga Devotee

My yoga journey began in 2015. Up until then, I had been a hardcore gym-goer—weights, Les Mills classes, high-intensity workouts. My approach to exercise was always hard and fast, pushing my body to the limits.

When I first tried yoga, I sought out the most intense, strength-based style I could find. It was the perfect transition for someone like me, used to exerting maximum effort. But as I delved deeper, I realised yoga was offering something entirely different—something I didn’t even know I needed.

Yoga wasn’t just about physical fitness. It was about tuning into my body in a way I had never done before. Instead of mindlessly pushing through workouts, I started understanding my body, listening to it, and recognising what it needed. This was a revelation.

We spend so much of our lives operating on autopilot, following routines and ingrained patterns without questioning them. Yoga helped me break out of that cycle and shift into a more intentional way of living.

The Wake-Up Call: When My Body Spoke Louder Than My Mind

Fast forward to the first COVID lockdown in New Zealand. I had been working in an incredibly demanding job, completely unaware of how exhausted I was—physically and emotionally—until I stopped.

For three days, I barely moved, and my neck completely seized up for the first time in my life. I needed help doing the simplest things, like putting my hair up. Painkillers, acupuncture, massage—nothing provided lasting relief.

After months of trying different treatments, I turned to specialists, who ran scans and tests. The diagnosis? A 20-degree kink in my cervical spine (between the C2 and C3 vertebrae). Their solution? Surgery—an operation where they would pull my spine out through my mouth and replace my vertebrae with artificial ones. In the meantime, they offered me painkillers to manage the discomfort.

That moment was pivotal. I walked out of the specialist’s office and decided I would heal myself. Using yoga, breathwork, and everything I had learned about the mind-body connection, I focused on releasing tension, improving mobility, and strengthening my spine.

Three years later, my neck is absolutely fine. The pain is gone. I don’t know if my vertebrae have physically realigned (unless someone wants to fund a scan!), but I do know I no longer carry the pain and tension that once impacted me substantially!

Breaking Patterns: The Mind-Body Connection

What I learned through this experience is that we often go through life unaware of the patterns we are stuck in. I had been unconsciously holding tension in my neck for years, and I only realised it when it manifested as a physical issue.

We take our physical discomfort for granted, assuming it’s just something that requires medical intervention—drugs, surgeries, external fixes—when, in many cases, the solution lies within us.

Our bodies store our emotions, past traumas, and stress. Yoga teaches us awareness. It helps us uncover where we are holding onto patterns that don’t serve us—whether it’s physical tension, emotional pain, or limiting beliefs.

By learning to listen to our bodies, we can break free from these patterns and move toward healing.

Mind-Heart-Body Coherence: The Key to Transformation

When we begin listening to our bodies, we cultivate a deeper sense of coherence between our mind, heart, and body.

Science supports this—when our nervous system, brain, and heart are in sync, we experience greater emotional regulation, improved decision-making, and enhanced overall well-being. Yoga, meditation, and breathwork help create this harmony, making us more resilient to stress and less likely to fall into self-destructive patterns, including addiction.

Many addictive behaviours stem from disconnection—disconnection from ourselves, from our emotions, from our inner wisdom.

Yoga reconnects us. It shifts us from autopilot to awareness, from mindless reactions to intentional responses. It gives us the tools to break out of the cycles that don’t serve us, whether those cycles involve addiction, self-sabotage, or chronic stress.

The Science of Yoga: Why It Works

Research has shown that yoga positively impacts the nervous system, reducing cortisol (the stress hormone), increasing serotonin (the happiness neurotransmitter), and balancing the autonomic nervous system. Here’s how it benefits the mind-body-spirit connection:

1. Physical Benefits

Yoga improves flexibility, strengthens muscles, supports spinal health, and enhances overall mobility.

2. Mental Benefits

Yoga reduces anxiety, improves focus, and increases neuroplasticity (the brain’s ability to rewire itself).

3.Emotional Benefits

Yoga releases stored trauma, fosters self-awareness, and helps regulate emotions.

3. Spiritual Benefits

Yoga encourages mindfulness, deepens self-connection, and enhances our sense of purpose.

A Lifelong Journey

Twelve years into my yoga practice, I can say with certainty that yoga has changed my life. I’ve practiced almost every day, in different styles, in different countries—Shanghai, Hong Kong, Cambodia, Australia, New Zealand.

I’ve transitioned from fast, intense yoga to deeper, more meditative practices. I’ve become a Kundalini yoga teacher, focusing on the spine as the energetic centre of the body, strengthening and aligning my posture daily with breathwork, movement, and meditation to balance all aspects of myself—plus good physical conditioning!

Yoga has brought me home—to myself. It has given me a relationship with my body that I never knew I was missing. It has helped me break patterns, heal old wounds, and step into a more aware, connected, and empowered version of myself.

We all have different paths, different teachers, different practices—but as long as we are moving toward awareness, toward connection, toward healing, we are on the right track. And that is the true power of yoga.

Your Path to Healing and Transformation

Yoga is more than just movement; it’s a tool for transformation. It allows us to break unconscious patterns, release stored tension, and create a deeper sense of connection with ourselves.

Through breath, movement, and awareness, we can shift from autopilot to intentional living, from stress and pain to ease and vitality.

If you're ready to break free from the habits and patterns that no longer serve you—whether they manifest as stress, addiction, or physical pain—my coaching programme can support your journey.

By integrating yoga, breathwork, and transformational practices and tools, we’ll work together to help you reconnect with your body, reset your nervous system, and create lasting change.

Are you ready to reclaim your power and step into a new way of being? Let’s begin this journey together.

Much love,

Bec x