Velvet Magazine March 2017

Health
Journey
Into Yoga
Charlie Wall, of Cambridge Bootcamps,
tells us about her new love for yoga
Cambridge Bootcamps
Tel: 07545 284928
www.cambridgebootcamps.co.uk
Rewind 6 months and I was working full-time running my
Cambridge Bootcamp sessions; doing 1-2-1 personal training;
1-2-1 coaching sessions and running online mindset groups. Whilst
doing this, I was also training myself, using kettlebells, strength
training and doing HIIT sprint training. I was basically going
at 100mph almost everyday. Following some sad news in my
personal life at the end of last year, my training took a backseat.
I didn’t have time to work, or see my clients or train myself.
Since my father’s death in October
“I had no idea
when I started
the yoga
challenge just
how much I
would enjoy it.”
2016, I started to raise money
for Headway Cambridgeshire in
his memory. I decided I needed
something to aim for so signed up
to do the Cambridge Half Marathon
this month. I am not a huge fan of
long distance running but along with
some supportive friends, I was on
target to run it in a good time. I felt
proud that the money being raised
was going to a worthy cause and that I was back training. I was
really enjoying the positive impact on my mental health too.
All was well until I was rushed to hospital with extreme back pain.
The doctors discovered that my small intestine had twisted and I
needed an emergency operation to try to save the bowel. To cut
a very long story short, when I saw the doctor post-op he told me
that luckily they had saved my small intestine, but that they had
found the ovaries ‘stuck’ to some pelvic scar tissue, and I had a fair
amount of ‘rusty looking fluid’. I had three holes in my stomach
and was told not to train. The doctor told me it wasn’t stress or
running, I was simply unlucky. My world had officially crashed.
After being house bound for the best part of two weeks, I
happened to stumble across a 31-day yoga challenge on YouTube.
I promised myself at least 10 minutes a day just basic stretching to
get me moving again. I knew I was sinking in my mood and needed
to take control. As a PT I knew what I should and shouldn’t be
doing, so I adapted routines to suit. What I hadn’t considered was
just how much it would improve my mental wellbeing and sense of
control.
I had no idea when I started the yoga challenge just how much I
would enjoy it, how much I needed the space, time and element
of self-care, or how many mental benefits it would give me.
Yoga has helped me to open up. It’s helped me breathe, meditate,
focus and be patient. It’s helped me to be kind to myself and
given me time to think. I’ve learnt about mindfulness, meditation
and about taking care of myself. I’ve learnt to practise gratitude,
compassion and most importantly, I’ve learnt that I will not give
up. “Turn your face toward the sun and the shadows will fall behind
you.” - Maori Proverb.
I am now doing yoga daily at home and I try to go to one class
per week if I can. I hope to start running again soon, but I feel my
body was telling me to slow down. I am going to embrace that for
now and just see where it takes me.
Velvet Magazine | March 2017 71