You can read PART ONE here: the woo woo reason I chose to explore yoga

Before I went to Vipassana I had some blood tests done.  My mum was immersing herself into the Blood Type Diet, especially Dr D’Adamo’s Personalised Swami Xpress and in order to generate my own health plan, we first needed some blood work done.

My results came back with one very alarming insight: I had an overactive thyroid (also known as hyperthyroidism).

While the doctors had me do periodic routine tests every three months for the next year, including a radioactive iodine thyroid scan, I was delving into Dr D’Adamo’s books: Eat Right for your Type + Live Right for your Type.

Now nutrition is not my speciality.  In fact, diving into the science of nutrition does not excite me in the slightest.  I’d rather have someone just tell me in the most simplest + easiest way what I need to do + why I need to do it.  And then create a book full of recipes JUST for me.  (This is why I have my mum who loves the Swami Xpress + my friend Jessica Ainscough, the Wellness Warrior to guide me.)

With that said, though, I am an avid believer that a girls got to do her own research TOO! 

Turns out my blood type (which is A)  naturally has high levels of cortisol (which is the stress hormone) which means we do not handle stress well.  Nobody does for that matter, but for those of us with Blood Type A, we struggle to recover from stress more so compared to the other blood types.  And in extreme cases our stress manifests into more serious health conditions…and surprise surprise, thyroid issues is on the list!

This is why calming exercise is a critical component of a Type A’s vibrant health + wellbeing, which was non-existent in my life at that time.  I had just spent eight years making a living from teaching high-intensity group fitness (RPM + BodyAttack) in gyms and slowing down was nowhere on my radar.

In fact, my approach to handling stress was busting my ass at the gym to get a hit of endorphins.  Turns out I was just flooding my body with even more cortisol and my body couldn’t sustain it any more.

My quarter life crisis was the reality check I needed to take a really good look at my health from a holistic point of view.  I was done with burning out.  And there was no way in the world I was going to be medicated for my thyroid condition…and definitely not in my twenties!

With this new found knowledge, I decided to quit teaching RPM + BodyAttack for good and instead chose to explore yoga.  Exercise had been such an important part of my life, that I needed a new form of movement that would help me  release stress instead of creating more stress.

Eighteen months later, I’m stoked to say that this HUGE lifestyle change has proven to be totally worth it.

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