I’ve recently started some 1:1 yoga therapy sessions at one of my favourite places @MinistryofYogaUK to help get my fitness back on track after my bout of covid last year took me a while to recover from. My wife first suggested that I get some help after she saw me ‘running’, at first I was quite resistant because I didn’t think I should need help and that it wasn’t for ‘people like me’. Once I realised that these are often the reasons given for not accessing therapy, I was able to counter them fairly quickly by reminding myself of the benefits of working with a professional who has a set of knowledge and skills I don’t, who could help get me to where I wanted to be.
The next hurdle was figuring out what kind of support I needed, there were so many options and people recommending different things, finding the right fit for me seemed like an overwhelming task. Again, I was reminded of how similar this feeling was to looking for a therapist, trying to figure out from a small picture and a few hundred words if I can trust a stranger with my most vulnerable parts; finding the right person to walk a journey with me is always a little scary. So, when looking for the physical support I approached it in the same way as I would when seeking therapy. I spent some time really thinking about what I was looking for in terms of outcomes and ways of working. I made sure I was clear on what I could be flexible on and where my firm boundaries were. This really helped me to narrow down the kind of support that was right for me.
Finally, when I thought I’d found something that felt right I had a conversation about what I was looking for and what was being offered to see if there was a fit. I know that it will take a few sessions to figure out what’s most helpful and there will be tweaks along the way as we work together to find a plan that is right for me. Most importantly I no longer feel like I’m trying to figure everything out on my own I have someone who is supporting me to achieve my goals. Although it’s only a week in and I know it will be a longer journey that I will have to work on, I’m already starting to see a path emerging.
