Hi there friends! Hope everyone is having a relaxing Saturday and soaking in some sunshine.
My name is Jennie Frake (not Frank) and I am a mother of two girls, married to my high school sweetheart and a lover of art, music and yoga!
In my free time you can find me making ice cream and practicing my handstands. I am so happy to be guest blogging over here (or blogging at all for that matter) Writing can very therapeutic.
Today, I want to share with you guys why I love yoga. Simply put, yoga makes me happy, maybe even a little high. It's my drug of choice for sure!
It has helped me learn to love more (myself & others), opened my heart & mind and challenged me both mentally & physically. Its the best thing ever!
I could totally stop there and leave you with some inspirational mantra but I won't.
Today I want to share something that is weighing very heavy on my heart and scares the shit out of me to talk about especially on a blog. But if it helps even one person out there to not feel alone... then its totally worth it.
So here we go! For several years, I have been fighting some seriously difficult ups and downs. There are no significantly good or bad things going on around me, it pretty much all in my head. The highs are awesome and the real reason I don't want to get on any medication.
Dear God, the lows are brutal.
I feel like celebrating every time I make it out the other side alive. I usually find ways to cope with the things mentioned above (art, music, ice cream, wine, handstands, etc).
Yoga is truly the one big thing that helps me get out of my head. I don't know exactly what it is but its the one place I can let go of things in this world that are weighing me down.
The world can be a wonderful, magical place to explore on the good days but on the not-so-good ones... its can be soul crushing, scary and a bit lonely. I avoid everyone on those days. I miss appointments, I cancel plans or just don't respond to anyone at all.
I struggle just to play with my kids without them seeing my tears. I typically hide out and do my own thing until the little dark cloud passes but lately I have found I way to cope that really works. It sounds very simple and it is!
You just stop what your doing, close your eyes and just be
.
Sometimes there are so many distractions in this world that you can completely avoid sadness/depression, but it doesn't just go away because you pretend its not there.
Sure! Smiling and dancing your way through a bad day can most certainly turn your day around but when you get to a place where you can deal with it, do it.
Just take a few minutes to acknowledge whatever it is and truly let yourself feel it all. No matter how bad it gets... just acknowledge the pain, sadness, madness, anxiety, whatever it is that's stealing your joy and just feel it. Amazingly enough, it eventually goes away. And you will feel so much better!!
I hope that if you struggle with depression at all that you will tell a friend so that you don't have to feel alone.
If you are one of those lucky people that are happy-go-lucky all the time (like Erin) I hope you know that your smiling faces and open hearts make this world so much brighter!
So thank you happy people! We are all in this together.
Namasté!
JENNIE FRAKE
