Yoga Love – An interview with Caroline Donahue

Today I’m talking with Caroline, who like myself loves to devour books on a rainy afternoon and is an eternal student with a huge thirst for knowledge.  The more you learn the less you know… right? I loved learning about Caroline’s yoga journey and how it has helped her manage her scoliosis and improve her sleep. I love her advice of not avoiding yoga poses you don’t like, we all have one we loathe, revolved side angle pose anyone! They hold lessons for us, perhaps reminding ourselves that they hold a larger reward that will be revealed at some stage on our yoga journey will help us to gently approach the pose with sensitivity, an open mind and a renewed sense of enquiry.

What has been so inspiring for me during this interview series is the vast range of approaches and benefits gained from a yoga practice. There is no right or wrong when it comes to our yoga practice, we have to find out own way and in turn we’ll receive benefits in our life that are unique to our own personal circumstances.

 

 

1. Tell us a little about yourself

I always freeze when answering this question a little bit. One of the things that feels most strong about me is how much I love to jump in and chew on new ideas. I read like a maniac- always have since I was very little- and I am the same with hobbies, courses, subjects, languages, and travel. I studied Art History, Psychology, and Photography in school, and have since studied writing for a number of years. I am very much a mind-centered person. I love thinking and marinating in the world of ideas. This is one of the things I love about yoga- it reminds me that I have a body as well, something that I can forget very easily.

 

2. Everyone who has ended up on a yoga mat raising their arms in their first sun salutation has a story of what led them there. What’s yours?

I took a brief intro course in college when I was about 19 or 20 and enjoyed it- I probably went because friends were going. The first time I felt like I was really practicing was when I began going to courses in NYC the summer I lived there after college ended. I had always thought I was going to work in an art gallery and live in New York, and it became very clear that this was not to be that summer- I couldn’t find a job in a gallery- I waited tables and kept fainting and getting sent to the ER because of the extreme heat, and I just didn’t love living there. I found a yoga studio to take classes in and it was immediately a refuge. I stepped onto the mat and things started to clear up in my head soon after.

 

3. What keeps you returning to your yoga mat?

I think it’s several things- the need to turn off my brain is probably primary. But it’s also because I’ve had scoliosis all my life and most jobs I have had have required long hours of sitting. So yoga has a way of getting me out of my head after a day or work and unwinding me into something human again before I go home and try to sleep. Sleep has always been a struggle and I think yoga has done a lot to help my insomnia.

 

4. How has your yoga practice filtered through to your every day life?

I think what it has done for my head has had the biggest impact. If I am able to think about a difficult situation- work or personal, like it’s a yoga pose then I can begin to work with it in a new way. It doesn’t feel like a battle or something I’m a victim to anymore. I remember to breathe and that there’s always another pose coming next and that, no matter how bad the day is, I’m going to end up in savasana at the end in bed. There is such comfort in that.

 

5. What is your favorite yoga pose, breathing practice or mantra?

I really love pigeon. I love things that open my hips and the combination of the deep stretch and the resting really works for me. I also love twists and the feeling of wringing things out. It’s so detoxifying and rejuvenating.

 

6. What advice do you have for those just starting out on their yoga journey?

The poses that are the hardest for you now will give you the most satisfaction later on. Don’t avoid them. Enjoy the challenge as much as you can and don’t force progress. For me, gently continuing to engage the poses has created far more opening than straining and pushing through at all costs. That usually ends up in my walking like a busted zombie the next day.

 

7. How has your yoga practice evolved over time?

I am much more consistent and I see how I am different very quickly if I don’t go. I am a member of a studio now where I can take unlimited classes, which has been wonderful. I tend to go at least three times a week. And being an unlimited member means I take more restorative classes. When I was on a punch card and paying per class, I often denied myself that style, but I love it so much now and it really does as much as the more athletic classes, I have found.

 

8. What are you loving right now? 

The cooler fall weather. It has been so lovely to wear sweaters and drink hot tea at last in California. I feel so much more alive when it’s cool.

 

9. How do you nurture yourself?

I have been setting better boundaries around alone time and I have also invested in a selection of yoga props that we keep in the corner of our bedroom so I am able to do some practice whenever I like at home- my studio also has a huge selection of online courses and I love to do a quick 15 or 20 minute session when I need a boost.

 

10. What wisdom has your yoga practice revealed to you that you’d like to share with us?

That everything changes eventually. And the feeling of gratitude for my body that does so much hard work for me. I used to resent it since I feel like a brain in a jar so much of the time. Yoga has helped remind me that my body is a tremendous source of joy and that taking care of it is actually a privilege that makes me very happy.

Thank you Caroline for your sharing your yoga journey with us.

 

Bio:

Caroline Donahue is a writer, photographer, and book-obsessed blogger, cat lady, and former psychotherapist-in-training. She is a proofreader by day, and spends most of her spare time reading and recommending books to her community. Her blog, Book Dr., accepts letters for advice from Caroline at caroline@book-dr.com. She has answered questions on everything from book lists for trips to books to reinvigorate the online dating process. Most recently, she released the eBook 52 Books That Will Change Your Life. She looks forward to talking about any and all reading with you as soon as possible.

 

 

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