Meet @shannonliebelyoga sharing her #yogasavedmylife story with us. These are her words 💚

"Open heart surgery is extremely painful, having your chest cracked open deeply traumatic"

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"I took my first yoga class in 2005 the day after my grandpa died. He was my world & I wasn’t sure how to handle his death; I'd heard yoga was good for clearing the mind, so I went hoping it would give me a little peace. I didn’t know it then, but, Yoga saved my life 🙏

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It sparked something inside & I continued to dabble in yoga for the next few years

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I also found that running races was a meditative experience, however, I'd been diagnosed with a heart disorder as a child & in 2010 my cardiologist informed me that my heart wouldn’t be able to withstand much more than 5k, & eventually I would probably require surgery

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I immersed myself in my yoga practice: my heart would be able to handle it & it was healing my soul in ways I wasn’t even aware of. Then I found a little obstacle race called SPARTAN. They had short distances that I could run, but it was much more exciting because of the obstacles! So that was my life: yoga & spartan races. I received my RYT 200 in 2012 & opened my own studio 2016

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In 2016 I registered for 9 obstacle races & after the 8th, I was coughing up blood.  Open heart surgery was scheduled for April, 2017

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For those of you who haven’t been through it, it’s an experience & extremely painful after your chest has just been cracked open

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I spent a week in hospital & used yoga during the entire process:  to calm my nerves leading up to surgery; I'd do short meditations in bed to try & ease the physical & emotional pain. I started with child’s pose on my living room floor when I returned home & too sick, in too much pain to move. 20 days post surgery, I was walking to my studio to teach my amazing students

I have completely healed from my surgery & again compete in Spartans. My recovery hasn’t been easy, but every step of the way, yoga helped me heal 🙏

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My Grandpa was my favorite person on earth, & I'm brought to tears thinking that he led me to my yoga mat, his final gift to me. I want to share that gift with the world"

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📸@robertsturman