Suffering from PDST, depression and anxiety, rape survivor Heidi Williams had hit rock bottom. Or so she thought. Then her six month old fell gravely ill, and her world fell apart. Not knowing who or where to turn to, Heidi attempted to take her own life . Luckily, she was not successful.
At this point, Heidi knew she had to turn her life around, and rid herself of her demons. To help her achieve this, she turned to yoga. “It was in this place of mental illness hell that I found yoga and grace. Yoga brought me to a safe place again. A place of peace and self-acceptance,” she said.
Using Yoga, Heidi began to recover, and finally managed to make peace with herself. Now, she is determined to use these methods to help other people who are also suffering from mental health problems. She organizes yoga classes and retreats specifically aimed at improving people’s mental health. She also runs online support groups where people can discuss their issues, as well as self-help methods.
Her Instagram, where she posts photos of herself in a number of amazing yoga poses, has also proved incredibly popular. These photos are accompanied by inspirational quotes and memes, aimed at encouraging positive thinking among mental health sufferers.
So hats off to Heidi, for using an amazing discipline to turn her life around.
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It's February of 2014. I Just walked out of the appointment with my craniosacral therapist. It doesn’t matter that my adrenals are shutting down. It doesn’t matter that I just spent the last 18 months in a living hell of several PTSD episodes a day, manic depression, and constant anxiety. It doesn't matter that I had tried to commit suicide several times. It doesn't matter that my family doesn’t get it, and doesn’t support me. It doesn’t matter that I am about to get in the car with my crying baby whose very whine was the trigger for my daily psychotic episodes. It doesn’t matter, because I AM FREE. I went into that appointment feeling hopeless, exhausted, and shaky. I walked out of there skipping, laughing, and feeling as though I had just been granted a second chance at life. I was given wings to fly and I was dying to use them. I got in the car with my still crying baby and braced myself for the reaction I had grown so used to…nothing. What? Nothing. No heart rate increase. No sweating. No rush of adrenaline. Nothing. I couldn't believe it. My trigger was gone. I was free. I WAS FREE!! During that appointment I came face to face with every fear I had. Before the appointment I had no idea there was even a connection between my fears surrounding motherhood and my depression, anxiety and most surprisingly my PTSD. I had no idea that such a simple shift in perception could harness that much power as to release my triggers all together. This week, I am going to take you through the same fear-busting process I went through to heal. I am also going to teach you how to maintain that freedom once you find it. ARE YOU READY??? Click to link in bio to join! Photo magic: @kariannphoto
A post shared by heidiwilliams89 (@heidiwilliams89) on Sep 4, 2016 at 5:07pm PDT
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The definition of Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.- Anonymous Who is ready for an EMOTIONAL DETOX?? Starting this Sunday I am hosting my very first 7 DAY EMOTIONAL CLEANSE. During this Cleanse we will be… 1 Identifying Triggers, self-destructive behavior and false belief systems that have kept you from experiencing the inner strength, peace and happiness you know is inside of you, but seemed buried under trauma or over all a heaviness you cant seem to identify. 2. Challenging, Dismantling and Eradicating the false belief beliefs keeping you stuck in a downward spiral 3. Establishing a new belief system based on your peace and truth. I will be including Meditations, Yoga, Exercise, Nutrition, Essential Oils, Teas and any other tool that have been my go-to's during my own healing journey. You can particitpate at whatever level works for you, but I will say, the more you show up, the more results you will get. I will be taking you through a very similar proccess to the one I went through when I cleared my own PTSD trigger. This proccess can be incredibly transformative if you allow it to transform you. With that, I cannot wait to spend the whole week clearing emotional space with you!!! xoxoxoxoxo See you Sunday!! click the link in bio to join us as we detox our emotions and open ourselves up to new found peace, health and happiness PHOTO WIZARD: @kariannphoto Pants: @flexilexi_fitness
A post shared by heidiwilliams89 (@heidiwilliams89) on Sep 2, 2016 at 1:59pm PDT
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A LETTER TO MY LOVERS WHO ARE DEPRESSED: We live in a world where being happy is not only sought after, but also respected, honored, admired and valued. Much like being thin. It can be isolating to not fit into that category. Often times, it is felt that the depression is your fault. Or your punishment for not doing life right. And it feels as though you are somehow "less" than others. Because in revering happiness so much as we do, we tend to look down on sadness. As though it isn't valuable enough to be heard or appreciated. Listen to me. Your worth does not depend on your feelings. Just because you can't offer sunshine doesn't mean that your rain isn't needed. Often people talk about learning to "dance in the rain." But they have no advice on learning how to live in the rain. It is a dance. But it's one of survival. Not celebration. Know that your experience is valuable. Not just to you, but to society. Know that your feelings matter. Your thoughts matter. Know that even in a life void of happiness, you can still find love. And in that love is where you will find yourself. Know that the divine light inside of you never goes out. Because it is not a light of happiness. It is a light of love. And that light will carry you. It will reach into the darkest places where you are right now and it will hold you. It will comfort you. It will heal your broken heart. Because hearts don't need happiness to thrive. They need love. Not from other people. But from you. Your heart, your mind, your body needs your love. So be gentle with yourself. Honor your journey. Respect your feelings. Because you are worth it. ……………………………………………………. This is today's pose for #admireandaspire I've been wanting to play along with this challenge, but have been unable to do any of the poses. Lol so I was thrilled to see one I can do! @yogi_eric is the creator of this beauty. Check out his fantastic feed of inspiration. ???
A post shared by heidiwilliams89 (@heidiwilliams89) on Sep 28, 2015 at 3:04pm PDT
