The practice that changed my life…

Sep 17

The Journey from Depression to Self-Discovery

Bit of a dramatic-sounding title, I know... but it's true. There was a time 15 years ago when I was clinically depressed. A few months after the birth of my son, I was thoroughly burnt out, and when I went to the doctor, I got diagnosed with postpartum depression.

The First Steps: Movement as Medicine

I was recommended to a lovely psychologist who encouraged me to start moving my body. "Exercise has been proven to be as effective, if not more, for this kind of depression”, she said. So I started walking every day. I left my shoes by the bed so I would see them in the morning and put them on without much thought and for a while it worked.

I also saw a naturopath who changed my diet (protein in the morning), and things started to get better. With the change in my diet and improvement in my gut health, the baby started to sleep better at night (he was breastfed).

Discovering Yoga: A New Path

After a few months, I was going okay, but something still felt like it was missing... That's when a friend suggested I try yoga. I had done it a few times during my other pregnancies and also had a yoga for pregnancy book. My go-to poses were 'legs up the wall' and relaxation (savasana).

I was living in Italy at the time and drove into Como as no one in my small town even knew what yoga was. I parked the car, walked into the spotlessly clean studio and was met with a beaming smile from the yoga teacher. Although I'd never been there before, it felt like a homecoming. During class, we lowered down onto our bellies followed by a long exhale. "I'm home," I thought. After class, the teacher asked how it went. I sobbed, wiped tears from my eyes, and said it was amazing... I would be back.

Deepening the Practice

During the summertime on the lake, our restaurant is crazy busy, so I would do videos on YouTube from a teacher called Tara Stiles. I liked the way she presented yoga: no fancy words, no fuss. A few years later, I found myself in the 200-hour yoga training with her and her husband Mike in New York City (of all places).

Again, I walked into the (much larger) studio. The room was spotless, with a minimalist vibe, and the Guides (as they call themselves instead of teachers) were smiling and genuinely happy.

"I'm home," I thought again.

Finding Home Within

You see, each time I thought it was the teacher or the studio that was "home," but what I was really finding was a home within myself. Each time we come to the mat to breathe, move, and just be, we are welcoming ourselves home.

We are giving ourselves the space and time to be, beyond what the world tells us we should be. We are reminding ourselves of who we were before the stress and tension crept in. And that was our dream with Marou home.

Our Vision: A Space to Just Be

To create a space where you can just be. Free from how the world tells you you need to be. Free to explore, create, and move in a way that feels good to you, because we know that in doing so, it will change your life for the better. And the great thing is, it just feels more like you.

Maddy XO