Growing up, I considered myself pretty normal except I was more in to drawing and making crafts than outside playing softball or other sports like my friends. Right before I turned 9, we moved to the country from Cobb County. I had just participated in softball tryouts with my cousin Aprile and to be honest, part of me let out a big sigh of relief when I found out we were moving and I didn’t have to play softball! I have always had rheumatoid arthritis and have had bone and joint issues so running on my bad feet and standing in the hot sun wasn’t my idea of fun. But… that didn’t stop my parents from signing me up for softball the next year down here in the country. I hated every second of it.
By the time I was becoming a teenager, my weight was steadily rising. Couple that with my bone and joint issues and walking was horribly painful. When I was fifteen, I had major surgery on both feet and screws placed in both feet. Now that I have titanium screws, plates and rods in my neck too, I am now screwed on from head to toe! (insert humor here) So, needless to say, being an overweight teenager, even after foot surgery, working out was hard. So, I spent most of my time with my mom crafting and sewing. It wasn’t until I was seventeen that doctors discovered I had hypothyroidism and that had my body all out of whack and losing weight was not only challenging, but almost impossible.
Under a doctor’s care, I lost 75 pounds and began a new life of exercising and trying to eat healthfully (read more about that on my plant based diet blog). At that time, my passion for fitness began to explode. I worked out with light weights and walked. That turned in to joining a gym at 19 and lifting weights and running. I became a certified fitness instructor at age 24 and found my passion for yoga at age 28 and haven’t looked back.
Yoga means “union” or to bond mind, body and spirit. Even though I was a fitness instructor, sometimes I felt a little odd or out of place. I didn’t grow up participating in sports and wasn’t a very active child, so I still sometimes would see the awkward, overweight teen in the mirror. Sometimes my confidence would be lacking and I would be so self conscious it would almost be debilitating at times. But I knew other people had to feel the same way as I did so I wanted to try to be an inspiration as much as possible.
I began teaching a children’s yoga class in 2012 to encourage children to feel confident and be happy with themselves, just as they were. Yoga can help build confidence and positive self-image. Then, on Christmas Day night 2013, I was thinking, I wonder what I would have been like today if I had had yoga introduced to me as a child. If I had been practicing all of the positives of yoga and self love from the start of my health problems, what would I have turned out to be? Would I be any different?
I had an idea for a children’s book about an owl that wanted to learn yoga, but her friends told her she couldn’t because there wasn’t a pose named after her like there was for other poses like puppy pose and eagle. I wanted children to know that no matter what their abilities, they could practice yoga too and benefit from self love and respect. That their confidence would soar once they started practicing yoga and kindness to themselves and others. That idea turned in to my book, Ella’s Tree Pose.
I wanted children to learn self-acceptance, self love, confidence and independence. Ella’s Tree Pose is a children’s story about self-confidence, encouragement and acceptance. Ella learns to follow her dreams, despite what others say. No matter what our abilities are in life, we can all accomplish our goals. Follow Ella as she takes the first step in her journey with yoga.
To go along with the book, I make a stuffed Ella or Edwin (for boys) owl. The owl can be customized to certain colors of your choice. These make great birthday, Christmas and baby shower gifts. You can message me here or go to www.ellaandfriendsbyjuly.com for more information or to purchase a book and/or a stuffed owl.
~Namaste
