Introducing: Katie Joy

Hello there, I’m Katie, and Joy is literally my middle name! (I try my best to live up to it as much as I can!). I’m new to the team here at House of Leyla so wanted first just to introduce myself so you know a bit more about the person behind the upcoming blog posts.

But…where to begin?

I’ve been practising some form of yoga for about 6 years now and started getting curious about the chakra system from around 2015. I’ve found I really resonate with the philosophy behind yoga and Ayer Vedic practises, and I’ve been blessed to have people come into my life at crucial moments who were able to guide me, teach me and offer Ayer Vedic healings for a cheaper price (was a poor single Mum of 2 and still kinda am!). I have to say, and I’m sure I’m not the only one here, but getting on this wellness journey has literally changed my life, possibly even saved it at times.

What led me to accessing the world of holistic wellness and yoga was having had to experience the exact opposite, in form of depressive episodes at different milestones in my life. From at least the age of 19, if not younger, I have experienced episodes of depression, anxiety, even psychosis and suicidal ideation (and I’ll be honest, a few suicide attempts). Finding my centre, calm and balance was a foreign concept to me, and it seemed an unrealistic pipe dream of mine to believe that, someone who feels every emotion tenfold (as well as the emotions of others sometimes), could ever reach a state of equilibrium and stability.

And yet, I sit here today; happy to be alive, looking forward to a bright future (for both me and my children), proud of how far I’ve come and filled with gratitude for the people in my life who have been mentors, blessings and an inspiration to me (including Leyla), when at times I questioned how I’d even make it through another day.

A big passion of mine is to loosen the stigma around mental health and create space for people to speak openly about it without fear of guilt, shame or ridicule. Also, to create spaces for people to share ideas and healthy coping mechanisms for sustaining good mental health, there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to wellness. There is still a long way to go toward mental health being viewed and taken as seriously as other forms of illness, but I do feel there is progress being made.

I have learnt that through a proactive approach to our overall wellness, along with a discipline of daily rituals and good habits (keeping them up as best we can without judgement), we can work towards more coherence in the body, mind and soul and ultimately, more happiness. I am in no way perfect in all areas of wellness, far from it, but no one is. I am taking small steps at a time toward overall health and as I do so, am hoping to inspire and empower others on their journey to wellness, calm and balance too.

I am so delighted for the opportunity to do that here and look forward to connecting with more of you in this wonderful community Leyla has created.

Many blessings to you all,

Namaste,

Katie Joy

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