Vital Beat's Big Shave
Donation protected
The locks will fall on June 3rd, for mental health organisation, Beyond Blue .
In 2011 I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety and honestly it was a relief to put a name to it.
I had spent years either ignoring it, suppressing it, numbing it, or wallowing in it. Now I’m simply owning it! This is part of me but its not who I am :)
At the most extreme of times, I used alcohol to get to work in the morning, to take the edge off the nerves, or to add a little pep to my dullness. At my worst I would self-harm, a way to break out of a crying episode - my way of yelling "snap out of it!" at myself. I also had a rage that was unpredictable and destroyed a few relationships. Eventually I quit uni, and I quit my corporate job.
Part of that process was somehow knowing that this wasn’t a normal way to live, and I turned first to Google with my symptoms. It led me to Beyond Blue, and it was a quiz on their website that raised all the flags for me, and it was that same quiz that sent me first to a GP, and then on to a Psychologist.
It was the GP that then sent me to yoga. He suggested that before I explore medication, that I explore a breathe and mindfulness practice in yoga, and so I started taking classes.
You know the rest of the story ;) 5 years later I opened Vital Beat . People come to Vital Beat for a variety of reasons, sometimes it physical, but oftentimes it’s for mental support. I’m incredibly proud that we can offer a space to our community that’s safe, supportive, inclusive, and well aware of the mental health issues that face our community. Our teachers are compassionate, experienced, and most of them know all too well the power of yoga in supporting a mental health journey as they’ve been there themselves.
Having run a fulltime business myself for a year now, the undercurrent of anxiety has reared its obnoxious head again and it is a journey & battle each day to show up, be seen, be involved, and continue to run the studio. As Vital Beat rockets forward thanks to our amazing tribe, the badge of “busy-ness” has sent me back to a Psychologist and now, Ive been taking medication since March in an effort to curb some pretty unpleasant panic attacks. Part of the healing process now, is taking a Sabbatical From Busy, where myself, my husband, and my munchkin, will travel around Australia until the middle of September 2017.
We will be on the road. We will be remote. We will be out of phone range. We will be leaving the studio in capable hands, ready to return in September with new energy, new experience, and new wisdom to share with everyone, so that Vital Beat and the students it supports can go from strength to strength.
Before we leave, I will be shaving my head on June 3rd at our Vital Beat 1st Birthday Party. All funds raised will go to the charity which, without that integral quiz that suggested I get to a doctor, my journey might have been very different. My husband Jim, in a show of support, will also be shaving his head into a Mohawk. A few days later we will take our Sabbatical From Busy, and hit the road (shaved heads and all!)
Why shave my head? I wanted to do something dramatic, that showed I could still be me, despite the things that happened TO me. I am not anxiety, I HAVE anxiety. My hair is an accessory and doesnt define me, nor my sense of beauty. Much like my symptoms, it grows on its own, but I have the power to decide when it leaves, or how I manage it when it's here.
Please support Vital Beat's Big Shave, by donating whatever you can to the work of Beyond Blue**.
You can follow our journey around Oz on [email redacted]erhouse
**This fundraising campaign is formally registered with Beyond Blue.
In 2011 I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety and honestly it was a relief to put a name to it.
I had spent years either ignoring it, suppressing it, numbing it, or wallowing in it. Now I’m simply owning it! This is part of me but its not who I am :)
At the most extreme of times, I used alcohol to get to work in the morning, to take the edge off the nerves, or to add a little pep to my dullness. At my worst I would self-harm, a way to break out of a crying episode - my way of yelling "snap out of it!" at myself. I also had a rage that was unpredictable and destroyed a few relationships. Eventually I quit uni, and I quit my corporate job.
Part of that process was somehow knowing that this wasn’t a normal way to live, and I turned first to Google with my symptoms. It led me to Beyond Blue, and it was a quiz on their website that raised all the flags for me, and it was that same quiz that sent me first to a GP, and then on to a Psychologist.
It was the GP that then sent me to yoga. He suggested that before I explore medication, that I explore a breathe and mindfulness practice in yoga, and so I started taking classes.
You know the rest of the story ;) 5 years later I opened Vital Beat . People come to Vital Beat for a variety of reasons, sometimes it physical, but oftentimes it’s for mental support. I’m incredibly proud that we can offer a space to our community that’s safe, supportive, inclusive, and well aware of the mental health issues that face our community. Our teachers are compassionate, experienced, and most of them know all too well the power of yoga in supporting a mental health journey as they’ve been there themselves.
Having run a fulltime business myself for a year now, the undercurrent of anxiety has reared its obnoxious head again and it is a journey & battle each day to show up, be seen, be involved, and continue to run the studio. As Vital Beat rockets forward thanks to our amazing tribe, the badge of “busy-ness” has sent me back to a Psychologist and now, Ive been taking medication since March in an effort to curb some pretty unpleasant panic attacks. Part of the healing process now, is taking a Sabbatical From Busy, where myself, my husband, and my munchkin, will travel around Australia until the middle of September 2017.
We will be on the road. We will be remote. We will be out of phone range. We will be leaving the studio in capable hands, ready to return in September with new energy, new experience, and new wisdom to share with everyone, so that Vital Beat and the students it supports can go from strength to strength.
Before we leave, I will be shaving my head on June 3rd at our Vital Beat 1st Birthday Party. All funds raised will go to the charity which, without that integral quiz that suggested I get to a doctor, my journey might have been very different. My husband Jim, in a show of support, will also be shaving his head into a Mohawk. A few days later we will take our Sabbatical From Busy, and hit the road (shaved heads and all!)
Why shave my head? I wanted to do something dramatic, that showed I could still be me, despite the things that happened TO me. I am not anxiety, I HAVE anxiety. My hair is an accessory and doesnt define me, nor my sense of beauty. Much like my symptoms, it grows on its own, but I have the power to decide when it leaves, or how I manage it when it's here.
Please support Vital Beat's Big Shave, by donating whatever you can to the work of Beyond Blue**.
You can follow our journey around Oz on [email redacted]erhouse
**This fundraising campaign is formally registered with Beyond Blue.
Organizer
Kaye Waterhouse
Organizer
Baskerville WA
