Bonnie Leggo

I have been practicing yoga for the last 15 years, since returning to finish a graduate degree and experiencing the benefits as an intern at a residential facility for people dealing with substance use issues. Yoga has been a strength I have learned to trust in over time. First in my body, then in my heart. It has helped remind me of who I was and who I wanted to be at times where I wasn’t sure where my life would take me next, or what I would do. Times I questioned a lot about life, both in early recovery and after a divorce.

But I never knew I needed yoga as much as I have, in this last year.

During this year, we were displaced from our newly purchased home for seven months while it was gutted for unknown mold and past flooding, spending more hours than I can count ripping out carpeting, painting, ripping staples from subfloors, and having a dedicated friend who taught us more than we ever thought we’d need to know about drywall, sump pumps, back up sump pumps, proper draining, among many other things, like slowly replacing two bathrooms and an entire kitchen. I would never ask to do this year over again, and yet I know that I was able to find hope in some of the tougher days because of this practice, first done under infrared lights in my basement, then back in a hot room filled with other yogis at Inner Fire..

I had not been in yoga rooms since the first month of COVID, when everything went virtual, including a change in jobs to be home with my young daughter. When I was able to return to a consistent practice at Inner Fire Yoga in May of this past year, it was like I’d remembered something about being alive in my own body. Truly it has reminded me how important it is to regularly move and breathe with other nervous systems, as Dr. Ruddy might say. It has given me strength to complete a lot more than the house since May, including a three and a half year somatic experiencing certification, the RYT 200, starting my own business after the company I worked at was dissolved, celebrating 20 years of sobriety, and finally deciding to sign up for the hot training at inner Fire this coming spring. Thank you Kerry for the encouragement to do so. And thank you, Inner Fire yogis and teachers for your dedication and strength. I am grateful to be a part of this community.