A North Belfast woman has opened up on how yoga helped her rebuild her health physically and mentally after suffering a brain haemorrhage at the age of 28.
Meghan McGreevy is a school teacher from the Antrim Road area, and around ten years ago, had a brain haemorrhage which changed her world. She grew up surrounded by yoga, with her mum teaching it, but it was never something she got into.
But that all changed when she began her long recovery process. Meghan found that the breathwork and calming nature of yoga helped her slow down, regain her strength, and change her mindset completely.
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The 38-year-old wanted to bring the healing tools of yoga to her own community in North Belfast. She found that many people locally who wanted to take part in yoga or pilates would have to travel across town, and aimed to create a space for people to get fit and resilient in their own area.
Three years ago, she founded The Little Yogi Studio, originally in a premises on the Antrim Road before moving to her current spot on the Cavehill Road. Last month she expanded the business, opening a reformer pilates studio, Studio 95, in the unit below.
Speaking to Belfast Live about her journey so far, Meghan said: “My mum has been a yoga teacher most of my life and tried to force it upon me but I rejected it. When I got pregnant very young, I found the breathing and stuff you learn through yoga settled my anxieties and took me through birth.
“A bit later in life, around 10 years ago, I had a brain haemorrhage which changed the world as I knew it. I was having headaches then I passed out. They found there was a clot in the brain, so I needed to have surgery. It was a big surgery so I was out of action for quite a while.
“I had to rebuild myself mentally and physically. Physically was easier than mentally, but it was yoga I came back to and through meditation, breathing, and moving, I got back to being probably better than I have ever been.”
During her recovery, Meghan found she needed to take a full body and mind approach, and followed the idea that movement is medicine. In creating her yoga and reformer pilates studios, she wanted to keep this approach in mind, with the site also providing cousnelling services.
Recognising yoga and pilates may be new to many people, Meghan wanted to ensure the spaces are inclusive, and open to all regardless of age or ability.
She said: “People can see a physical illness and sympathise with it, but mentally it’s harder, people can’t see that. I was getting better physically, but inside I was struggling so much. It took a long time to get back on my feet.
“I’ve found it’s movement and finding the power in yourself that brings you back. I think you need to be connected to yourself. I find so many people coming in who are disconnected from their bodies, the first thing many people say when they come in is if they got down on the floor they wouldn’t get back up again.
“But I say you need to learn how to do that – especially for your older years in life. That basic skill, if you fall to get back up again, is so important. People will have a few weeks of practise and gain confidence in their body, and they can get themselves up.”
It was important for Meghan to open her studios in her native North Belfast, adding that people here deserve access to facilities and classes available elsewhere.
“It always had to be in North Belfast, I wanted people here to have this practice. I was concerned people here were gonna think it was all tree hugging, but they walk in and realise it’s not,” she added.
“I wanted to open in this area because this is my home. This is where I’m from, and we are limited in what we get. Places like yoga and pilates can be intimidating for people and to try to travel across town and find an hour to dedicate to yourself is hard enough without adding in travelling.”
For anyone who has never tried yoga and pilates, Meghan is urging them to give it a go as a way to take care of yourself.
She said: “The scariest part is walking through the door, that’s the hardest bit. This is so new to North Belfast, 90% of the people who’ve walked in these doors have never done pilates before, which is lovely as everybody is in the same boat.
“You need to keep your body and mind as strong as they can be, because life is always going to be hard.”
Video by Belfast Live videographer Justin Kernoghan.
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