"My Yoga journey started in 2012, aged 16. A totally different path to my
previous adrenaline junkie lifestyle..."
Read on...
"As soon as I finished school, I headed to America to pursue martial arts and attend stunt school with a view of
getting into film. However, by coincidence, my mum was doing her Yoga teacher
training and I went along to one of her classes. After doing three back-to-back
sessions I was hooked. Mentally and physically, I felt great! A month later
the teacher asked if I was considering doing Yoga teacher training... It
wasn’t until he sold me on his lifestyle that I was won over."
"A week later I was in Miami attending an intense 200 hour Budokon Yoga
training class. Budokon is combined martial arts and yoga which was a perfect
combo for me. On return to the UK, I re-located to London from Newbury where I
planned to further establish my Yoga career but my hopes and dreams were
shattered dramatically when I had a life changing injury. I fell from a balcony,
landing on my head resulting in a traumatic brain injury."
Read on...
"My injury was so serious that doctors said I’d never walk again. It wasn’t
until they saw me doing Yoga that they realised how wrong they were! I had a bleed
on my brain at the point of impact, which required surgery (16 staples down the
side of my head). I also had a second bleed on the opposite side and a severance
between the two brain halves. Additionally, I had a broken neck, fractured eye socket,
a displaced C7 & C2 vertebra, ligament & tendon damage and other minor fractures.
I was unconscious for 11 hours and suffered post operative, amnesia for twelve days
after the injury. So, that's the background to this story..."
"It’s odd how I had to learn to walk again, but Yoga was still second nature
to me. After a few days of Physiotherapy and a wobbly start to proceedings, my
arm balance and inversions training kicked in. I was soon standing on a balance
ball on one leg catching balls being thrown at me. I knew, however, that things
were not as they once were and I would require endless patience in order to make
a full recovery. This could take up to two years. However, after one month
they stopped the morphine and I was physically ready to leave hospital. But the
doctors told me my brain wasn’t healing at the same pace as my body."
"I acknowledged this over the span of 2 years but each month my thoughts
and memory improved. During my seven weeks in hospital, I was overloaded with
lists of things I could no longer do:
Alcohol
Extreme Sports
Parkour
Contact Sports
Driving (for 1 year)"
"In addition to this initially devastating news I was also told I suffered memory
issues, which could have remained with me indefinitely due to the severity of
the injury. Luckily, this has improved over time."
Read on...
"My consultants described my recovery as remarkable and were surprised at the speed
of my recovery. They believed that the combined mind and body qualities of a
sustained Yoga practice may be the reason I’m alive today. According to the
Consultant and Clinical Psychologist, the part of my brain that deals with speech,
logic and memory that was damaged in the accident has been aided by another part
of my brain, which they believe compensated for the injuries. They also believed
that the combined mind, body attributes of a sustained Yoga practice played a
significant role."
"As I move onward with my life and my Yoga journey, I feel humbled and thankful.
I believe I’m a better version of my former self. On leaving hospital, I knew that
I had to carry on teaching Yoga, no matter how tough the challenges I faced would be.
I attended several yoga classes and taught part of a class just two weeks after my
discharge and managed my first full class just 10 weeks later. I felt exhilarated. I
have a second chance at life and will tread a more thoughtful path moving forward and
hope to persuade young people, guys in particular, that Yoga can transform lives in
so many ways."
"I pray for others who have suffered a traumatic brain injury to recover as fully
as possible with the passage of time. I express my sincerest and deep felt thanks to
the Surgeon who saved my life and also the Paramedics, Consultants, Doctors,
Therapists, Nurses, Cooks, Cleaners, Porters, family, friends and well-wishers (many
of whom were unknown to me but helped me during my recovery with so much care)."
"The experience made me far more present than I was before. I am so grateful to be
here. I’m actually glad that the accident happened because being so close to death
forced me to live life to the full and, of course, made me immensely grateful for
Yoga. I believe that without Yoga, there’s a high chance I would be paralysed or even
dead because not only did Yoga make me physically stronger, it made me mentally
stronger."
"I truly believe Yoga helps you find direction and purpose in life, whether that’s
in the corporate world or something totally different, Yoga will put you on the right
path. My purpose was changed after my accident. I know I’m on this Earth for a purpose:
to get younger people into Yoga… it might save your life!"
"Find your purpose"
by Max Munro
