Nicola Jane Hobbs - Thrive Through Yoga: A 21-Day Journey to Ease Anxiety, Love Your Body and Feel More Alive

For the day dreamers, trail blazers and magic trusters. For the black sheep and odd ducks and those with messy hair and even messier hearts. For those who loved me in my darkest moments and helped me navigate my way out of the depths. And for you Dad. For inspiring me to be fearless and share my soul with the world. Ill see you on the other side of the stars.

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This electronic edition published in 2017 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

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First published in 2018

Nicola Jane Hobbs, 2018

Nicola Jane Hobbs has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the Author of this work.

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ISBN: 978-1-4729-4299-9 (PB)
ISBN: 978-1-4729-4301-9 (eBook)
ISBN: 978-1-4729-4300-2 (ePDF)

All photography by Glen Burrows Photography, with the exception of images Getty Images. Illustrations by Matt Windsor.

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Contents

Part 1: Introduction

The purpose of yoga is not to put your foot behind your head. Or do the splits. Or perfect a handstand. Yoga is about more than pretty poses. Its about healing. Thriving. Understanding what it means to be truly alive. The purpose of yoga is to find freedom where you were once trapped. To open your heart to joy and adventure. To make peace with your body. To accept yourself completely. To become aware of all the beautiful things about you. And to restore your soul with kindness and compassion so you can serve others from the overflow. The true purpose of yoga is love. To love your body, yourself and the world.

This book was created from that love. My aim is to take you on a journey of transformation. To give you a blueprint to thrive. Because I want to create change. To create hope. I want you to begin this quest as you are you dont need to be more together or more falling apart. Just come exactly as you are. And, over the next 21 days, I will take you on a journey designed to help you grow as bold and as a brave and as beautiful as you were born to be.

The Thrive Through Yoga journey has been created from my personal experiences, professional practice, ancient wisdom, and modern science. It will begin by introducing you to what thriving is and how it can help us heal from some of the common struggles we face in 21st-century life. It will move on to outline some of the key concepts of yoga, and answer frequently asked questions to help you understand why I have chosen to include different elements of yoga, psychology and spirituality in the journey. You will then be introduced to the Thrive Sequence a routine you will practise most days as a form of moving meditation.

Then well begin our 21-day journey where each day you will find a quote to inspire you, yoga routine, heart-centred exploration and meditation. You will also find yoga sequences for common struggles such as insomnia, stress and anxiety towards the back of the book, along with a Yoga Pose Library which will give you instructions on how to practise each pose safely.

But first I would like to start with my promise to you from writer to reader, teacher to student, soul to soul

My promises to you

I promise that you are capable and worthy of thriving.

I promise that you have suffered long enough. You dont have to haul your struggles around any longer. Whatever is controlling you or holding you back, its time to let it go.

I promise that you will always make it through. You will heal one day. It will happen when you least expect it and you wont even notice it when it does. One day you will wake up and realise that you arent pretending any more. You arent fighting or striving or hustling for worthiness. You will realise you are free.

I promise that you can unlearn all the stuff that makes you stressed and angry and scared. When you take off your mask and reveal yourself you will begin to find freedom. You will un-become everything that isnt really you, so you can become everything that you are meant to be.

I promise that your fear, your loneliness and all your struggles are fragile. A song, a poem, a sunset, a hug can cause you to break open and it will obliterate them into insignificance. At any moment your struggles can shatter into nothingness. They have no more power than that.

I promise that you feel pain so that the smallest joys in your life appear bigger. You experience loss so that you can appreciate the people that touch your heart. It rains so that you can delight in the beauty of the sun. Youre not supposed to be happy all the time. Life hurts. Life is hard. Your pain has a purpose.

I promise that by facing the fear and uncertainty in your life you will free yourself from it. When you dont allow yourself to embrace your hurt, and instead numb it or dismiss it or medicate it, you miss the lessons in your suffering. It is these lessons that will heal your soul and help you grow.

I promise that you will reach a point where you will wake up to the beauty of life. You will look back at who you used to be and it will hurt because you will realise that you neglected yourself for so long. You will heal. You will grow. You will evolve. You will become more loving and more compassionate. And you will help the world become a better place.

I promise that making peace with your past, doing what makes your soul happy and living with an open heart will transform your life. It wont be easy, but it will be the most important thing you ever do. When you open your heart to love, magic and unimaginable adventures you will begin to discover that life is beautiful.