Laura in Grasshopper Pose or Maksikanagasana in Sanskrit on tiles with palms in the background

I finished at King’s in 2009 and it’s now 10 years out. In this time I’ve studied at four different universities, joined the Army, become a Yoga Teacher, started my own business and commenced a PhD. This was not at all what I had in mind when I finished Year 12! How did all this happen?

After a year of Human Movement at UniSA and a little Army Reserve Training, I decided to join the Army full-time at the Australian Defence Force Academy. There I undertook my undergraduate studies in Politics, International Relations and Geography, while training to become an Army Officer. This, however, ended a lot sooner than I anticipated with a knee injury, chronic pain and severe anxiety. It was through rehabilitation of my knee injury and searching for something to ease my pain and anxiety, that I began Yoga and dedicated myself more fully to my academic studies.

At the end of 2013 when I left the Army, I committed to a daily Yoga practice. My Yoga practice quickly became vital to my mental and physical health through a very tough year of writing my Honours Thesis at Adelaide Uni. On the same weekend I completed my Honours Thesis I also became a Yoga Teacher. Undertaking my Yoga Teacher training was initially just to deepen my own practice but as with many passions, once we really dive deeper we cannot resist sharing it with others. So in late 2014, I founded my business teaching Yoga, Balanced by Aquila, empowering others to transform their heart, body and mind, just like I did mine.

Laura in sun warrior from the chest up agains a background of wisteria

Laura in seated straddle forward fold looking at the camera

So why Yoga?

Firstly, it was just something to do off the Army base, that would also double as rehab for my knee outside of the gym. Over time, Yoga gave me the opportunity to connect back with my body and tune inward rather than attempting to drown out the pain and anxiety. Through Vinyasa Flow Yoga, I was able to move in a way that made me feel like I had been for a run, something my knee injury had prevented me from doing for over 18 months. Through Yin Yoga I was able to connect with stillness from within, something that had originally seemed elusive to me, managing chronic pain and anxiety under pressure to complete my Politics Degree and return to full Army training.

Yoga has numerous benefits, all of which I have noticed in my body at some point or another. They include:

Improved strength
Improved joint stability
Improved flexibility
Improved sleep
Improved digestion
Increased focus
Increased energy

Yoga helps me experience more inhale and exhale fully, on and off the mat.

In addition to teaching Yoga, I am halfway through a PhD. I use Yoga to keep me focussed and grounded as well as to receive all the benefits outlined above. As I progress further in my PhD and learn more, my Yoga mat is also a place I can digest everything I am taking in by letting my subconscious work on it or just let it all go.

This article was written originally for King’s Horizon’s Old Scholar s Magazine and published in May 2019 under the title ‘Not What I Expected…’ Minor amendments have been made for this version.

I love to share the benefits of Yoga with others. If you would like to learn more about the Yoga I teach, the best way to do so is to sign up to my Sunday morning email. In this email I share more about my Yoga classes, plus teachings to guide you to take an inhale into your body and life. You can sign up here.