Dana came to Modo in 2018 after spending a year battling the loss of her best friend and former love to suicide. She was looking for an alternative way to cope with the depression and anxiety that came with the overwhelming grief – that wasn’t going to see a traditional grief councillor. As an actor and performer, she was trained to stay on her centre, in her voice, her mind and in her body. But when life throws you a major shift, and you fall to pieces, what do you do to get back on that centre? She spent a year indulging in the grief, sad and depressed. She pulled muscles in her body from crying so hard; her body had completely tightened up and locked down.
The New Year was just around the corner and she knew she didn’t want to waste anymore time dwelling in sadness. So at the beginning of 2018 she decided she wanted to do something that was going to put her body back together again. She found the closest yoga studio, Modo Yoga Etobicoke, and signed herself up. She couldn’t believe the amount of release she felt in her body and in her mind after her first class — she was addicted. She vowed to go to the studio every time she felt sad and just take a class. She fell in love with her instructors and the community, so she volunteered her time at the studio once a week. A year later she headed out to the Modo Foundational Training in Montreal to become a teacher.
She has been so inspired by this practice and how much healing it has offered her; it pretty much saved her life. Taking care of our mental health is so vital and she wants to be able to inspire others to take to this practice. Fall apart on your mat, be a puddle, dive in, have those tears and those fears, breathe, she’s got you.
When she interviewed to be a studio ambassador at MYE, she told Gabriela her story and she said something that has forever stuck with her. “Everyone is fighting a battle you know nothing about. This is why we come to practice.” Bring yourself in just as you are, and we’ll open up to new possibilities. We’re all in this together, right?