Like most women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), I began suffering the symptoms of the disease long before I was diagnosed. In fact, it was roughly 11 years before a doctor handed down those results. While my high school peers were focused on climbing the social ladder, I skipped afterparties because I was too tired, attempted to cover my acne-ridden face with pounds of makeup, and struggled to squeeze into my pants. Most of all, I felt anxiety over the lack of control I had over my body.
No matter how many dermatologists I saw or leafy greens I ate, nothing really helped my acne, weight, moodiness, energy levels, and irregular cycle — or the anxiety that surrounded them — until I met Pooja Malhotra, founder of Yoga With Pooja, who swore by the practice’s holistic healing qualities. To this day, she acts as a source of guidance for me (my yogic sherpa, if you will).
Years later, sticking to a consistent practice has kept most of my symptoms at bay, or at least given me a sense of control over my body. I won’t lie and say my weight dropped, my skin cleared up, and my energy levels increased in months, or even a year. All that and more happened, but it took almost half a decade to curate a practice for myself that not only helped me monitor these symptoms but also get in touch with my body so I can anticipate them before they appear.
Now I know how to monitor my breath when I feel a pimple surfacing, what pose to hold longer in my Sun Salutation when I’m tired, and how to invert my body when I know I’m about to get moody with my boyfriend (bless that brave man). These are the five distinct ways my life changed after I adopted the yogi lifestyle.