Gayle Hacon: It Started with a Stroke

Gayle Hacon became a fan of yoga after suffering a stroke nearly 5 years ago. Now she wants to teach yoga to help others manage the consequences of life-changing mind and body afflictions.

Ashram Yoga is is helping Gayle to become a yoga teacher but since we run on a shoe-string, we are looking for someone to sponsor her.  If you or someone you know has been affected by a stroke, and you appreciate the healing power of yoga, then perhaps you could be that sponsor.

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This is Gayle’s story:

My background is working for volunteer, community and non-profit organisations.  About four years ago I was headhunted by Conservation Volunteers Australia. They sent me across to Australia to meet the boss and sign the papers saying that I was second-in-charge of the New Zealand division. Things were looking up for me.  It was just fantastic.  I flew back and two hours later had a stroke – a burst aneurysm in my brain.

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Origin of the Stroke

I don’t know if it was the flight, but I was under a lot of stress at the time with the new job. I’d just bought a house and my marriage had broken up. I was a solo mum with a 13-year-old daughter and an 18-year-old son. So there was a lot going on in my life! But the stroke brought an end to life as I knew it. I was in hospital for ten weeks. After that I went through rehab.

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After Effects

The stroke affected my memory the most; it didn’t affect my movement.  It wasn’t a physical thing.  And I lost a bit of vision. So I’ve spent the last four years trying to get back in the workforce but my reading has been impaired through the stroke. The whole thing has brought a lot of anxiety.

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Finding Yoga

About three years ago I started getting into yoga at Les Mills and with Mandy White. It has helped me tremendously with the anxiety with everything to do with the brain, the mind and confidence. I just can’t help telling everybody how wonderful yoga has been for me. I am a true yoga enthusiast!

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Returning to Work

I have been trying to get back into the workforce and I’ve taken some training courses – such as Pyschosynthesis which I studied for two years. My late husband helped me get that together. I was looking at counselling work but many people were asking me for help with strokes. So I thought maybe there is something I could do to help them. Then it dawned on me that my love of yoga and my training in psychology would be a perfect combination.

Having been through a life-threatening illness like I had, it really opened my eyes into what happens to other people and their thought patterns. I can really relate to them and their challenges.

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Sponsorship

Ashram Yoga is a registered charity and we like to do charitable things so we are giving Gayle an $1800 scholarship. The remainder of the course fee is $1500 and we would like you to sponsor her. In our opinion she is a worthy recipient who will help many people with yoga.

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A tax receipt and our bank account details are available on request.