Ep. 95 How to save your sanity with yoga with Hannah Barrett

Mar 12

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This week I’m speaking with Hannah Barrett, who you might know better as Yoga Girl London. Hannah is a yoga teacher and has a real passion for helping people transform their lives through yoga. Hannah particularly loves supporting mothers, and she specialises in pre and post-natal yoga.

This episode comes with a trigger warning: Hannah shares in detail about the trauma she experienced during her daughter’s early days. It left Hannah with PTSD and a huge part of our conversation is how yoga helped her to save her sanity when she felt totally lost and in a very dark place.

Even if you’re not into yoga, I think you’ll get a lot from this episode. We talk about self-care, Hannah’s ‘happy habits’ and how she learned how to ask for help, having found that really challenging to start with.

I hope you enjoy this week’s episode – and if you did, please do share it with a friend who would find it helpful too.

As always, we continue the conversation over on Instagram, so once you’ve listened to the episode, come and join me there.

You can download a transcript of this week’s episode here.

Key takeaways from this week’s episode:

How It All Started:

Hannah used to train and work as an actuary. (04:04)
Even before pregnancy, Hannah has been doing yoga on and off. When she became pregnant, she decided to ramp up her routine. (04:24)
Yoga has helped her in times of stress. Yoga calmed her and helped her with body aches and pains. (05:13)
Hannah had a one-on-one teacher who assisted her. (06:00)

Journey to Becoming a Yoga Teacher:

Hannah underwent a year-long training. (06:36)
When her baby started having sleep problems, she suffered from severe sleep deprivation. (07:07)
Hannah decided to get therapy. Yoga complemented her therapy sessions. (07:18)
She decided that she also wanted to share her learnings with others. (07:26)

Benefits of Calming Your Mind:

Hannah calms her mind through daily meditation practices. (08:56)
After her husband’s accident, she struggled to sleep and kept getting flashbacks. She tried different meditation and breathing techniques, but none worked. (09:06)
That’s when she realized she needed to keep her body moving to release the trauma. (11:06)

Overcoming PTSD:

During Hannah’s pregnancy with her baby, Emilee, she suffered from partial placental abruption. (13:23)
Hannah experienced horrendous bleeding. She needed to be induced and to undergo hypnobirthing. (13:29)
Breathing and meditation exercises helped her a lot in getting rid of fear. (14:39)
Hannah was not allowed to hold Emilee until four days later. She had PTSD and couldn’t function properly. (18:21)

Yoga and Self-Care:

Soon after her pregnancy, Hannah immediately got on her mat. Moving is a big part of her toolkit. (19:05)
She started writing a postnatal guide through the help of physiotherapist Finola Burrell. (19:22)
Mums need to get stronger after having a baby. We need to learn how to look after ourselves. (19:33)

‘Strength Through Yoga’ Postnatal Guide:

Hannah’s postnatal guide highlights three stages. It is essential to do things correctly; otherwise, you will worsen the symptoms. (20:37)
Stage 1 is about reconnecting to your body through deep core and abdominal activation. (20:44)
Stage 2 outlines different arm and pelvic floor exercises. (22:10)
Stage 3 is designed for strength and flexibility. (22:21)

‘Happy Habits’ and Other Self-Care Tools:

Hannah practises ‘happy habits’ with her husband and kids. (25:26)
Every morning, she dedicates 10 minutes of breathing and meditation through meditation mobile apps. (25:34)
She also plays ‘grateful game’ with her kids. They each share three things they are happy and grateful for. (25:56)
In the evening, she keeps a journal of three positive things that happened that day. She also reads before she sleeps. (26:37)
These happy habits helped flip her perspective. (26:55)

The Bigger Meaning of Yoga:

Yoga gives you the ‘community’ feel. (32:38)
It teaches you to be kind to yourself and others. (32:43)

About Hannah

Hannah Barrett, also known as ‘Yoga Girl London’, is a yoga teacher, an influencer and a mother of two. She helps people, especially mothers, transform their lives through yoga. Hannah is also the author of yoga-inspired guides, Strength Through Yoga Postnatal Mind & Body and Strength Through Yoga The Circuits.

To learn more about the benefits of yoga, visit her website at www.hannahbarrettyoga.com. You can also connect with her on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram.