Delve into the story of Sheila’s journey into learning about yoga as a mother of young children, before it was a popular fitness trend in the US. Follow her teacher training experience at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, and her establishment of Heartsong Yoga, which offers in-person and virtual classes and also retreats in lovely places like Costa Rica and the Azores.
Sheila’s daughter was born 3 months before her due date, and the challenges Sheila faced as the mother of a two-year-old son with a newborn in the hospital caused her therapist to suggest yoga to her. At first, she resisted, and then went to a class, and that class changed her life.
Going to yoga for the first time was a surreal experience, like coming home, like taking rest for the first time.
-Sheila Magalhaes
Sheila thought that her yoga practice and teaching afforded her a healthy life. And it really did…until it didn’t. Decades of yoga gave her strength, flexibility, balance, and a mindful approach to daily life, supported by a like-minded community. But over the years, health issues began to creep in—high blood pressure, post-menopause weight gain, rising anxiety, sleeplessness, skin breakouts, and finally the “last straw,” a sleep apnea diagnosis. Gradually, she began to see the connection between these symptoms and her love of red wine and an omnivorous diet, and she knew it was time to make a change.
In this inspiring and engaging conversation, Sheila shares the steps she took to choose differently, to make necessary changes and begin living whole. Choosing seltzer water with lime instead of red wine resulted in sleeping better and awakening refreshed in the morning. Transitioning from omnivore to whole food plant based resolved the sleep apnea and high blood pressure, cleared up her skin and gave her a more fit body.
I think there are lots of chapters in our lives. I think you can begin again at any time. I think that things come into life at the right time.
-Sheila Magalhaes