Solar Plexus Chakra - Expat Memories in Kuwait (Part 2)

A year into my time living in Kuwait, at age 24, I met him. He was the Disney prince who swept me off my feet. All of a sudden I was going on whirlwind weekend trips to Qatar and Dubai and Abu Dhabi, staying in five star hotels, ordering drinks at bars made of gold, dining in restaurants owned by celebrity chefs. And due to a bunch of reasons that seemed right at the time, we got married.

I thought it was what I wanted - but I could not eat, sleep, or function as his wife. I drank every night, to shut off the thoughts in my brain telling me to leave. I was falling apart. When we broke up, I struggled to forgive myself for what I thought of as “ruining his life.” According to me, I was the villain in the story. And stuck in that story, I moved to Abu Dhabi (mostly because alcohol was legal) and drank a lot.

Almost 2 years exactly after the day we married, was day 1 of my sober journey. At the time, I didn’t see the connection between these events. One year into sobriety I began to write my book, Sober Yoga Girl. Through the process I began to realize that that scared and sad little version of myself was actually extremely courageous and extremely wise - for trusting her intuition. There was nothing wrong with her. After the breakup she was having a trauma response. Her shame made her sick. She didn’t need a diagnosis - she needed love and support.

7 years later - in December 2023, I emailed him to ask him if it was ok to publish the book. That was the first contact we’d had in 6 years - the last emails were about the divorce. It stunned me when he told me, “Alex, you’re never going to believe this. I’m also 5 years sober. And I also wrote a book.”

So we simultaneously went through recovery journeys on the exact same timeline - not together, but apart. I now see that he was my soulmate after all, and this series of events is definitely the reason I got sober. I am so grateful that he supports me in the choice to publish my book.

I am excited to share Sober Yoga Girl in August where you can read the more expanded version of this story that’s not squeezed into an IG caption Head to www.soberyogagirl.com to drop your email on the waitlist.

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My time with my ex husband is mostly in the Solar Plexus part of my book, Sober Yoga Girl.

The solar plexus chakra is located in the abdomen. Its Sanskrit term is manipura, which means ‘lustrous gem’. It’s the seat of our personal power and the sign of strength. When the solar plexus is in balance, we feel strong, competent and empowered. We’re able to move through challenges with wisdom and strength (Judith 37).

This is my bedroom that I lived in for two years in Kuwait.

When I arrived back in Kuwait for my second year, I was determined to have a better year. I put a lot of effort into my classroom and teaching strategies.

When I returned to Kuwait, one of the things I was most excited about was that I got a job at the local studio teaching yoga. Here's a photo from that time.

My partner and I started doing lots of whirlwind trips during the time we started dating, and one of the whirlwind trips was a weekend in Qatar. We loved it there. I could see myself living there in the future.

My ex took this photo on the rooftop of our apartment building. I can't remember if this was before we got married, or afterwards - but I feel like I can see my depression through the camera lens.

This photo is of me in Cyprus, hours after we got married. I had already had several drinks in me at this point.

One of the stories I write about in the book is when the car gradually slowed to a stop on the highway. This is the infamous Desert Girl Cruiser. Luckily my ex always thought to snap a photo of these moments. I love the long skirts I used to wear in the Middle East all the time blowing in the wind, too.

My mom took this photo of me when I had just arrived back in Canada after breaking up with my ex. The sky looks beautiful here, but to me when I look at this picture I just see sadness.

Solar Plexus Merchandise:

We have some cool solar plexus merchandise in our shop, including this "Empowered" Top!

Empowered Solar Plexus Crop Sweatshirt

Buy Now

Solar Plexus Yoga Series:

So many of us struggle with self doubt, imposter syndrome, and are afraid of failures and falling - myself included. This is why I’ve created Empowered - an eight class series that invites us to take healthy risks, build our inner strength and self confidence, and challenge our limiting beliefs.

In this power yoga series you’ll build core strength, arm strength, and build up to variations of crow, side crow and headstand. This practice will remind us how to face challenges both on our mats and in our lives as well.

https://themindfullifepractice.uscreen.io/programs/empowered-advanced?category_id=192102