If Only Breathing Could Be That Simple
I have experienced anxiety and depression for years. Even though it was only diagnosed when I came to New Zealand at twenty-eight, I can still remember having panic attacks as a child in primary school. Unfortunately, no one knew what it was at the time.
Over the years, I’ve had support from numerous counsellors, learned many therapeutic techniques, read countless books, and done everything I could to look after my mental health. Yet the undercurrent of anxiety never truly left my body. I often worry that this constant pressure might one day turn into an outburst of anger.
To make sure I stay healthy and can function well at work, I’ve taken medication for depression, eaten clean, and exercised regularly. I’ve learned mindfulness and practised Muay Thai kickboxing for the past fourteen years. Despite all of that, my mental health has always hovered around a threshold — somewhere between being okay and being tired and exhausted all the time.
Lately, I’ve started attending daily yoga classes at Golden Yogi. That’s been wonderful for me, but the real transformation came when I met Ashs, who teaches Krama Yoga — a traditional practice that focuses more on breathing than on posture.
Through this practice, I finally learned how to breathe correctly. Having regular classes gave me the discipline and space to apply what I was learning, and it became a life-changer. I realised that I had often been breathing incorrectly — shallow, rushed, sometimes barely at all. For the first time, I became truly aware of my breath and intentional about it, creating a lasting shift in how I experience calm.
As I progressed, I caught myself breathing shallowly again and again. Attending Ashs’ workshops deepened my understanding of how to support myself through breath, especially when anxiety or negative thoughts arise.
I’ve shared this with Ashs, and we even planned to record a podcast together. Ironically, on the day of the recording, I forgot to press the record button — something that’s never happened in nearly twenty episodes!
The reason I’m sharing this story is because I know many people like me live with constant anxiety, hiding it well and functioning highly in society. Yet it’s often not until we get home, when no one’s watching, that we finally take off the armour and fall back into fight-or-flight mode.
I want to share how Krama Yoga has helped me because I truly believe it can help others who struggle with anxiety or simply don’t breathe properly. It offers another path — one that’s simple, grounding, and deeply restorative.
What Ashs teaches goes far beyond preserving a traditional yoga method. It’s about sharing something that transformed his own life. He’s not here to say, “Look how great this is.” He’s here to show how yoga changed him, healed him, and continues to guide his mission to help others.
Until we record our next conversation, I want to say that meeting Ashs and learning Krama Yoga have been transformative for me. After years of depression, anxiety, and ADHD, I’ve finally found a tool that’s accessible, practical, and truly helpful. It’s given me confidence to live with my anxiety rather than fight against it.
I’m so grateful to have met someone like Ashs, who has chosen to preserve such an authentic, traditional form of yoga while using it to help others. For someone like me, who’s tried everything under the sun, this felt like the missing puzzle piece that brought everything together.
You can visit Ash’s Yoga Therapy for more information.
