Connecting with corinne
Through Yoga & Reiki
Hey everyone!
My name is Corinne and I am the founder of Connecting with Corinne through yoga and reiki. I’ve been teaching yoga for a few years now, but have been practicing on and off for about 20 years. I wanted to share my backstory with you so you know why I started Connecting with Corinne. If my story can help anyone going through a difficult situation in any aspect of their life, then it was well worth sharing my story with you.
In The Beginning...
When I started teaching yoga, I considered it my “fun” part-time job. I was employed full time at a job that was for the most part enjoyable and interesting, working with amazing colleagues, and doing work that kept me challenged. When I started working as a media disclosure specialist in 2013, I felt I had finally found my career. There were only two of us working in this area at the time – myself and my colleague Cindy*.
Over the next 6 years, the team grew from 2 members to 6, and then finally to 9 by the time I had left in 2019. My career allowed me to develop my leadership skills and I developed a training manual which I used to help train everyone who joined the crew.
The Reign of Tom
Slowly the work environment began to decline. The new supervisor Tom* began targeting my colleague Cindy, adding a layer of tension to the workspace environment. According to Tom, her colleagues were always watching her and reporting her actions and behaviours. Cindy confided in me that Tom was going to perform an assessment on not just her, but everyone in the office – however, no such assessment was ever brought to our attention.
It’s important to note here that Cindy and another colleague worked at an office downtown with Tom, while the rest of us worked at the head office. Though there was physical space between us, I noticed that Cindy was becoming increasingly paranoid and stopped trusting those around her. When I would phone her, Cindy would only talk to me if she was alone because she was worried about what her colleagues would report back to Tom.
Tom’s style of management created a volatile environment, not just for his office, but for mine as well. He focused too much on the mistakes we were making without offering constructive instruction on how to do things correctly. Tom always had to feel as if he were in complete control, even if that meant manipulating situations and the people around him. I’m sure this is something all of you have experienced at one point or another in your professional or personal relationships.
I was about to experience Tom’s management style first hand.
I the spring of 2017, I was told that I would be switching offices with Cindy. She advised me to keep my head down, which I did for the most part, but it was impossible to ignore Tom’s yelling and swearing. If I had an issue that needed resolving he would offer no assistance.
Signs of Anxiety
By the fall of 2017 I noticed I was feeling anxious almost every day. I would feel physically unwell on the way to work, sometimes so severely that I would have to pull over because I thought I was going to be sick in the car.
Then the crying started, which turned into uncontrollable bawling. These episodes included panic attacks, which left me fighting for my breath. After 10 minutes of mindful breathing, I felt composed enough to be able to exit my car.
Needless to say that these anxiety attacks, apart from taking me on an emotional and physical ride, would make me late for work. Tom was angry with me and called me into his office each time I was late to berate me. He told me to use the psychological services available to me and that I had to start coming in on time, no excuses. He told me that he had people watching my every move.
Another manager told me to “put my big boy pants on and deal with it”, just like everyone else in the office.
Much like Cindy, I too became paranoid of the other people in the office. I would watch them to see if they were watching me; I would notice them standing around my desk as I walked into the room, having no business there whatsoever. If I was away from my computer for too long, Tom would angrily grill me on where I had been and what I had been doing.
The few colleagues that I had maintained a good relationship with, approached Tom and voiced their concerns for my mental wellbeing. Tom’s take away from the conversation was that I was not doing my job and carrying my fair share of the workload.
The Beginning of the End...
Then it was assessment time, and you can probably guess that Tom did not give me a rave review; in fact, he included my health issues without explaining the entire situation. I decided to make an internal complaint against Tom and found out the Cindy had done the same. A review was done of our complaints and was marked as unfounded and the comments about my health were left in the assessment.
Cindy quit. I began mediation with Tom. It wasn’t long after that that Tom began targeting others in the office (one of whom took early retirement because of the situation). The problem was “remedied” by Tom being removed from our team and sent to a different department. It was presented to us as Tom receiving a new opportunity, a reward for his work in field so far. Although I was glad to be rid of Tom, the reality was that he had hurt a lot of people which left a bad taste in my mouth.
I wish I could tell you that Tom’s replacement was better…unfortunately this wasn’t the case. The new supervisor was equally inattentive and passive agressive in nature. It was the universe shaking me awake and telling me it was time to make a change. So I took time away from work to focus on healing. I never went back.
A New Beginning
Although it was a difficult decision to leave a career that I had spent so much time in, I realized that it was important to work within my values – where I would be treated with fairness, kindness and appreciation. We all deserve that, no matter where we work. I made the choice that my mental wellbeing was worth more than any job.
Thankfully, I had my “fun” job to finally focus my full attention on – yoga and reiki! Yoga and Reiki have helped me to get through the emotional and physical issues I was having. Practicing yoga helped me manage panic attacks by allowing me to focus on my breath. Reiki gave me a sense of calmness and peace during emotionally draining times. I am so grateful to have had those tools to get me through to a better mental space.
I teach various styles of yoga and regardless of the type of yoga you choose to do, I teach with an awareness of how we feel in our bodies as well as focusing on breath. I am confident that practising yoga will help you get through stressful obstacles that arise in life.
Join me as I help ease you into movement and bring you into the awareness of the power of your breath.
Namaste.
*Names have been changed