Yoga helped this Sask. gym owner with his anxiety. Now he's paying it forward
CBC
When a crushing bout of anxiety saw Brandon Wicks admitted to the Royal University Hospital's adult mental health short stay unit last year, the nighttime routine of 9 p.m. yoga never felt like it could come soon enough.
This was when the lights were turned down in the unit creating a calm environment for Wicks to grab a mat and stretch, and calm his mind.
"I would stretch for an hour and try to focus on my breathing and meditating. It definitely grounded me and allowed me to pull myself back inside my body," said Wicks.
This experience with yoga inspired him to start a yoga program for patients at the mental health short stay unit with the help of paramedic and owner of the Ivy Yoga House in Saskatoon, Jen Rondeau.
Wicks loves being active. He is a personal trainer in Saskatoon and owns Rise Strength Lab, a gym in the city's south end. He watches his health closely, especially since he was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome five years ago.
The syndrome is a rare condition in which the body's immune system attacks the nerves. It caused temporary paralysis in Wicks's legs and sparked what he describes as a "hyper-vigilance" in the years following his diagnosis when it came to monitoring his health.
The constant anxiety surrounding his health became too heavy a load to carry for Wicks on his own. He entered the mental health short stay unit and discovered how yoga could help with his recovery.
"I believe that go-go-go mentality is what kind of led me into the unit. I never really took the time to ground myself and bring myself down. I took that time in the unit to just really sit with my anxiety and be with myself," said Wicks.
He started attending yoga classes at Ivy Yoga House after his release and shared his story with Rondeau. She not only guided Wicks through yoga classes but was an empathetic ear for his mental health struggles.
"It was all very relatable," Rondeau said, adding she'd been through a major depression in her 20s and also had to seek medical help.
"The things Brandon was explaining about his racing thoughts and that he needed extra help brought back those thoughts when I was admitted myself."
Wicks shared an idea with Rondeau after attending one of her classes. He was grateful for the role yoga played during his stay at the hospital and wanted to give that gift back to patients.
Wicks proposed a yoga program for the mental health short stay unit that Rondeau and her staff would run and that he would fundraise for through his gym. Rondeau loved the idea and Wicks pitched the idea to Royal University Hospital's mental health unit.
"I just felt like, as a former patient, that this would be beneficial for the people who are there struggling. The hospital staff got back to me and loved the idea," said Wicks.
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