User of the Month: Pia Seider, Attorney and Breast Cancer Survivor
💙 Pia Seider, @northernstaryoga
💪 Yogi, Attorney, Breast Cancer Survivor
🇩🇪 Germany
For the past few years, yoga has served as a daily ritual for attorney and breast cancer survivor Pia Seider — a place to find strength and healing from life’s challenges. Read on to learn more about June’s User of the Month.
How long have you been practicing with Alo Moves?
I have been practicing with Alo Moves for a little over a year now. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t use the platform in some kind of form. Whether it’s for asana practice or meditation in the morning or just to connect with someone, I make a point to visit it daily.
what first drew you to yoga?
I was 29 years old when I was diagnosed with breast cancer and in many ways, this was my start to a daily yoga practice.
One day a couple years after the diagnosis, after I had re-evaluated everything in my life (including my favorite activity so far, running), I decided I would do an online yoga class (now Alo Moves!) at home. All of my doctors had recommended it for cancer recovery even though at the time, I didn’t know why. I remember this day like it was yesterday, though. After one hour of practice, all of a sudden, I was able to lift up my arm again, which had been stiff since surgery. I could breathe calmly, which I hadn’t done since the diagnosis. My heart rate after Savasana was lower than I had known it for years and I felt pure joy.
That day was about 2.5 years ago. And since then, I have made yoga a part of my life. I move out of joy every day. I feel healthy again. I thankfully won the battle against cancer fatigue and depression towards my future. I am now able to feel my body and my emotions much more clearly so I can act and react accordingly and not push myself into things I don’t want anymore. It truly changed my life for the better.
And now after being cancer free for five years, thanks to yoga, I feel ready to take on my next challenge in life. To be a mom. When things seem to change rapidly, yoga is my place to come back to. My safe haven and my present moment. And for that I am truly grateful.
who are your favorite instructors?
My two favorite instructors would be Ashley Galvin — I love her strong practice. She teaches strength moves and I think I do them daily. Number two would be Caley Alyssa because I think she is ahead of her time, always coming up with new moves.
what’s your most repeated class on alo moves?
Oh gosh. I wish I knew. But it must be a class of Ashley Galvin. Any class of hers is my favorite, because she understands the mental challenges that come with believing in yourself and your own strength on and off the mat. I have never been more inspired to try things that I never thought were possible for me than I am after taking one of her classes. Also, I have never been more strong physically.
If I had to pick one class, I would say Tone and Release from her Thirty30 Burn series. I love anything hamstring related. Also the shoulders class on the Body Blast series. And for a more dynamic vinyasa class, I love Go With the Flow and Bend and Breathe.
What’s the meaning behind your IG handle?
I named my account @northernstaryoga two years ago because I wanted it to be an expression of that steadfast light Polaris on the night skies. The North Star is in line with the earth’s axis, so when you look up at night, you will not see it moving. Rather, it seems like the earth is spinning around it.
I chose this name because much like Polaris, when breast cancer came around the corner a few years ago, I felt lost and disappointed. And I started searching for that steadfast light myself. A home of sorts that I can always return to. A home within to be exact, that will always be there no matter my outside circumstances.
Now, I don’t want you to think that I have found that light and I have it all figured out in my life. I haven’t. Let’s face it, most likely I won’t. But it doesn’t matter to me. To me, it’s the search that counts. And the listening in through my yoga practice. And maybe if I am lucky, getting to put a few pieces of the puzzle together. And that’s what I want to share with everyone who is following my journey.
Check out Pia’s favorite classes on Alo Moves here.
