A Note From Nicole: My Stress Story
Before launching Unfold in 2014 with my partner Katie, I worked long hours as an attorney. I remember many days where I didn’t leave my office for lunch. I had granola bars stuffed in my desk to keep me working.
I remember trying to schedule time to get to the yoga studio, but I would often have to skip out due to working late or just being too wiped out after work to muster up the energy to get there.
Life became a cycle of sleep, commute, work, commute, sleep.
Then the stress migraines happened.
I had never had migraines before, nor any major headaches to speak of. One day as I was walking to my office from the train I noticed my vision became blurry. I thought maybe I was just light headed and could recover once I sat down at my desk.
I got to my office, sat down and powered up my computer as usual. My vision became so blurred that I could not read the emails on my screen. I called my eye doctor immediately and was able to get an appointment the next day. I was forced to go home early and rest. By the time I got home the headache portion of the migraine had started. All I could do was turn off all the lights and lie down.
After a few hours the pain subsided but I felt like I was living in a cloud.
After confirming that there was, in fact, nothing wrong with my eyes or brain, my ophthalmologist determined that I had had an optical migraine brought on by stress. The only way to reduce or eliminate the migraines is to reduce stress.
The path I took to reduce my stress centered on meditation. I had already been into physical yoga for many years, so I dove deeper into the breathing and meditation teachings. I needed to find a way to make stress relief part of my stressful job and workday.
I learned the importance of making time for meditation throughout my work day to pick away at the stress slowly over time. I learned to do simple 2-5 minute breathing techniques at my desk between tasks. Instead of scrolling through emails on my phone during my commute, I learned to practice mindfulness meditation on the train.
This is where the idea for Unfold began. Surely I wasn’t the only one missing out on productivity and happiness due to a high stress job. And I certainly wasn’t the only one who didn’t have the time to make it to the gym or yoga studio before or after work.
My goal is and has always been to help you become happier and healthier through movement, breathing and meditation. That's why we created Unfold Digital PLUS, an online membership of office-friendly chair yoga and stress reduction classes, right at your desk. Try it for 2-weeks on us - all you have to lose is stress!
Take care, Nicole
