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Gina G. I
quit smoking when I was 19 because my Dad had a stroke. He smoked a
lot, and that was a big deterrence. Plus, I was an active and healthy
person and I could never really learn how to inhale. Now
being healthy is all about breath. I've been practicing yoga for many
years now and it really makes a difference in my life. Just
like when I was young, I believe that being a smoker and being a healthy
active person don't go hand in hand. I have friends who are marathoners
and aggressive smokers at the same time. I really don't get it. Sometimes
during yoga class, I smell that smoky smell coming from someone who
is 10 feet away from me. When I see her light up after class, I still
think, "Wow! What
are you doing in yoga class? What are you doing smoking?" Maybe she's trying to cut down, I don't know. I
would be really great if everyone could find a way to breathe freely,
like I have. |
Believing in myself was a process of understanding that I’m bigger than this monster that resides inside me. Reducing the amount I smoke is a more feasible a starting point for me than quitting altogether. Leigh quit smoking when she had the stroke, so I know she can do it. When the cost was too high, she quit. I started smoking socially because I had a lot of leftover social anxiety from years of denying the fact that I was gay. Now being healthy is all about breath. I've been practicing yoga for many years now and it really makes a difference in my life. |
For First Nations people, tobacco is sacred and shouldn't be abused by us. It’s great when you suddenly realize that you’ve always had the power to change your life in anything you strive to do.
Because I had reached a point of desperation in which the pain out weighed the gratifications, I was able to make some life changing decisions that have molded who I am today–clean, sober and smoke-free. Smoking isn't as cool as it used to be. It's kind of dirty and anti-social. Smoking is so taboo now. It seems like a strange time to be picking up smoking again, almost surreal, like it's not me. I feel so disappointed in myself. It felt like I was a little kid again, keeping a nasty secret.
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