A traumatic event 14 years ago led to a journey that ended in inner peace, and a local yoga and meditation instructor is hoping to share that knowledge to help others in their own journeys.
Thornbury yogi Brenda Murphy is releasing her first book, Interior Consciousness: Healing From the Inside Out, on Oct. 10 to correspond with World Mental Health Day.
“One of my goals is to destigmatize mental health,” said Murphy. “Through the work I talk about in the book, you can get to a place of deep stillness, acceptance and become a co-creator in your life. It’s very powerful for people to recognize.”
The book is borne from a series of journals Murphy kept after a traumatic experience 14 years ago, where a home she and her husband were renovating exploded with her inside due to a propane leak.
Although she escaped mostly uninjured externally, the experience left her struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder, lung blast and a brain injury.
“I’ve always kept a journal ever since I was a little girl,” said Murphy. “After the accident, the journal, at first, was more to keep me on track. I wasn’t aware at the time, but I had a significant brain injury so I would get really confused.”
“It also helped me to make sense of what I was experiencing. As I went along, I realized there was a story I was developing,” she said.
Murphy, a certified meditation and Hatha yoga instructor, describes the book as a memoir and playbook for how she managed to come back from the trauma and injuries she sustained. She hopes reading about her experiences might help others who may be dealing with trauma in their lives.
“I want them to see some hope,” said Murphy.
Murphy says she received a prognosis of early-onset dementia due to the injuries she sustained. The book outlines the work she did in her own life to reverse that prognosis.
“It’s for people to see themselves and not feel alone on their journey,” she said. “It can help not only the person, but also those around them to gain greater understanding.”
Murphy says her yoga and meditation practice helped her on her healing journey as well.
“Because I had had a practice of over 30 years when the accident occurred, I knew to use that. When I meditated, it reduced anxiety and calmed my central nervous system,” she said.
“I just never gave up.”
To correspond with the book release, Murphy will also be hosting a yoga and meditation retreat at Blue Mountain Resort Oct. 23 to 24. For more information on the retreat, click here.
Interior Consciousness: Healing From the Inside Out is available through Murphy’s website, Amazon or Chapters/Indigo or can be ordered through local bookstores.
