Kirkcaldy woman turned to yoga to cope with MS diagnosis

Former Fife Free Press reporter Cara Forrester says taking up yoga helped her to turn her life around after a shock health diagnosis.
Cara practises yoga on Burntisland beach. Pics by FPACara practises yoga on Burntisland beach. Pics by FPA
Cara practises yoga on Burntisland beach. Pics by FPA

Cara (41). who lives in Kirkcaldy and is mum to three-year -old son Cal, said her world was turned upside down two years ago when she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis after suffering problems with her vision and severe headaches.

The diagnosis, after months of tests and appointments with specialists, caused her to suffer from anxiety.

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And she said it was only after turning to yoga as a way to relieve her stress that she found peace and began to reassess her life and build up her confidence.

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Now, just a year after attending her first yoga class in Dunfermline, she is running her own classes in Burntisland.

Cara practises on Burntisland beach. Pics by Fife Press AgencyCara practises on Burntisland beach. Pics by Fife Press Agency
Cara practises on Burntisland beach. Pics by Fife Press Agency

She has also started up a new online women’s magazine – Queendom of Fife – celebrating talented females in the region.

“It may sound strange but I see my MS as a gift,” she explained.

“I was in denial at first and it took me some time to work through everything that had happened, but now I appreciate every day. I look for things and people to be grateful for

“ If I hadn’t been diagnosed with MS I wouldn’t be doing this. It took me to have my life turned upside down to realise that what I want is to be a really good mum to Cal and to enjoy him growing up.

“I love yoga and I love writing and I am creating a life for myself which is full of treasures.

“At the moment I am not feeling any physical effects from MS apart from some tiredness which I am learning to cope with.

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“The diagnosis has made me fearless and given me the confidence and strength to try things I would never have done before.

“When I look back on the last year and everything that has happened – the people I have met and the opportunities I have had I feel blessed.

“I don’t want my story to be a tragedy; I want to give other people inspiration.”

Cara’s classes are part of the Yogabellies Fife franchise – one for mums to be, and Luna for people of all levels from beginners to more advanced.

They take place every Wednesday at The Space Upstairs, High Street.

Sheryne Christie, who runs the Fife franchise, said: “From the first time I met Cara I knew she was an amazing lady, talking about her MS and the way that she had faced it head on, using yoga to build a whole new way of life was very inspiring.

“We both knew from that meeting that we were destined to work together and I am super happy to have her as part of the team at Yogabellies Fife.

“The ladies who get to attend her classes are in for a treat.”