Hello, my name is Yassmin Al Shalabi, I am a Palestinian living in the UAE I’m 29 years old & diabetes is my longest relationship so far!  I’ve read in a book very recently that relationships are sacred, as they are our grandest opportunity to create the best and highest expression of who we truly are, not of another.

I paused at length at this sentence, as I always thought of diabetes as friend, a very annoying one at times. And if relationships are about us, not the other, then my relationship with diabetes is about ME and not about him (yes, he is a male in my head, because no female would be that annoying & demanding). Then what did this Diabetes relationship really teach me? How did this 24-year-old relationship shape who I truly am today?

Diabetes is impatient, and so I’ve learned to be patient

Diabetes is easily influenced, so I’ve learned to be grounded

Diabetes is weak, so I’ve learned to be strong

Diabetes is unpleasant, so I’ve learned to be kind

Diabetes is apathetic, so I’ve learned to be empathetic 

With Blood, sweat & tears, I wholeheartedly accepted that all these virtues are mine, and I had control to decide how to lead my life with them.  About 4 years ago I suddenly found myself, divorced, living on my own in a studio apartment in one of the hottest spots in the world, financially independent & depressed (to say the least). Diabetes & depression became best friends! No pulling these two apart, it was dark & cold back then. But I still had some fight within, a small voice kept saying that there is still so much more to life, that there will be moments in my life when I will be in complete peace and love. The voice told me: MOVE.

And move I did. Yoga came at a perfect time in my life, I needed a physical activity that would not lower my BG & that I could do anywhere, anytime to fit my work schedule. I started with 10 private classes in May 2018 and life changed. Every class I would go in a in a certain mood, I would walk out completely transformed. Back then I did not know that healing was taking place in my mind, body & soul. Some classes I would come out crying & I didn’t understand why.  Yoga became my best friend (in your face diabetes & depression).

 I wanted more & more of that feeling. Of that happiness that came with yoga, I wanted more yoga. So, I took my first 200-hour teacher training in September 2019 in Goa, India & became a yoga instructor myself. One of the requests in the teacher training is a one-hour meditation after yoga class, right there I found another friend. Meditation!  And it all came together, yoga was meditation in movement and finally, all of us together kicked depression out of the way and started giving diabetes orders and not the other way around. 

Life became a series of INHALE, EXHALE, test your BG. Yoga + Meditation has completely changed the way I handle my diabetes, it brought awareness to my mental health when it comes to diabetes.

Meditation helps me handle my hypo anxiety better, to tune down the thoughts I have about being in hyperglycemia, about eating, carb counting, everything we have to go through on a daily basis. Meditation helps to listen to my body, to listen to my pancreases. This tiny little organ that tries so hard keep me balanced. I give gratitude to all my other organs that work perfectly. And most importantly meditation gave me control over my breath, the single most important thing in life.

In meditation you start to consciously breath, moving this task from the lungs to the brain, from the unconscious to the conscious, building a bridge between the mind & the soul. Building a bridge between being an unconscious person living with diabetes to an aware conscious person diabetes is living with. 

I have done a lot of work for diabetes, one of that I’m most proud of is my initiative in Jordan to help diabetics in financial need to have access to test strips, this initiative is called “Your Device Is My Life”. Moreover, in the UAE I helped establish the first community for people & parents living with diabetes. I’m a dietician & a diabetes educator as well. A life coach and a theta healing practitioner. 

I Also leverage my presence on social media through Instagram where I focus right on raising awareness about diabetes, particularly diabetes & mental health, which is very often overlooked. To help more people living with type 1 diabetes live their lives to the fullest, highest expression of who they truly are along with yoga & meditation as friends.  

I say, lets show diabetes some unconditional love together, are you with me?

Stay safe, stay balanced 

Inhale, exhale & test your BG!

Yassmin, @yassminalshalabi