Yoga With Adriene Got Her Dog Benji A Decade Ago. Here's How He Helped Her Overcome Mental Health Challenges And Panic Attacks
Adriene Mishler, a.k.a. Yoga with Adriene, exclusively opened up to Women's Health about her mental health journey.
Her dog Benji is one of her "biggest, most darling allies" in remaining present.
Here, Adriene opens up about what Benji has meant to her after getting the blue heeler mix in 2014.
Although she leads her 13 million subscribers in calming yoga practices nearly every single day, Adriene Mishler (a.k.a. Yoga with Adriene) isn't always stoic. In fact, she recently opened up for the first time to Women's Health about experiencing panic attacks and dealing with anxiety.
But Adriene has a secret weapon in managing her mental health: her dog, Benji.
“Benji is one of my biggest, most darling allies for just remembering what it’s all about,” she exclusively tells Women's Health. “To be in this state of presence, with awareness and with a kind heart—that’s Benji.”
Benji, a blue heeler mix that she first got in 2014, is a staple in Adriene's videos, whether he's snoozing in the background while she demonstrates poses, hanging out next to his owner, or simply walking through the frame. He even has his own animated series, Be Like Benji, which teaches people meditation techniques.
Fans constantly stop Adriene to talk about Benji, who looks like “Bluey’s cousin,” she jokes. But Adriene loves that he has his own fanbase.
“That makes me feel like, ‘Oh, we're just actually really sweet at heart,’” she says. “Everywhere I go, whether I'm with him or not, people ask me about Benji.”
Now that she's had Benji for over 10 years, life won't be easy for Adriene once he's gone.
“It's going to be actually really hard when he moves on because I worship our time together and the way we relate to each other,” she says.
But ultimately, Adriene feels like she and Benji are together for a reason. “It's sweet that higher power put us together,” she says. “We're a good match for what we're doing in this time.”
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