An Auckland woman with an ankle disability is encouraging those who are nervous about yoga to give it a go.

Jennie Jackson was born with severe bilateral club feet, a debilitating condition that caused excruciating pain throughout her life.

Growing up, physical activities were a real stretch for Jackson and the thought of becoming a yoga teacher was a bridge too far.

"I spent sort of from birth to five in and out of plaster casting on both legs and one of them was worse and so I had lots and lots of surgery on that," she said.

The condition only intensified as the years went by.

"I had a long road to becoming a mum and then I had my miracle gorgeous boy and my foot was just going downhill."

Relying on a walking stick and heading towards the use of a wheelchair, the next stop for Jackson was amputation.

Jackson took out a loan on her house, left her job and packed up the family for a trip to Seattle and her last chance at mobility to get a special brace fitted.

The lower leg brace is designed and only available in the US for soldiers who had suffered limb injuries.

She says walking now is “emotional. It’s like walking on clouds,” she said.

“It’s like I’m a new person really, I can move, I can walk, I can hike.”

And there was one more achievement she wanted to tick off.

“I had been practising for a while but I didn't have the confidence to train to be a yoga teacher, I didn't think my body was right in many ways,” she said.

Jackson says the brace has given her more vitality and confidence. Now a qualified yoga teacher, she specialises in accessible yoga for those with physical disabilities or curvy physiques.

“I’m about seven years in of having this and still every day I’m like, I’m so lucky, so lucky, I feel so blessed,” she said.