My Body Knew Before I Did

The first time I cried in a yoga class, I was in pigeon pose. I hadn't expected it. I wasn't sad, or so I thought. But when my hip opened and I dropped my forehead to the mat, something let go. Years of holding emotions, words. Years of trying to please everyone…

The teacher said something I never forgot: the body keeps the story your mind learned to skip.

Yoga asked me to feel my way through instead, and that was terrifying, and then slowly, freeing.

You don't need to be flexible to start. You just need to be willing to show up in the body you already have. That mat becomes a conversation between you and yourself. And if you're patient enough to listen, the body will tell you everything.

Before your next stressful moment, try this: one long, slow exhale. Stretch it out. That is yoga. Everything else is just detail.