I came to yoga crawling on hands and knees, so to speak: aimless, disconnected, all systems clogged with the type of junk that accumulates from a hardly discerning soul-searcher. Immediately apparent, yoga made me feel better and stronger than anything else ever had. The initial benefits were mostly physical— as far as I was aware. It makes perfect sense for someone who's disconnected to have only a gross level of awareness that resides mostly in the physical. The physical experience of yoga was enough on its own to keep me coming back to the little ashtanga yoga cottage where I was lucky enough to first practice.

Over time, not only did my yoga discipline help to unclog the systems that work together to bring vitality to my health and mind, it also expanded my awareness from the gross, physical level to subtler levels of awareness. The focus on postures was simply a gateway within, like training wheels on a tricycle. The vinyasa aspect— that every movement was linked with an inhalation or exhalation— was a bridge between outer, physical awareness and inner, mindful awareness. That bridge helped me establish steadiness of breath and mind simultaneously. Altogether, yoga yoked—the true definition of "yoga"— the two aspects of my awareness together and led me to develop a deep understanding of how the body is a continuation of the mind. It was this deepened awareness that naturally led me to pursue a yoga certification immediately followed by a B.S. Nutrition and Culinary Arts.

Yoga is a practice that works the body-mind-nervous system complex in a way that positively affects the many layers of our being. On the outer surface, when we practice yoga we gain fitness, flexibility, and relaxation— but the inner aspects of these benefits are that we gain resilient nervous systems, stability of mind, and freedom from dis-ease. Yoga is not only a practice for our outermost, physical aspects, but for our innermost too— what happens beneath the surface of the postures is where the lasting changes to our wellbeing occur.