Yoga became a healing practice before I even realized I was learning how to heal. It first attracted me with its challenging postures—binds, arm balances, and all the deliciously humbling moments in between—and it hooked me when it taught me how to quiet my mind and approach life with a little more softness.

Off my mat, I’ve spent 20+ years in high-stress roles within Emergency Medicine. After years of learning how to remain calm in the midst of other people’s crises, it was Yoga that taught me how to find—and retrieve—that same calm within myself.

The instructions are simple.

The work is the hard part.

You are more than capable.

You are the medicine.

Sit long enough to hear your inner voice.

Believe in your body.

Know your limits, and respect them.

Honor who you are.

With so much external stimulation asking things of us and adding stress to our everyday lives, I encourage students to slow things down through unhurried, intentional movement. I love to highlight the transitions between poses, creating space for curiosity, self-observation, and maybe even a little grace. Read: it’s about the journey.

And, of course, there are the gentle reminders to breathe, be true to yourself, come exactly as you are, and—perhaps most importantly—just let that shit go