As I reflect back on where my wellness journey truly began, I always return to yoga. It has been the steady thread woven through every stage of my healing and growth.
For many, yoga may seem intimidating—images of ultra-flexible models in complex poses can make it feel exclusive or unattainable. But in reality, yoga is not about touching your toes or doing handstands. It’s about creating connection: with your breath, your body, and your inner self.
I’ve never been an athlete, but I’ve practiced yoga for over two decades, and it has carried me through some of the most important times of my life.
The Beginning: Healing Through Movement
My yoga journey began in college during a deeply stressful time. I had just lost one of my closest friendships, which divided our mutual friend group, and I was questioning my major in music therapy. I felt alone and incredibly stressed. Living two hours away from home without a car only deepened my feelings of isolation.
My Mom was incredibly worried about me and sent me a couple of VHS yoga tapes by Rodney Yee. It was back in the “olden days” as my teen would tell you before the days of streaming videos. One video was for morning practice and the other for evening relaxation. I initially just watched the video from the top bunk that used to be my roommate’s. As I watched the instructor flow into different asana poses I thought, “Oh no, this is stretching, not for me.” However, as the semester progressed, stressors persisted and something made me come back to it. I began following along with the yoga videos in my dorm room by myself and something in me shifted. They brought me a comfort and a calm as the routines became more and more familiar. These two videos became the beginning of my yoga practice. Eventually, I purchased more and developed a nice in-home yoga practice.
Growing My Practice
As life unfolded, yoga came with me. As time went on, I continued practicing yoga with these videos. Eventually I met someone at college and we got engaged. In the midst of finding my way in a new state after a move to Connecticut, planning a wedding, and applying for graduate school, the stressors mounted and I knew I needed more than just those yoga videos I was watching. I joined a gym so that I could use exercise as a way to manage my stress, but I wasn’t very versed in a lot of exercise and the gym was intimidating. I saw that the gym offered yoga classes and I began going weekly to them with a few different teachers. One teacher introduced me to yoga’s spiritual and meditative aspects, including pranayama (breath control) and mudras (hand gestures symbolizing intention). It resonated deeply and sparked a love for yoga beyond the physical.
Later, while completing graduate studies in Michigan, the yoga I found at a yoga studio helped me manage the stress of teaching classes as a teaching assistant, studying, being newly married, and adapting to yet another new environment. It was just what I needed to manage the stresses of life as a graduate student.
Yoga Through Motherhood
Once I finished up my coursework, my husband and I moved back to our home state of New York. When I became pregnant with our first child, prenatal yoga offered physical comfort and tools for mindful breathing that proved invaluable during labor. After my son’s birth, “Mommy and baby” yoga classes helped me reconnect with my body while bonding with my baby and meeting other new moms who also enjoyed yoga.
Eventually my husband and I had a second child as well. As our children grew, I found ways to fit yoga into our family life. While they played tennis at our local tennis club, I practiced yoga at a class the club offered. It was a great way to practice self-care as a busy mom while the kids played a sport they love.
Yoga in Times of Grief and Pain
Yoga has supported me through pain–both physical and emotional. It has alleviated chronic neck and back discomfort, and more importantly, guided me through grief. After my Mom passed, I turned to Grief Yoga, a practice that integrates movement, breath, and sound to help release pain and find peace. I describe my experiences with and the benefits of Grief Yoga in a previous post, Navigating Loss: My Resources for Moving Through Grief. In my healing, yoga remained a way for me to find connection and compassion with myself even through loss and pain.
What is Yoga?
Yoga is an ancient practice with roots in India that integrates movement (asana), breathwork (pranayama), and meditation to cultivate harmony between mind, body, and spirit. While modern western yoga often focuses on the physical aspect, its true essence lies in union—the word “yoga” itself comes from the Sanskrit “yuj,” meaning “to yoke” or “to unite.”
Today, yoga has many styles—from restorative and gentle practices to more dynamic forms like Vinyasa and Ashtanga—but all share the goal of fostering awareness and balance.
The Benefits of Yoga?
Yoga’s benefits extend far beyond flexibility or strength. A growing body of research highlights its profound impact on physical and mental well-being:
- Stress Reduction: Regular yoga practice lowers cortisol levels and activates the parasympathetic nervous system, promoting relaxation and emotional balance (Ezrin & Mansuir, 2025).
- Improved Mental Health: Yoga has been shown to reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression as well as improving emotional regulation (Wu et al., 2023; Shohani, et al., 2018).
- Physical Wellness: Yoga enhances strength, posture, and cardiovascular health, while improving pain and mobility (Saoji, 2019; Sivaramakrishnan et a., 2019; van Aalst et al., 2020).
- Mindfulness and Presence: Through meditation and focused breath, yoga helps practitioners become more aware and present, fostering inner peace.
- Community and Connection: Whether practiced alone or in a class, yoga nurtures a sense of belonging and shared energy.
Final Thoughts
Yoga means union, and that is what I love most about it. It connects the mind, body, and spirit, inviting us to slow down and listen inwardly. My yoga journey has evolved alongside my life’s seasons—from student to mother, from grief to groundedness—but its essence remains unchanged.
Yoga continues to be the anchor that helps me return home to myself, again and again.
References
Ezrin, S., & Mansuir, A. (2025, August 13). 12 benefits of yoga that are supported by science. Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/13-benefits-of-yoga
Saoji, A.A., Raghavendra, B.R., & Manjunath, N.K. (2019). Effects of yogic breath regulation: A narrative review of scientific evidence. Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine, 10,(1), 50-58. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0975947617303224
Sivaramakrishnan, D., Fitzsimons, C., Kelly, P., Ludwig, K., Mutrie, N., Saunders, D.H., & Baker, G. (2019). The effects of yoga compared to active and inactive controls on physical function and health related quality of life in older adults-systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 16,(1), 33. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6451238/
Shohani, M., Badfar, G., Nasirkandy, M.P., Kaikhavani, S., Rahmati, S., Modmeli, Y., Soleymani, A., & Azami, M. (2018) The effect of yoga on stress, anxiety, and depression in women. International Journal of Preventive Medicine, 9, 21. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5843960/
Van Aalst, J., Ceccarini, J., Demyttenaere, K., Sunaert, S., & Van Laere, K. What has neuroimaging taught us on the neurobiology of yoga? A review. (2020). Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience, 14, 34. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7362763/#abstract1
Wu, Y., Yan, D., & Yang, J. (2023). Effectiveness of yoga for major depressive disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Front Psychiatry, 14, 1138205. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10077871/
