There are seasons in life when you feel disconnected from your own body. You move through your day almost like you are watching yourself from a distance. You forget what it feels like to take a deep breath. You forget what it feels like to feel grounded. You start to wonder when everything got so loud and why you stopped hearing yourself.
Read MoreThe holidays can be beautiful and exhausting all at once. There is so much movement, noise, and expectation that it can start to feel like we are living life on fast forward. The days fill up quickly with plans, errands, and lists that never seem to end. Many people carry both joy and stress at the same time, trying to hold it all together.
Read MoreSome days the world feels heavy. People are tired, worried, and stretched thin. It shows in conversations, in the way we move through our days, and in how quiet the studio feels before class begins. Everyone is carrying something right now. Some are grieving, some are anxious, and some are just trying to hold everything together.
Read MoreMost people think meditation means stopping their thoughts. They sit down, close their eyes, take a breath, and almost immediately the mind starts talking. It lists what to do later, replays an old conversation, wonders if they are doing this right, worries about dinner, or starts singing a random song from childhood. After a few minutes, frustration sets in. I can’t do this, they think. My mind will not stop.
Read MoreThere are people who walk past a yoga studio window and tell themselves the same story. That looks beautiful, but it is not for me. They picture bending and twisting, lowering down to the ground, standing back up with ease. They think about their knees, their balance, their breath. They shake their heads. Maybe once, years ago. But not now.
Read MoreThere is a belief that to practice yoga you must already be flexible, calm, or in perfect health. You see it in glossy magazines and online feeds where the same images repeat again and again. Perfectly aligned handstands, deep backbends, bodies that look more like sculptures than human beings. These images plant a quiet seed of doubt. People look at them and think, yoga is for someone else. Yoga is for people who can already do those things. Yoga is for the strong, the thin, the peaceful. It is not for me.
Read MoreThe first time someone walks into Emerald Yoga Studio, they often pause at the door. Sometimes it is because they are unsure if they belong in a yoga studio. Sometimes it is because they are carrying years of stress in their body and they are not sure what will happen when they finally stop and breathe. Other times it is because they have tried yoga before and felt out of place. There is always a little bit of hesitation in that moment, a quiet searching in the eyes, as if asking, do I really belong here.
Read MoreShe told me before class even began that she almost didn’t come. She stood at the front desk, clutching her wallet, eyes darting between the door and the floor. Her first words were, “I don’t think I can do this.” She said her doctor recommended yoga. She said her back hurt every day, that her knees felt like they belonged to someone twenty years older.
Read MoreI remember the day so clearly. It was the middle of winter, the kind where the air stings your cheeks as soon as you step outside, and the sky looks like it has been painted in one shade of gray that never changes. I had been circling the idea of yoga for a while, telling myself I should try it, but also talking myself out of it every single time. I wasn’t flexible. I didn’t own a mat. I didn’t even know the difference between downward dog and child’s pose. Still, something in me kept pulling toward it, like a whisper I couldn’t quite shake.
Read MoreIn the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali defines yoga as “chitta vritti nirodhah,” the stilling of the fluctuations of the mind. That definition does not mention flexibility, strength, or elaborate poses. It speaks to presence. Yoga is about noticing what is happening inside you and gently guiding your attention back to the present moment. You could do that lying in savasana, sitting in a chair, or walking slowly outside.
Read MoreChair yoga is yoga that meets you where you are. It takes the same breath, presence, and intention as any other yoga practice and adapts it to be done while seated or with the support of a chair. This simple shift opens the door for people who may have avoided yoga because of joint pain, balance concerns, injuries, or difficulty getting up and down from the floor.
Read MoreStress has a way of living in the body.
It shows up in tight shoulders, shallow breaths, restless nights, and that constant hum in the mind that never seems to switch off. Over time, we can get so used to it that we stop noticing how much it’s affecting us. We just carry it, day after day, until the weight feels normal.
A lot of people hold off because they think they need to be younger, stronger, or more flexible. They picture rooms full of twenty-somethings moving quickly from pose to pose, or they imagine they’ll be expected to fold themselves into shapes that feel impossible. Those ideas keep them away for years. But yoga doesn’t ask for any of that. Yoga asks for presence, patience, and curiosity.
Read MoreChild’s Pose is often seen as a restful posture, but for many people, it doesn’t always feel that way. Tight hips, sensitive knees, or a stiff neck can make it uncomfortable. The good news is that Child’s Pose can be adapted so that it truly feels like rest in your body.
Read MoreTrying something new can bring up a lot of questions. Yoga is no different.
You might be wondering what the class will feel like. You might be worried that you won’t be able to follow along, or that everyone else will know what they’re doing. Maybe you’ve had a not-so-great experience somewhere else and want to make sure this time is different.
These feelings are valid. And you're not the only one who’s had them.
Read MoreYoga isn’t about having a certain kind of body. It’s not about touching your toes, standing on your head, or looking like a picture from a magazine. At Emerald Yoga Studio in Pembroke, we believe yoga is for real people in real bodies—whatever that looks like today.
You don’t need to be flexible. You don’t need to be young. You don’t need to be thin, strong, tall, mobile, or calm. You just need to be you.
Read MoreWhen you live with chronic pain or fatigue, everything feels harder. Getting out of bed, doing errands, keeping up with friends—sometimes even taking a deep breath feels like work. You may have been told that movement would help, but the idea of exercise might sound overwhelming or even impossible.
Yoga can offer a different approach.
Read MoreYou’ve probably seen them: blocks, straps, bolsters, folded blankets stacked neatly in our prop room. Yoga props are common in studios, but a lot of people feel unsure about using them. Some think props are just for beginners. Others worry it means they’re not “doing it right.”
Let’s clear that up.
Read MoreSome people walk into Emerald Yoga Studio and say something like, “I’ve always felt out of place in other studios.” Or, “I was nervous to come because I don’t look like a typical yoga person.” We hear this more often than you might think.
And we get it.
A lot of people have had experiences in fitness or wellness spaces that made them feel judged, invisible, or like they didn’t belong. Maybe they were the oldest person in the room. Maybe they didn’t feel comfortable in their body. Maybe they just didn’t feel seen.
Read MoreIn yoga, there’s a word that comes up often: sthira. It means steadiness. The kind of steadiness that holds you in place when everything else feels uncertain. The kind that doesn’t rush to change the moment. It simply helps you stay with it.
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