Yoga with Sarah Jean

I saw this slide today at an early childhood conference, and I had one of those moments where two worlds suddenly collided. The seem to happen all the time lately!

It was about the “Ghosts in the Nursery” the idea that unresolved experiences from a caregiver’s own past can unconsciously show up in the way they respond to children. The things we carry with us can influence the way we parent, teach, connect, react, and care for others.

Immediately, I thought of samskaras in yoga.

Samskaras are the mental impressions, patterns, and conditioning we carry with us experiences that can shape how we see the world and how we respond, often without us even realizing it. Sometimes something happening in the present touches an old wound, and suddenly our reaction is about so much more than what is happening in that moment.

This is one of the reasons I am so deeply grateful for yoga. I came to this practice because I loved moving my body, but somewhere along the way, yoga taught me that the practice was never just about stretching my body.

It taught me to notice, pause,become curious about my reactions instead of simply acting from them, recognize the patterns I carry, sit with uncomfortable feelings. To ask, “Is this really about what is happening right now, or is something older being activated?”
Most importantly, yoga has taught me that awareness creates a choice.

We may not get to choose everything we were handed, but we can become conscious of what we carry and we can work toward not handing those same patterns to others

As an early childhood educator and a yoga teacher, I am continually amazed by how deeply these two worlds intersect.

The more we understand ourselves, the more intentionally we can show up for children.

Grateful for this practice that has taught me so much more than how to stretch my body.

There is so much joy in this life I get to live being the mother of two beautiful boys, getting to hold them, guide them, love them in all the ways I once needed myself. That part feels full of warmth and gratitude.

But underneath that joy, there is also grief. The kind that doesn’t always announce itself loudly, but quietly lives in the corners of the day.

Mother’s Day has a way of waking up the little girl inside of me who spent years hoping that one day the broken pieces between my mother and I might somehow become whole. And with her passing into ancestorhood, there is a finality to that grief that can still catch me off guard. A realization that the reconciliation I imagined for so many years will never happen in the way I once dreamed it would.

When I sit with the yoga teaching of balancing strength and ease, I find myself remembering that strength is not pretending the grief isn’t there. Strength is allowing myself to hold both love and loss at the same time. Ease is letting go of the fight to rewrite the past and instead softening into what is.

Maybe healing isn’t about getting the ending we hoped for. Maybe sometimes healing is becoming the love we needed.

So today I honor all of it.
The joy.
The ache.
The mother I am.
The daughter I was.
And the quiet practice of learning to hold them both with compassion.

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When life feels heavy or overwhelming, even getting started can feel like too much.

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No commitment. No pressure. Just a space to breathe, move, and reset.

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Move your body. Clear your mind. Support your well-being.

Your next step is simple: pick a class and come in.

I have a little confession to make…

Last week, at almost 41 years old, I walked into a weightlifting gym for the very first time. 💪

I’ve spent my entire adulthood, my 20s and 30s, staying in shape through yoga. It’s been my home, my rhythm, my way of moving through life. But I got curious. I wondered… am I missing something?

So I tried it. While I can absolutely respect the strength, the discipline, and the energy in that space… it also made something crystal clear: Yoga is still my thing. For me, it’s never just been about building muscle or burning calories. It’s about connection, breath and feeling at home in my body, not pushing past it.

Yoga meets you where you are. It strengthens you without disconnecting you. It builds resilience in your body and your nervous system. That’s something I didn’t realize I valued so deeply… until I stepped outside of it.

If you’ve ever felt intimidated by fitness spaces… If you’ve ever thought you needed to “get in shape” before starting… If you’re craving something that feels supportive, grounding, and actually sustainable…This is your invitation.

Come try a class with us.
We’ll meet you exactly where you are.

Your body doesn’t need to be pushed harder. It might just need to be listened to.