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I found Jessamyn's words to really and truly sit well with me and I felt so compelled to highlight everything in this book, draining my pen of its ink. From the beginning, I found her to be highly relatable, and to carry within her so much beauty and wisdom about the practice of yoga, and the living of life, which in itself can be a total bitch sometimes (most of the time).

"All wounds need to breathe , no matter how painful or smelly. Even the wounds you’d rather keep hidden."

Jessamyn talks about practicing Bikram yoga in Durham for a year to aid her mental health, and I found Bikram in the same way, and also practiced for a year in order to aid my own mental health. I practiced Bikram before finding Ashtanga yoga. These days, my yoga practice is limited. My mind is flooded with thoughts of "you should be practicing. Why aren't you practicing? You're lazy." But I was reminded through this book that the practice of yoga is not about showing up to a fancy class, it's not about rolling out your mat and holding a headstand for five minutes, and it's not about trying to be something or somebody that you're not.

"Your postural work doesn’t need to be particularly complicated. Honestly, you really only need to know one pose and it’s called sitting the fuck down. In fact, give it a shot right now. Sit down and be quiet," she continues, "Breathing is what defines a yoga practice because breathing connects you to the life force that’s constantly flowing in and around you."

A couple of years ago, before treatment for my eating disorder, my yoga, at least in my mind, was showing up on my mat every morning before five AM, and sweating profusely while completing the Ashtanga series. When I didn't do it, I would beat myself up. I would vow to do better the next day. There were days when I couldn't do all of the postures, my body so physically bruised from pushing myself the day prior, that it was impossible to get them that day. I put so much emphasis on the postures and on how I looked and was perceived by other people, encouraged by their comments like, "wow, you are so disciplined," when really, I had forgotten why I started practicing yoga in the first place.

Yoke by Jessamyn Stanley was a reminder that yoga, for me and my body today, is sitting still.

I took so much away from this book that it's impossible to summarize it here, so you're just going to have to go out and buy a copy to inhale some of Jessamyn's wisdom. I felt so absorbed by the content that I almost couldn't wait to get to the end, so I could purchase and read a copy of Every Body Yoga, which I've summarized below.

This book felt like a really good yoga class, when everything sails along nicely from beginning to end and you feel fully engaged in the process, and leave that class feeling like a million bucks. I put down this book, and I truly felt better. I read much of it with a smile on my face. I really hope I get an opportunity to practice with Jessamyn someday, because she is a shining light, and exactly what the yoga world needs. I adored Yoke and highly recommend this one to anyone interested in yoga and spirituality, beginners, and also dedicated practitioners, because this book is a reminder of why we practice yoga.