Photos by Jobi Otso.

When do I feel connected, inspired, and whole?

Sometimes it is in a quiet moment... when I try a posture that I've never done before, and find it suddenly accessible. When I am willing to move toward sensation, rather than hide from it.

When I am able to relax, and smile. Ah, here it is, I say to myself. This is the pose.

Or, when I can look into the mirror and soften, rather than resist anything that I'm seeing.

I'm comforted, too, by the familiar things I love... the ease in a yoga pose I've visited many times before. The way my body settles into the shape effortlessly, the way my mind becomes calm and clear.

Here I am, I think.

Yoga allows me to soften.

To go inward, and meet myself the way I am. Noticing the imperfections, the beauty, the strength.

Yoga allows me to experience feeling wholly vibrant, connected, divine. To embody my inner goddess.