Hi, my name is Melissa Urban, and you're listening to Do the Thing, a

podcast where we explore what's been missing every time you've tried to make a change and make it stick.

Today my guest is Jessamine Stanley, an award-winning yoga instructor, intersectional activist,

an author of Everybody Yoga.

I first met Jessamine three years ago when she taught a class here in Salt Lake City.

As you'll hear, that class is burned into my memory, not just for the

postures, but for Jessamine's teaching style.

I've never heard a yoga teacher curse before,

but rather than feeling jarring or taking me out of my practice,

her direct cues prompts to look inside and go deeper and frankly calling me on

my yoga BS made it one of the most memorable classes of my life. We've stayed in touch on social media and I was so excited

when she accepted my invitation to come on the podcast and talk about what

yoga means to her. In this episode we'll talk about why stillness is undervalued in today's

modern world, why yoga is so impactful for releasing stored trauma and pain, and why pigeon pose makes us cry. We share our own yoga

journeys and talk about why it doesn't matter where you start only that you start and

there's a really fun discussion about how we feel about things like goat yoga.

One of Jessamine's most important gifts to the world is her advocacy for representation and visibility in yoga, advocating for body

acceptance, female empowerment, and inclusion. She describes her virtual yoga studio,

the Underbelly app, as a home-fellow. She describes her virtual yoga studio,

the Underbelly app, as a home for wellness misfits

who may feel displaced, discouraged, or overlooked

due to a lack of diversity in the health and fitness community.

...