Sometimes, a student comes into yoga class with a bad knee, and I’ll say, “Well, yeah, I know your knee hurts, but really, the problem’s in your hip or maybe your foot.” So often the real problem is not where the pain is. And this is why in yoga, you do so many poses--to wake up your entire body. As you go deeper into your practice, you penetrate your body’s inner core: your breathing, your heart, your mind. You discover that you have emotional and intellectual habits, as well as physical habits. You notice, “my brain is just like a hamster running the same treadmill ever day.” You realize you’re constantly worried about the same things. Practicing yoga takes you out of these habits so you can be in the world, more coordinated and alive.

--Rodney Yee