Why does yoga continue to call to us, generation after generation, especially now?

According to the CDC, about 80% of people who practice yoga do so to improve their overall health, and nearly 30% use it to treat or manage pain. In a world where the contemporary human condition is filled with unprecedented levels of stress and anxiety, it makes sense that people seek out yoga for stretching, flexibility, or physical fitness— soon they discover there is far more happening beneath the surface.

What they’re feeling is yoga doing precisely what it was designed to do: heal. 

In the classical texts, yoga is often called yoga chikitsa — yoga medicine.

Timothy McCall, MD, describes yoga as “quite simply the most powerful system of overall health and well-being I have ever seen.” Yoga recognizes that the absence of symptoms is not the same as true health. Instead, yoga optimizes the function of every system in the body while guiding us on a deep journey of self-discovery.

Science supports what practitioners have known for centuries: this single, comprehensive system reduces stress, improves balance and strength, increases flexibility and joint health, regulates blood pressure, strengthens bones, improves immunity, and fosters psychological resilience.

But there is so much more to yoga than the poses.

What Yoga Actually Is

Many people’s first exposure to yoga is the “Insta yogi”—usually a thin, flexible, lightly clothed woman performing a complex posture on social media. Beautiful, yes. But not the true essence of yoga.

Yoga has never been about mastering a pose or fitting a particular aesthetic.

Yoga is a technology for understanding the mind, freeing the spirit, and exploring consciousness through the body we inhabit.

Yoga is the wisdom of life.

It asks us to be both the observer and the observed.

To turn inward, to discover the truth beneath the ego’s constructions—and remember that the essence of who we are is divine.

Yoga guides us toward the forces of nature that live within us. 

It shows us that we are a replica of the cosmos, intimately connected to everything around us. Yoga is not religious, but deeply spiritual. It enriches (rather than replaces) your relationship with your own Source—much like AA uses spiritual principles universally.

The Sister Science: Ayurveda

Yoga’s sister science, Ayurveda, is an ancient healthcare system centered on aligning the body, mind, and spirit. It uses diet, herbs, lifestyle, meditation, breathwork, and yoga to restore balance. The true goal of Ayurveda is to free us from sorrow and unnecessary suffering.

These practices recognize a fundamental truth:

Life brings pain, but suffering is optional.

Ayurveda teaches that true awareness is the ultimate cure for many forms of psychological distress. It reminds us that the mind is not inherently conscious—most of what the mind does is irrelevant, repetitive, conditioned, or reactive unless we cultivate awareness.

When we do not live with awareness, psychological malaise takes root:

Anger, resentment, exhaustion, anxiety, and depression.

The conditioning of the mind runs continuously until we interrupt it.

But these patterns and neural pathways are deeply rooted. Even with the best intentions, we slip back into habits because they feel familiar.

To truly heal, we must awaken consciousness.

We must understand our own nature and constitution—not just for our personal well-being, but to create harmony with others whose nature may be very different from our own. Without this understanding, we fall into imbalance, burnout, and disease.

How Do We Awaken Consciousness?

Yoga teaches that we are made of many layers—physical, energetic, mental, intuitive, and spiritual. In Sanskrit, these layers are called the koshas, a term meaning sheath or covering. They are described as five interwoven fields that surround and express our deepest essence, our purest consciousness.

You don’t have to know Sanskrit to understand this.

You feel these layers every day:

Your physical body gets tired or energized.

Your breath that speeds up or slows down.

Your mind may be noisy, foggy, or clear.

Your inner wisdom that quietly tells the truth.

Your heart that remembers your connection to something larger.

When we work with these layers intentionally, we start to feel more at home in ourselves. We become steadier, clearer, less reactive, and more connected. This is where yoga and Ayurveda meet: each one teaches that we are living beings inside a living world, and that healing happens through relationship—with our body, our breath, our thoughts, our energy, and the Earth around us.

Throughout this year, we will explore each kosha one at a time, pairing it with simple yoga practices, breathwork, and Ayurveda, that help us understand our place in the wider living world. I hope that these articles offer you a pathway back to yourself—steady, grounded, and empowered—no matter where you are beginning.

To start, here is a gentle and accessible sequence you can try tomorrow morning. It’s enough to open the body, regulate the breath, and begin your day with awareness.

TRY THIS: Gentle 4-Pose Morning Opening Sequence

Begin with several minutes of deep nasal breath. Inhale to a count of 5. Soft hold at the top of the inhale. Exhale to a count of 5. Soft hold at the bottom of the exhale. Maintain this deep and slow breath throughout your practice. 

1. Seated Side Stretch

Sit comfortably.

Inhale, reach your right arm up.

Exhale, reach left. 

Take 5-8 slow breaths and switch sides.

Why: Opens ribs + lungs, wakes up breath, reduces morning tension.

2. Cat/Cow (Seated or On Hands & Knees)

Inhale, arch the spine, and lift the chest.

Exhale, round the spine, and draw the belly in.

Repeat 5–8 slow rounds.

Why: Mobilizes spine, warms joints, increases circulation.

3. Gentle Twist

Sit tall.

Inhale length, exhale twist right.

Hold 5-8 breaths, then switch sides.

Why: Resets the nervous system and supports digestion.

4. Forward Fold (Standing or Seated)

Hinge at the hips, soften the knees, let head and arms release. Take 5-8 slow breaths.

Rise on an inhale.

Why: Calms the mind and stretches the back body.

Evolve Yoga is a community-centered studio in Sioux City offering accessible yoga, mindful movement, meditation, breathwork, and healing practices for all levels. We help students build strength, reduce stress, and support overall well-being in a welcoming and inclusive space.

Since 2012, Erin has been the driving force behind Evolve Yoga and Wellness Center, creating a holistic space where yoga, mindfulness, and gentle healing practices come together. Her classes support physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being and invite students to reconnect with themselves in meaningful, accessible ways.