There is a part of us we keep hidden. Not because it is unworthy, but because it is tender. The shadow holds our fears, our shame, our unmet needs, and the emotions we’ve learned to suppress in order to survive. Yet the shadow is not our enemy. It is our mirror; reflecting back what longs to be seen, accepted, and integrated.

Yoga invites us into that mirror. Every time we step onto the mat, we meet ourselves more fully. Not just the light, graceful, centered parts, but the restless, uncomfortable ones too. Through breath and movement, we soften the edges around what hurts. We make space for the emotions that rise; anger, grief, guilt, confusion, and we learn to witness them without judgment.

Shadow work isn’t about fixing yourself; it’s about feeling yourself. It’s the deep exhale after years of holding your breath. It’s the moment you realize that darkness, when met with awareness, transforms into wisdom.

In certain postures (the folds, the twists, the stillness between shapes) we find metaphors for this inner excavation. Folding forward becomes an act of humility. Twisting becomes a way to wring out old narratives. Resting becomes resistance to the pressure to constantly “do.” The body remembers, and when we move with intention, we give it permission to release.

Balancing the emotional body really isn’t about maintaining constant calm. It’s about learning to move with the full spectrum of your being; the joy, the sorrow, the shadows, and the light. Yoga gives us the tools to hold both; the inhale and the exhale, the sun and the moon, the seen and the unseen.

When we embrace the dark, we stop running from ourselves. We come home — whole, human, and awake.