The entire class seemed impossible and none of the postures were accessible to me. But, my friend convinced me and we ended up going. I had tried yoga once before and I had absolutely hated it. So, one of my good classmates suggested that I take a hot yoga class with her. “I was actually in graduate school and I was going through a very low point in my life. To celebrate the release of Stanley’s second book, we caught up with the widely-read author to discuss the practice of yoga, staying positive in a weight-obsessed world and of course, get the lowdown on her guide to self-acceptance. In Yoke, Stanley examines herself all while exploring topics of race, sexual identity, white privilege, cultural appropriation and cannabis consumption. What happened next? Well, instead of freaking out about it, Stanley did what she does best: She took her frustrations down to her yoga mat and let her emotions be. But what made it to print instead was “yolk,” as in the yellow part of the egg. In Sanskrit, yoga means to “yoke.” To yoke mind, body and spirit, to unite movement and breath. More specifically, the idea generated from a typo. The idea for Yoke: My Yoga of Self-Acceptance actually came while Stanley was working on her first book, Every Body Yoga, an inclusive beginner’s guide to basic yoga postures that breaks down stereotypes. A key voice in the wellness sector, Jessamyn Stanley is the committed yogi and respected teacher who co-founded The Underbelly–an inclusive virtual yoga app–and We Go High NC– a cannabis justice organization that works to increase cannabis access in prohibition states– all while co-hosting her Dear Jessamyn podcast.

Jessamyn stanley yoke