What If Taking Care of Yourself Didn’t Require So Much?

Making movement and wellness more accessible through Yoga at A.M.L.

Taking care of ourselves can get expensive.

Gym memberships. Fitness classes. Massages. Hobbies. Eating well. Getting your hair done. Getting your nails done. Going out with friends. Taking trips. Creating a home you actually enjoy being in. Caring for the people you love. Therapy or coaching (and as a therapist who has a therapist, I’m always going to encourage making room for that one when you can).

All of these things cost something—money, time, energy, or usually some combination of the three.

And they also have to fit somewhere.

Drive there. Find parking. Get changed. Take the class. Drive home. Make dinner. Finish whatever you didn’t get done earlier. Call somebody back. Wash your hair. Clean the house. Spend time with the people you love. Get enough sleep. Get up and do it again tomorrow.

Sometimes the way wellness is presented to us makes taking care of ourselves feel like another responsibility we’re supposed to squeeze into a life that’s already full.

That’s part of why I created Yoga at A.M.L.

I Wanted Something That Could Actually Fit Into Real Life

When I started thinking about what I wanted Yoga at A.M.L. to look like, I wasn’t trying to recreate a yoga studio online. I started thinking about all the things that can make it difficult to get to the studio in the first place.

Maybe the closest class isn’t actually close. Maybe you get off work at 5:00 and the class starts at 5:30 across town. Maybe paying $20 or $30 every time you want to practice isn’t realistic right now. Maybe you don’t own yoga equipment or the matching set. Maybe walking into a room where it seems like everybody already knows what they’re doing makes you hesitant to try.

Or maybe you’ve finally made it home and you simply don’t want to leave again.

I get that.

I wanted Yoga at A.M.L. to be an option where you could put on something comfortable, move a little furniture if you need to, open your computer, and practice. No commute. No trying to look the part. No expensive equipment list. No expectation that you already know what you’re doing.

And yes, yoga definitely has an aesthetic. We’ve seen the matching sets, expensive mats, beautiful studios, impressive poses, and flexibility that can make someone who has never practiced wonder whether they’re even supposed to be there.

There’s nothing wrong with enjoying any of that. Buy the cute yoga set. Get the mat you love. Make your space beautiful if that makes you want to use it.

But none of those things are prerequisites for practicing yoga.

You can practice in sweatpants. You can use the floor beside your bed. Grab a blanket you already own. Use a book in place of a block. Sit in a chair. Show up without knowing the name of a single movement.

You can show up as you are.

I can’t create more hours in your day, and a $5 yoga class isn’t going to solve every barrier to taking care of yourself. But when I created this space, I could ask: What barriers do I actually have the ability to remove?

That's why classes are virtual. It's why drop-ins are $5. It's why there are morning and evening options. It's why you don't need previous experience or a collection of equipment to get started. And if you want to practice more regularly, there are class packs and an All-Access option with replays for the days when making it to a live class just doesn't work.

Sometimes we already know something could be good for us. The hard part is figuring out how to make it work with everything else.

Accessibility Is About More Than Getting Through the Door

There's another part of accessibility that's important to me. Making something affordable or virtual can help you get into the space. But once you're here, there still needs to be room for you.

That's one of the reasons Trauma Center Trauma-Sensitive Yoga (TCTSY) influences the way I facilitate Yoga at A.M.L. One of the core components of TCTSY is choice-making.

During practice, you'll hear me offer possibilities rather than tell you exactly what your body needs to do. You might explore the movement I'm offering. You might modify it. You might rest. You might try something completely different. You may decide that particular movement isn't for you that day.

You don't need to make the same choice as me or anyone else on the screen.

To me, that's another part of accessibility. It's not only “Can I get into the room?” It's also “Is there room for me once I'm here?”

Is there room for my body? My ability? My energy today? My comfort level? My experience? My choices?

There should be.

And I think that's where this becomes bigger than making yoga inexpensive. Accessibility is also about creating enough flexibility within the experience that different people can actually participate.

Taking Care of Yourself Doesn’t Have to Be All or Nothing

You don’t need to be in crisis to take care of yourself. You don’t need a mental health diagnosis to benefit from moving your body. And you don’t need to completely overhaul your routine before something “counts” as wellness.

Maybe you already go to therapy and want to give a little more attention to your physical well-being. Maybe you already have a fitness routine and want a different kind of movement. Maybe you’re curious about yoga but aren’t ready to walk into a studio. Maybe you spend most of your week caring for everyone else and want 50 minutes where you get to focus on yourself.

Or maybe you just want to try yoga. That’s enough of a reason.

The “wellness” in A.M.L. Counseling & Wellness was intentional. I believe taking care of ourselves includes our mental and emotional health, but it doesn’t stop there. Our physical health, relationships, environment, community, work, rest, interests, and the routines that make up our everyday lives matter, too.

You shouldn't have to do everything to say you're taking care of yourself. Sometimes it may simply mean finding one thing that works with your life right now.

Yoga at A.M.L. is one opportunity to do that.

In Practice at A.M.L.

Accessibility isn't only something we can ask other people or businesses to create for us. We can also look at our own lives and consider where we may be making taking care of ourselves harder than it needs to be.

This week, think about something you’ve been wanting to do for yourself but haven’t. Maybe you’ve wanted to move your body more, spend time with friends, get back into a hobby, rest, read, cook, or finally make an appointment you've been putting off.

Instead of immediately asking, “How do I make myself do this?” try asking: What is making this difficult for me, and is there a way I can make it more accessible?

Maybe that means finding something closer to home, starting with 20 minutes instead of an hour, spending less, using what you already have, or letting go of what you think it should look like.

Taking care of yourself doesn't always require trying harder or adding more to your plate. Sometimes it means finding a version that actually works for your life.

You shouldn't (and don't) have to choose between taking care of yourself and having a life to take care of.

The goal is to make it a little easier for the two to coexist.

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