Foundations First: What Yoga (and Life) Teach Us About Stability and Ease
Even if you haven't been in school for decades, there's something about this time of year that whispers "fresh start." September just has this energy, doesn't it?
New routines, new intentions, maybe even new yoga mats gathering dust in the corner (no judgment here).
But here's what I've learned in my years as a therapist and yoga practitioner: sustainable change doesn't come from complete overhauls.
It comes from getting really good at the basics.
From building foundations that can hold whatever life throws at you.
At Reclaim Yoga here in Pennsylvania, our yoga practice this month is all about exactly that: setting strong foundations.
Not the flashy, Instagram-worthy kind of yoga, but the kind that teaches your nervous system what stability actually feels like. This is yoga for beginners foundations work, but it's also advanced practice disguised as simplicity.
Because here's the thing about trauma informed yoga: it's not about what your poses look like from the outside. It's about creating internal conditions where your body can remember what it means to be both strong and soft, stable and free.
What the Yoga Sutras Teach About Stability and Sweetness
There's this beautiful teaching from the Yoga Sutras that goes: "sthira sukham asanam." Translated, it means something like "postures should be steady and comfortable" or "first stability, then sweetness."
The yoga sutra 2.46 sthira sukham asanam isn't just about how to sit in meditation or hold a pose. It's a blueprint for how to be in your body, in your life, in relationship with whatever is present.
Sthira is that grounded, rooted quality. It's your ability to stay present when things get uncomfortable, to find your center when the world feels chaotic. But it's not rigid or harsh. It's more like the trunk of a tree: strong enough to weather storms, flexible enough to bend without breaking.
Sukha is the ease, the sweetness, the ability to soften even while staying strong. It's what happens when you stop gripping so tightly, when you remember that you don't have to armor up against your own experience.
Most of us are really good at one or the other. We're either all sthira (hello, fellow control enthusiasts) or all sukha (the people-pleasers and boundary-challenged folks in the house).
But healing asks us to practice both, simultaneously. To be grounded and open, stable and responsive.
Why Foundations Matter in Yoga Postures
I learned this lesson the hard way.
Back in my dancer days, I was all about the big moves, the dramatic shapes, the "look what I can do" energy. I had flexibility for days but zero awareness of how to actually support my body through movement.
Cue the back injury that sidelined me for months.
Lying on my bedroom floor, barely able to get up to pee, I had a lot of time to think about what had gone wrong. I'd been so focused on achievement, on pushing through, that I'd completely ignored the signals my body had been sending for months. The tightness, the compensation patterns, the way I'd brace and force rather than align and allow.
That's when I discovered alignment based yoga. Not the perfectionist, externally-focused kind, but the kind that asks: "What does this pose need from me today? How can I show up in a way that creates stability from the inside out?"
This yoga foundations practice changed everything. Instead of trying to force my body into shapes it wasn't ready for, I started asking different questions.
Where do I need more support?
What would it feel like to soften here while staying strong there?
How can I practice yoga for stability and ease instead of yoga for achievement and exhaustion?
Turns out, when you build from the ground up, when you get curious about alignment as a conversation with your body rather than a rule imposed on it, everything shifts. Not just your poses, but your relationship with effort, with rest, with the whole messy business of being human.
The Yoga of Life: Foundations Beyond the Mat
I remember early in my therapy career, I was hungry for all the advanced techniques, the cutting-edge interventions, the tools that would make me feel like a "real therapist." I wanted to skip past the basics and get to the good stuff, the transformative work that would help people heal faster.
But here's what years of practice have taught me: the foundation work is the advanced work.
Learning to really listen, to stay present with discomfort, to track what's happening in your own body while you're supporting someone else's healing process. That's not beginner stuff. That's master-level practice.
And I'm constantly reminding myself of this, because the temptation to complicate things, to add more tools to the toolkit, never really goes away.
The same is true in life. We want the big transformation, the dramatic breakthrough, the moment when everything clicks into place. But real change happens in the daily choices. Do I breathe before reacting? Do I notice when my shoulders are up by my ears? Can I create a pause between trigger and response?
This is where somatic yoga therapy gets really interesting. It's not just about moving your body in certain ways. It's about developing the capacity to stay present with your experience, even when that experience includes difficult emotions, or nervous system activation.
When we practice nervous system healing with yoga, we're literally rewiring our capacity for stability and ease. We're teaching our bodies that they can be strong without being rigid, soft without being collapsed. We're practicing the art of showing up fully without burning out completely.
And just like in those yoga poses, it starts with getting really good at the basics.
Feeling your feet on the ground.
Noticing your breath without trying to change it.
Tracking sensation without making it mean something about your worth or your progress.
Practice with Us! Foundations Yoga Classes in Horsham, Pennsylvania
This is exactly why I'm excited about this month's 60-minute foundations sequence. It's not glamorous work, but it's the kind of practice that changes everything over time.
We'll explore what it means to build stability from your connection to the earth up. How to find ease even in challenging poses. How to practice alignment as a form of self-care rather than self-improvement.
If you're looking for yoga therapy near me that actually understand the intersection of trauma and healing, this is it.
We're not interested in bypassing your nervous system or pushing through your body's wisdom. We're here to practice with whatever is present, to build capacity slowly and sustainably.
Whether you're brand new to yoga or you've been practicing for years, there's something powerful about returning to foundations with fresh eyes. About approaching basic poses with the curiosity of a beginner and the wisdom of your lived experience.
Ready to build something that lasts?
Join my recorded foundations class on your own timeline, or explore our full range of trauma-informed yoga therapy offerings at Reclaim Therapy. Because your healing deserves practices that honor both your strength and your tenderness.
Your foundation work might not look impressive to the outside world, but your nervous system will thank you.
And isn't that what really matters?
🧡,
Want to learn more about our trauma informed yoga classes in Horsham, PA?
Reclaim Therapy is a trauma therapy practice in Horsham, PA that offers therapeutic yoga, both online classes and in our Horsham, PA offices. We’d love for you to join our free classes, or our paid offerings!
Even if you haven't been in school for decades, there's something about this time of year that whispers "fresh start." September just has this energy, doesn't it?
New routines, new intentions, maybe even new yoga mats gathering dust in the corner (no judgment here).