Rooted to Rise: Finding True Freedom Through Grounding

A personal journey through Yoga and Passover

Every year, as Passover approaches, I feel that invitation again: To leave the narrow places. To shed old habits, outdated stories, and inner voices telling me who I should be and how I should act.

But this year, in the midst of reaching outward and breaking free, something shifted in me. I realized: to truly leave a boundary – I also have to choose it.

What does that mean?

In nature, growth begins with resistance.A seed can’t break through the soil without pressure from the earth.A tree grows tall only because its trunk holds strong within its boundaries.

And our bodies? The more grounded and stable they are, the more they can hold movement, light, life.

It’s the same with the soul.

Without boundaries, there is no freedom.

Without ground, there is nowhere to rise.

A new kind of Exodus – every time I step on the mat

In the studio, on the mat, I meet this truth again and again.

My body longs for movement, for space, for breath.

But in order to move freely, I have to begin in stillness – in listening.

I have to choose not to rush forward, but instead to pause and feel where my healthy boundary is today. And that’s not always easy.

Sometimes I find myself stuck – physically, emotionally, energetically.But the beauty is, when I stop resisting that stuckness and instead begin to befriend the boundary,

something opens.There’s peace there. And strength.

Real Freedom

My path through yoga – especially trauma-informed yoga, is a path of freedom.

But not the kind of freedom that means doing whatever I want.

It’s the freedom that knows when to say yes – and when to say no.

Because only then do those words carry their meaning.

It’s the freedom that knows how to pause, to rest, to choose.

Like the Exodus story – the one we revisit each Passover –it’s not just about running from what binds us. It’s also about aligning with what nourishes us.

This is the invitation I find in my beloved community at Brothers & Sisters to Yoga:

To discover balance and healing – not by escaping structure,

but by choosing the right kind of structure.

Because only through experiencing healthy boundaries,

can we live in true peace beyond them.

To be free – within structure.

To move – from stability.

To radiate infinite light – because we have a vessel strong enough to hold it.

May we come to know ourselves, fully and truly,

in all names and forms.

With love,

Ganga