I was diagnosed with breast cancer when I was 29 and I will admit, it was a trauma. Even after 23 years of getting mammograms, every time I have to have one, I go into what I call the “Mammogram Blues” about two weeks prior. I feel crabby, short-tempered, anxious, and depressed. It’s hard to describe what mammograms bring up for me-it’s a lot of complicated layers.

There are two things I have gotten better at over the years-allowing myself to feel what I feel, and recognizing that I always have my yoga practice, my anchor. It is always there for me, and if I ever had cancer again, I would hold on to this anchor and not let go. I would keep teaching and practicing, I would continue my education, and I would still be there for the students who have told me I helped them change their lives.

So, as I go in to my mammogram first thing tomorrow morning, I will ALLOW my self to one, be (really) scared, and two, know that Yoga will always be there for me, and I for it.