08/14/2026
I saw this slide today at an early childhood conference, and I had one of those moments where two worlds suddenly collided. The seem to happen all the time lately!
It was about the “Ghosts in the Nursery” the idea that unresolved experiences from a caregiver’s own past can unconsciously show up in the way they respond to children. The things we carry with us can influence the way we parent, teach, connect, react, and care for others.
Immediately, I thought of samskaras in yoga.
Samskaras are the mental impressions, patterns, and conditioning we carry with us experiences that can shape how we see the world and how we respond, often without us even realizing it. Sometimes something happening in the present touches an old wound, and suddenly our reaction is about so much more than what is happening in that moment.
This is one of the reasons I am so deeply grateful for yoga. I came to this practice because I loved moving my body, but somewhere along the way, yoga taught me that the practice was never just about stretching my body.
It taught me to notice, pause,become curious about my reactions instead of simply acting from them, recognize the patterns I carry, sit with uncomfortable feelings. To ask, “Is this really about what is happening right now, or is something older being activated?”
Most importantly, yoga has taught me that awareness creates a choice.
We may not get to choose everything we were handed, but we can become conscious of what we carry and we can work toward not handing those same patterns to others
As an early childhood educator and a yoga teacher, I am continually amazed by how deeply these two worlds intersect.
The more we understand ourselves, the more intentionally we can show up for children.
Grateful for this practice that has taught me so much more than how to stretch my body.