Belonging is not something you earn. It is something you choose.

When I embarked on my year of belonging in 2025 -- I knew it would require courage.

What I didn't know was how much grace, compassion, allowing, softening, and trust it would also require.

I thought belonging would be about growing confidence, feeling certain, and standing tall with effort and inner fortitude.

What I discovered is that belonging is, in fact, a practice of both grace and choice.

Fortitude and courage are required to decide and choose to show up in a space.

Once you show up, it's a matter of softening in and practicing grace.

Grace for the discomfort. Grace and compassion when you find yourself questioning - Who am I? Do I belong? .

Grace, when your barin auto notices why you "don't fit it" and "what's different about you?

It takes grace to recognize that belonging is simply deciding, believing, and trusting that you don’t “not belong.” ( a purposeful double negative)

Belonging comes when you sign up and show up. When you allow yourself to belong, is when you stop getting in your own way.

This year I’ve been intentionally practicing belonging at unfamiliar tables, in neighborhood groups, on stages, in new communities, and even as a writer -- sharing more publicly than I ever have before.

Each time, I’ve learned the same lesson: belonging is not earned. It is chosen.

Belonging is a feeling—an inner stance that's a choice. If you show up, you belong—precisely as you are, even if it feels uncomfortable.

“True belonging doesn’t require you to change who you are; it requires you to be who you are.” - Brene Brown

In medicine, as well as in many of our roles as women, we were taught the opposite of belonging.

We are taught to fit in—by adapting, overfunctioning, and disregarding our own needs.

We became expert chameleons.

In doing so, we forget what it feels like to belong.

Practicing belonging in yoga allows you to tap into a relaxed nervous system. The feeling is much easier to remember, connect with, and embody.

When you decide you belong, you remember that belonging is not about willpower. It isn’t about pushing harder. It is about softening.

Feeling like you belong comes when you choose to step into spaces where authenticity, connection, and vulnerability are welcomed and valued. Belonging occurs when we show up authentically in those spaces, connect with others, and share our vulnerability.