Pass the Squeeze

When you sign up for a yoga class, there are certain things you come to expect — like that “yoga high,” the rush of feel-good hormones that comes from being present with your body, your breath, and your community. There are even some spoken (and unspoken) rules of the practice, like staying on your mat: four invisible walls that create your bubble for the next 60 or 90 minutes. A physical reminder that you are safe.

But more often than not, the best parts of a yoga class are the moments we didn’t sign up for — the ones that catch us by surprise. An unexpected transition. A pose we didn’t know we needed. Or the right words, offered at the right time, that make your brain and body say, “Ahhh… so that’s why we’re here.”

That’s what happened in Nicole’s Gratitude Flow on Saturday, when she asked us to scooch closer to our neighbors and hold hands, forming a circle.

First came the hesitancy, the nervous giggles that seemed to say: How well do I really know my neighbor? Am I willing to leave the safety of my bubble?

Then came the invitation: Pass the squeeze.

All at once, I was time-traveling. A smile spread across my face and my heart swelled. It had been over 10 years since I’d passed the squeeze — a locker-room ritual with my teammates before taking the ice. Back then, it was about speed, connection, and laser-beam focus. Hands clasped and eyes locked, we’d send a squeeze from one hand to the next and back again. Blink and you’d miss it. We were locked in.

But Nicole’s version was different. Like Nicole, it was deliberate and thoughtful. It asked us to slow down. To look at the person next to us — the one whose bubble we had just encroached on with our scooching — and really see them. To feel the weight of gratitude for sharing this practice and this space with one another. Slowly and without urgency, we passed the squeeze.

And then came the message we didn’t know we needed: You are your best self when you’re surrounded by a community who sees and celebrates the truest expression of you. And you become your best self in the spaces that allow you to see and celebrate others in return.

"Ahh...this is why we are here" my body whispered as I scooched back to my mat.

And that's what we do at the Happy & Healthy Wellness Studio, with teachers like Nicole paving the way making you feel seen, connected, and part of a community bigger than yourself in the ways you least expect.

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