How to Bring Yoga Into Your Everyday with Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts
Have you ever felt like yoga wasn’t for you? If so, you’re not alone! Listen in to this beautiful conversation with yoga teacher Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts about how to bring yoga into your everyday life. Themes of curiosity, presence, and acceptance help to make the practice of yoga accessible to all regardless of physical abilities and she shares practical tips for how to start a yoga practice that supports the season of life you’re in.
here’s a glance at this episode:
- [2:35] Learn how Dr. Jackson Roberts’ Ph.D studies relate to her yoga teaching
- [6:31] Understand what it means to feel grounded
- [11:14] How storytelling can create community
- [19:22] Tactical ideas for how to start a yoga practice
- [28:09] Introduce exercise snacks into your yoga practice
links mentioned in this episode
Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts’ Instagram
Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts’ Website
guest bio
Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts is an internationally celebrated Peloton yoga teacher, and scholar who is highly regarded as a leader in a new generation of yogis who are passionate about expanding the visibility of who is commonly seen as Teacher. Chelsea brings her deep Midwest roots to the mat with a style of yoga that is accessible to all bodies and levels of skill.
Since 2002, Chelsea has honed her style of yoga that blends contemporary hip-hop, electronic, and R&B with asana. An expert in slow-flow and restorative yoga, Chelsea prides herself in creating classes that leave her students with a strong sense of belonging and accomplishment.
read the transcript
Robyn Conley Downs: (00:01)
You’re listening to The Feel Good Effect. We’re talking about how to bring yoga into your everyday life. Let’s make it happen.
Robyn Conley Downs: (00:10)
Radically simple and ridiculously doable. The Feel Good Effect will help you redefine wellness on your terms. Hi, I’m your host Robyn Conley Downs. And I believe that wellness isn’t about achieving another set of impossible standards, but instead finding what works for you, drawing from cutting-edge science on mindfulness, habit and behavior change. This podcast offers a collection of small mindset shifts that allow for more calm, clarity, and joy in everyday life and allows you to embrace the idea that gentle is the new perfect. I invite you to listen in as we cut through the clutter and find the small shifts that create huge changes in your life. Less striving, more ease. It’s time to feel good.
Robyn Conley Downs: (00:58)
Well, Hey, you Feel Good fam. I am so glad you’re here for this interview with Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts. Chelsea is an internationally celebrated Peloton yoga teacher and a scholar who is highly regarded as a leader in a new generation of yogis who are passionate about expanding the visibility of who is commonly seen as a teacher. She brings her deep Midwest roots to the map with a style of yoga that is accessible to all bodies and levels of skill. I am thrilled to have Dr. Jackson Roberts on as a guest, and can’t wait for you to hear more from her. Here we go.
Robyn Conley Downs: (01:38)
Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts. I am honored to have you on the show today. Thank you for joining us.
Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts: (01:44)
Thank you so much for having me, Robyn.
Robyn Conley Downs: (01:47)
I was saying before we started recording, I I’ve been following and I’ve been a fan for a long time. I would think years before Peloton and before maybe so many people now know who you are, know your work. And I was so fascinated when I first found, I don’t even know how I, you know, how Instagram is. You don’t remember how you come across someone.
Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts: (02:09)
Yes.
Robyn Conley Downs: (02:10)
Um, and I remember looking at your website and seeing that you had received your doctorate in education.
Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts: (02:16)
Yes.
Robyn Conley Downs: (02:17)
And then you’re in the world of yoga, which to me makes perfect sense. But I know that sometimes people saying like, oh, I’m committed to this world. And then mm-hmm, the, those connections, maybe not as obvious. So would you mind sharing with us that work that you did in your doctoral program and then sure. Relates to what you’re doing now?
Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts: (02:35)
Absolutely. Well, thank you. First of all, for having me and to anyone out there who’s listening, who has been considering yoga and meditation and perhaps not know or feel like the space is inclusive of all people. That was one of the reasons why I chose to pursue further research. Um, you know, just the ways that yoga supports us in not just how learn process information, but also how we engage and cultivate communities. And so I was a school teacher. I was a third grade elementary school teacher, and I remember feeling quite overwhelmed with the demand. So shout out to any teachers out there listening.
Robyn Conley Downs: (03:16)
We have lots of teacher’s listening.
Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts: (03:18)
that, you know, it it’s a lot, it’s demanding, you are multitasking, you are being pulled in many different directions. And I just did not feel very grounded. And I knew about yoga even before becoming a teacher. Um, right after I graduated from college, I graduated from Spelman college in Atlanta, Georgia, and I decided to step into my first yoga class in early adulthood. And I was one of those people who didn’t know if the practice was for me, because I didn’t necessarily see teachers or folks on the cover of magazines or advertisements that said, yeah, you’re welcome here too. And unfortunately, you know, that’s how marketing works sometimes. And that, you know, there’s a certain demographic that is invited and then others who are ignored or not seen.
Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts: (04:09)
And so being a school teacher, being someone who was curious about yoga, once I started to get deeper into my yoga practice, I then brought that curiosity into how I approached even being a teacher with my eight and nine-year-old students. And so very slowly, I started to introduce mindful practices, breathwork, stretching into the classroom. And so by day, I was a teacher and in the evenings and on the weekends, I would go to my local yoga studio where I actually ended up getting trained. And so I taught for about eight years in the classroom and decided to leave the classroom.
Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts: (04:49)
And I applied for a Ph.D. program at Emory University. And I kind of like, co-created my own, my own, um, path into educational studies by forming a committee of folks who were in religion, folks who were in sociology, folks who were in ethnography education. And I pursued and really looked at the ways that yoga impacts how we learn process and share information while cultivating communities. And so that’s kind of the abbreviated version for how this woman ended up with a Ph.D. and teaches yoga. it’s not,
Robyn Conley Downs: (05:31)
I went through a whole Ph.D. program and then went B D and I am a yoga teacher, so it’s not.
Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts: (05:36)
okay. See, I know there are so many of us out there, we love to learn. .
Robyn Conley Downs: (05:43)
that’s a definite, but I think that’s probably a core value, right?
Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts: (05:47)
Mm-hmm yep.
Robyn Conley Downs: (05:49)
So I have two questions that came up while you’re talking or many, but I’ll try to, I always try to filter my curiosity, the first that you said, I didn’t feel grounded, which I think is an intuitive thing to say.
Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts: (06:04)
mm-hmm .
Robyn Conley Downs: (06:05)
but can you speak a little more to that? Because I think that yoga sometimes gives us language well, that sometimes yoga does give us this language to identify how we feel.
Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts: (06:16)
mm-hmm .
Robyn Conley Downs: (06:17)
and how that maybe aligns with how we want to feel, but I don’t think everyone has access to that language.
Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts: (06:23)
Right.
Robyn Conley Downs: (06:23)
And so when you said you didn’t feel grounded,
Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts: (06:26)
mm-hmm .
Robyn Conley Downs: (06:26)
what did that, what does that mean to you and how might that, you know, relate to the people who are listening?
Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts: (06:31)
For sure. Not feeling grounded. It felt like I wanted to accomplish something, something yet I didn’t know the steps to take to get there. It was like, I knew that I had the tools. I knew that I had this education along the way, but there was just this missing part that made me feel disconnected to what it was that I wanted to see for myself. Mm-hmm I remember even in the physical sense, feeling very disconnected from my body.
Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts: (07:00)
Um, I experienced a pretty large trauma in my early twenties and I tragically lost one of my closest friends to gun violence. And I had never experienced a trauma of that magnitude before, especially in early adulthood. And I remember feeling like I didn’t wanna feel anything for a while. I remember numbing myself, whether it was my relationships or, you know, the choices that I made in my lifestyle in terms of doing those things that, you know, really start to numb you and desensitize you to what it is that you’re truly feeling. I had not explored therapy. I had not really been vocal about how that trauma was impacting me, but because I had experienced a couple of yoga classes before I knew that there was this sensation that I had encountered before, where it was like, I could just breathe. I could just take a deep breath. I could just take this sigh of almost relief that even if it was for 30 minutes, I felt safe. I felt safety in this cocoon of this body of mine, where, when I was not in my practice, I, I felt quite overwhelmed at times whether it was in social interactions, how I was showing up as a school teacher. And so not feeling grounded was just like, I was just, I, I just could not really stay focused if anybody knows. And, and that’s the more that I learned about trauma, the more that I learned about those fight flight freeze reactions, I realized that I was going through trauma and that my body was I, you know, feeling helpless and hopeless. And it was through that practice of yoga, the embodied practice, and also meditation that it allowed me to what we do a lot of times is focus on our breath enough. And we use that breath as an anchor to focus enough, to be present to what our body, our mind, our heart is experiencing in the moment. And so it was just like this irresistible opportunity for me to say, no, I do wanna know how I feel as scary as it may be.
Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts: (09:16)
And that’s why yoga can be intimidating to people.
Robyn Conley Downs: (09:18)
Mm-hmm .
Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts: (09:19)
folks can encounter, you know, thoughts from the past or sensations in their bodies that they may never have confronted before that remind them of a traumatic event, like all of these things. And there’s also moments that you experience joy mm-hmm . And I think about moments that I’m very playful in my yoga practice, and it reminds me of being a child again, and having less inhibitions to, you know, be curious about what would it feel like to try it this way? And so that’s what it feels like for me to, to feel grounded or the opposite to not feel grounded.
Robyn Conley Downs: (09:55)
Mm-hmm and it’s so relatable, even mm-hmm if your story is different, the last three years there’s been collective trauma in many levels,
Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts: (10:07)
mm-hmm yes.
Robyn Conley Downs: (10:08)
And I think more than ever, that ungrounded feeling is probably at, at the core of a lot of people’s experience.
Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts: (10:16)
mm-hmm .
Robyn Conley Downs: (10:17)
and it can be hard to know where to start when you’re feeling like that, you know, like.
Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts: (10:22)
absolutely.
Robyn Conley Downs: (10:23)
What do I do? How do I get out of this? And yoga can be that first step, but as you mentioned, mm-hmm, maybe it feels intimidating. Maybe it feels unsafe. Um, maybe I think the number one barrier, there’s all of these, but really, like you said, that kind of historic media of mm-hmm, a very specific kind of person, usually very thin, very white and very flexible.
Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts: (10:49)
Yes.
Robyn Conley Downs: (10:50)
And you might not identify with any of those things or maybe just one or two, but that can be the barrier of like, well, I that’s what I think yoga is, and I’m not that mm-hmm so I don’t know where to start. So how do you welcome people? How do you teach people to take those steps to start exploring yoga? Especially if they’re thinking, well, I want, I want more groundedness in my life. I want playfulness. I want that joy.
Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts: (11:14)
Yeah. Well, first of all, you know, having conversations like this, where, you know, the first time I stepped into a yoga experience or met a teacher, you know, I had this kind of like place them on this pedestal because they was just like, ah, they understand it. They get it. It’s just like they understand life. And you know, that can be quite overwhelming when you’re just like, that’ll never happen for me. But I think that the more that we express and share the humanity and the fullness of our experiences, the experiences that brought us to our yoga practice, the sharing of like, when did you not feel grounded? When did you feel fragmented? I think that the more that we share these stories, the more that it makes it, um, accessible and tangible for folks who may be going through the storm right now mm-hmm . And for me, it was important to share that part of my story and, you know, give folks the, the, or encourage folks to share theirs. And so what I do is like, I start off like, you know, thinking about what are the different ways that I felt welcomed into a yoga space? For me, I place a lot of emphasis on music. And I think about, you know, the silence of yoga classes sometimes can be intimidating enough, cuz you’re just like, I don’t know what’s going on here. I can’t, I don’t have anything to pull from to distract me from listening to myself. And so sometimes I use yo use me music as an anchor, whether it’s different genres, whether it’s storytelling throughout the practice, whether it is being a silent class and allowing the, the student to somewhat guide their own experience.
Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts: (13:02)
And so bottom line, I’ve always been someone who’s fascinated with storytelling. And I think that the more that we have those opportunities to share our different paths that brought us to the yoga practice and why we are pursuing and curious, I think that that shows also not just our humanity, but the ways that we are actually very much connected. Like, you know, it can be someone from a completely different demographic that may hear one of my meditations or experienced a class of me. And they may never have been in community with a black woman, cisgendered woman from the Midwest before yet, there may be something that I’ve said that said that allows them to think and connect to their own story to say, wow, like we really are. You know, even though we have these unique ways of coming to the practice here is the ways in which we are connected. And so to me, community is at the core of yoga.
Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts: (14:04)
And it’s so interesting because yoga is such seemingly like an isolated experience. You’re this one person on your yoga mat, you’re having your own experience. But to me, the more that we can ground in our own experiences and the fullness of who we are, that’s the more that we can connect with each other and share our stories together.
Robyn Conley Downs: (14:24)
Oh, it’s beautiful. Beautifully put, I was remembering pre COVID and my studio like there’s, there was a Sunday class that was packed like 75 people mat to mat.
Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts: (14:37)
mm-hmm .
Robyn Conley Downs: (14:39)
and the moment like halfway through class, when everyone breathes at the same time, it, it was the most connected. You just can feel like we’re all, I mean gets really woo really fast it’s that moment for some people that’s in church where you like can just feel part of something bigger, but also part of a connection to all the people around you and how that kinda carries with you. That perspective kind of stays with you even after you leave.
Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts: (15:05)
Yes.
Robyn Conley Downs: (15:05)
It brings you the question though, about community and being, and feeling a part of something and feeling accepted mm-hmm a home practice versus a studio class mm-hmm cause right now you, you provide a, a home practice, right?
Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts: (15:20)
Mm-hmm .
Robyn Conley Downs: (15:21)
a lot of your teaching is through an online platform that’s available to, I don’t know how many people yes. A lot.
Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts: (15:27)
millions, millions now, which is wild. it is wild.
Robyn Conley Downs: (15:32)
Yeah. Like my daughter knows who you are, cuz I put it on the, and she joins in and you know, but in terms of that connection and community, can you talk a little bit about a home practice versus a studio because there’s kind of pros and I feel like there’s pros and cons and, and then there’s also that community piece. Like, can you access community if you’re by yourself in your home?
Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts: (15:53)
Absolutely. Yes. What is so amazing about this question is that that I started on that platform during the pandemic. Right, right. At the height of it, 2020, right at the beginning of it. And especially when it was quite a critical time, still know that we’re moving through it, but that was like the moment that everybody was just like, we’ve never been through anything like this before. Mm-hmm . And I had come from being a global yoga teacher for within another part of the industry where I had just gotten back from like Paris and London and Shenzhen, China and South Africa and all these places where I was meeting and seeing all of these different people practice and all of these different cultures and communities, you know, and just droves coming to a yoga class.
Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts: (16:40)
And then fast forward to 2020, where I walk into my first class that I’m teaching and I’m in the room by myself. And all I have is the camera crew on the other side of that lens. However, the deepest, most interesting part of it was that I felt more connected to community than I ever had before, because it was this knowing that we were all going through this very uncertain time together and that we were using yoga and meditation as a way to harness our collective energy to get through it. And that’s what to me that yoga and meditation actually transcends space and time in so many different ways.
Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts: (17:25)
Those of you who are listening, who may not be familiar with yoga, there is this deep connection to our teachers. I have a deep connection to a lineage of teachers whom I’ve never met in the physical space, but I can read their, their philosophy. I can read their writings, their teachings, their storytelling, and feel quite connected to them. And so while I love the connection that I get in physical spaces with others, I know that there is this potent energy that happens when you practice yoga, that just moves beyond space and time so that I can actually still feel quite connected. Even if I’m in a room alone by myself practicing .
Robyn Conley Downs: (18:09)
and this true there was like, there was something so emotional about that. The beginning, knowing that mm-hmm you were doing, you know, you could see that I, some of my class, I could see how many other people were doing it. Right. How, yeah. You didn’t feel so alone. Mm-hmm and I love about a home practice, the practicality of it, but also that you can find, you know, you have limitations in your, um, studios with wherever you live. Like there’s only so many studios and so many instructors. And if you don’t, mm-hmm resonate with that style or that particular teacher, it just may not be the, and that’s not anything about, about them. It’s just right. Has to be match. With home practice, you have like this infinite number of people that you can look for where you feel like connections mm-hmm . So if any, like practical advice for people that might want to, and I’m never discouraging people from a studio experience. Cause now that that’s kind of coming back, ours were closed for like two years. So yeah, for the reason that we’ve been able to go back, but if you just practically wanna start at home for a variety of reasons, mm-hmm do you have like tactical practical advice for someone that says, okay, I wanna give this try, but I literally don’t know where to start.
Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts: (19:22)
Yeah. I, I always like people to think back to the first time that they were learning anything and being a former elementary school teacher is really, um, accessible for me to tap into those moments where I’m watching a student, when I taught first grade, maybe read their first book, you know, and get finished in the excitement in it. And I remember before I went to a studio, I had a Rodney Yee book and I just started like thumbing through. Yeah. I was like, whoa, look at this in, in his body and what is he doing? And will I ever be able to do that? And the more that I read, you know, the more that I started to explore and before I even attempted to do any of the physical postures, I would just start to read, um, through the pages myself. And so I, I approached it with this excitement because it was something new, just like if you’re starting to paint with watercolors for the first time where you’re starting, you know, just to explore and walk through your neighborhood, just approaching it with the same curiosity and excitement that you would as a child. Who’s learning something for the first time. And what’s so beautiful about that. Although I’ve observed children clearly have the, the fullness of experiences and emotions of frustration of happiness. I also see this moment where there’s just this, this aha moment, especially when you tap into something. And so for folks who, you know, wanna start at home, there’s a lot of ways to do that. Whether it’s reading a book, whether it’s going on an app and practicing with me and starting at a five minute practice and then allowing it to expand. But I always say, just start off slowly, uh, just start off gradually be patient with yourself. That’s one of the biggest, you know, tennantss of yoga through the Yoga Sutras. And that’s a sacred text that we often refer to and it’s like practice non-violence with yourself, practice integrity, and truth. Don’t try to push yourself to thinking that your body has to bend and move in a certain way instead, maybe simply sitting and closing your eyes, taking five deep breaths is your first day of practice and then allowing yourself to explore, be excited and be kind to yourself throughout that process.
Robyn Conley Downs: (21:49)
Well, and that’s for so many who, people who have experienced fitness classes, mm-hmm , that can be very different. And, um, you know, maybe thinking about approaching yoga as a fitness practice. And I, again, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with thinking about the fitness aspect of, right. Of yoga, but that there’s usually like this self-improvement bent to fitness. Mm-hmm that ring here to change the shape of my body. Mm-hmm and I’m gonna do it even though I’m in pain or whatever. And then that frustration and self-harm that self-criticism, that can come up when you’re learning something new, when you’re coming back, when you haven’t done it for a while,
Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts: (22:30)
mm-hmm mm-hmm .
Robyn Conley Downs: (22:31)
and what a barrier that can be for someone. And that’s something I’m particularly passionate about is how many of us aren’t moving our bodies in a healthy and safe, joyful way because we get stuck in that beginning part. And instead of that curiosity and that slow learning we kind of beat ourselves up so much, then it’s so unpleasant that we can’t continue through the process.
Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts: (22:52)
Yep. Yeah. You know, one of my teachers who actually was my first, you know, yoga teacher, who I did my teacher’s training with Swami Jaya Devi, she would always say, do not allow your yoga practice to be yet another thing that beats you up, that it’s another thing that you are allowing yourself to be this perfectionist that you have to get it this way. I’ve never been a fan. It I’ve tried to work out with my husband. I’ve tried to work out with personal trainers. And the moment that I am told that I just have to keep pushing . I think that there’s still trauma that lives in my body from something that I may or may not even be able to identify where I’m just like, Nope, not gonna do it. I’m tuning out. This is where I exit stage left. And it’s just like, you know, my husband is actually a certified yoga teacher and that has been a tremendous support for the ways in which we communicate how we’re about to be first-time parents together. And so all of these different ways of communicating with others, but more importantly, how we communicate with our bodies, this is why I love yoga and the way that I personally approach it. And when I say I approach it, it’s also the teachers who I look to who support a very, um, kind, aware and patient way. I think that it’s important for us to allow our yoga practice, to meet us exactly where we are.
Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts: (24:18)
I actually did start yoga because of the, the physical. And I always say, I never wanna discourage people from thinking that, you know, you, there’s only one path to yoga or sometimes there’s this elitist or hierarchy of like, well, do you know this about yoga? Do you know all of the Yoga Sutras? And it’s just like, actually I just wanted to breathe and stretch, right. And maybe that is my path and maybe the other parts open up, but I always loved to hear the stories for how people started their first practice. And, you know, I walked in thinking that I was about to work out and just get a sweat and a hot yoga class. And it ended up supporting me as I moved through the trauma of that huge loss in my life. And so yeah, we have to look at our yoga practice in a way that is different in my opinion than pretty much a lot of different fitness, um, practices.
Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts: (25:12)
But the great thing is that I’ve also seen folks who practice yoga then apply what they’re learning in yoga to the way that they approach other physical fitness practices or physical fitness practices in general. And they’re allowing themselves to be kinder to themselves while lifting weights while running like all of the things that I’m just like, Nope, not for me. I’m gonna be over here on my yoga, but I use my yoga practice to say, okay, let me give, you know, lifting these weights a try. And as long as I apply what it is that I’ve learned in my yoga practice, then I feel safe and I trust myself as I move through it.
Robyn Conley Downs: (25:52)
Yeah. I know that you just changed at least one person’s life listening to this.
Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts: (25:57)
I hope so.
Robyn Conley Downs: (25:58)
I think so.
Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts: (25:59)
look, we need, we all need a support group for it. You know, that they, we have experienced in fitness classes, especially because our bodies are so centered and our bodies are carrying so much, so many memories, so many, you know, things that we wish could be different, but I’m, I’m always like yoga. I use as this way to say, you know, I teach a, um, meditation called the acceptance meditation and I always want people to know that acceptance isn’t necessarily saying that it has to be this way forever, but it’s getting yourself so attuned and so present with how you’re feeling and what the right now feels like, that you are so trusting of yourself that then you get to decide what’s next. So if you want to change something, okay. But just make sure that it’s coming from a kind and grounded, compassionate place. If you wanna stay the same, make sure that it’s coming from a kind grounded and compassionate place. And so yeah, it just brings up presence more than anything for me. That’s it.
Robyn Conley Downs: (27:07)
It’s life-changing. can you say that one more time so we can, I wanna make sure we attribute it correctly. Cuz you said don’t let yoga be another way that you beat yourself up. Is that what…
Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts: (27:18)
that’s exactly, what it is, yes. Yeah. And that was your teacher? Yep. Yep. Swami Jaya Devi. Yes. But .
Robyn Conley Downs: (27:26)
I’m just thinking about how that will be life-changing for at least one person listening and that yeah. It’s like, um, this hidden bias that our brains have developed through probably a lot of our society has told us that’s how we need to approach everything. But right. What if you took that approach, like you said to weight lifting to parenting, to your relationships, to your job, it’s like this heavy weight that we carry around, then we don’t, it actually could be released. And what, what a way to like regain energy yeah. To teaching if you’re a teacher, I just think so the best approach, everything that way.
Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts: (28:07)
Yes, absolutely.
Robyn Conley Downs: (28:09)
So the idea of a, of an exercise snack is that you can bite break up your movement, practice into these smaller bite size pieces. And so for somebody who feels like a 30-minute or 60-minute practice is just not an option. Um, can you give them like permission even though you don’t need our permission, but some of that invitation to, you know, if you have five minutes, like the impact that five minutes can have.
Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts: (28:35)
Yeah. I always say five minutes is better than no minutes. You know, it’s better than not doing anything at all. Just taking that first step. I think about, you know, um, folks who are going through rehabilitation, if they’ve had, you know, a physical injury and it’s just like, you gotta take it day by day. And not that we are coming to this world or this practice injured, but I’d like to argue many of us are. I know that I was, I was deeply injured, um, through the pain of the experience of the, the fullness of this human experience. And so just allowing yourself that space to say today, maybe it’s one minute today, maybe it’s two, maybe tomorrow it’s three. And let me celebrate that because it’s better than not trying it all. And sometimes that’s the hardest part to simply say, all right, I’m worth this moment to just take a deep breath and then just starting to add on as you continue that practice, that’s why it’s called a practice. right. Just continue to practice.
Robyn Conley Downs: (29:37)
And it grows. It’s like for you take away the emphasis on time and more about the impact it has on your life. It really opens up those spaces to, to try the five minutes or the 10 minutes.
Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts: (29:47)
Yes.
Robyn Conley Downs: (29:48)
Well, this has been such a beautiful conversation. Is there anything that you wanted to add that we didn’t get a chance to cover?
Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts: (29:57)
You know, just continue to look for those spaces where joy exists and I always love to share, um, one of my, I always say my yoga teachers, but he transitioned a while ago. He’s actually a writer. I have no idea if he, if he’s ever done the physical yoga practice and that’s James Baldwin and it is, you know, this thought of the more that we are attuned with our own suffering. The more that more that we, um, explore. And these are my words, the both and that exist in us all the deeper that we can understand the suffering and the experiences of others so that we can take those experiences and move deeper into love collectively. And so to me, that’s what the yoga practice is all about. And meditation, it’s allowing ourselves to get quiet enough to get centered, to get present enough, to say, what is all there and what is it that I have been, you know, kind of hiding or pushing deep down because it’s really scary to face it. And so when we have this framework, these tools that incorporate the breath that incorporates allowing ourselves to, you know, know that it doesn’t have to be perfect to me, that’s when the collective ways of experiencing love in this society especially begin to happen.
Robyn Conley Downs: (31:21)
Thank you for sharing that. So people wanna connect with you and learn from you, maybe start practicing with you, where is the best place to connect?
Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts: (31:29)
Sure. Social media, I’m @chelsealovesyoga. And I imagine that’s where you found me back in the day I started www.chelsealovesyoga.com back in 2011, um, like 10 years into, well, no, not ex exactly 10 years into my practice, but pretty, uh, later into my practice because I was looking for community. I was looking for folks who weren’t typically elevated in sharing their yoga story. And so you can find me @chelsealovesyoga and I share my practice and practice with, um, others at Peloton on the app. And you don’t have to have the equipment and all of that’s quite accessible. And I would love to see you there. Definitely. I think sometimes people don’t know that that’s an option. So yes. I like to let that be known. I’m like, we’re there? Yoga is there and yes, that’s good. Really good.
Robyn Conley Downs: (32:26)
Well, Dr. Jackson Roberts, thank you so much for joining us today.
Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts: (32:29)
Thank you so much for having me. It was a pleasure
Robyn Conley Downs: (32:33)
That was Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts from Chelsea Loves Yoga and you can find her and connect on Instagram @chelsealovesyoga. As always, I wanna thank you so much for listening for being part of this conversation and giving this time for yourself. Until next time, here’s to feeling good.
