The Parts We Avoid Deserve Our Care

Hey friend,

We’re deep into the sticky, sweaty heart of summer and if your body’s feeling cranky, your energy’s uneven, or your inner critic is being a jerk about it… you’re not alone.

This month’s theme is Svadhyaya (self-study) and not the grindy kind. Not the “optimize yourself into a perfect being” kind. This is the kind that lets us notice, gently. What hurts? What softens? What stories are we carrying about what we’re “supposed” to feel, be, or do?

Let’s call some of that in, and some of it out.

🧘 On the Mat: What Does It Mean to Sit With Something?

Last time, we talked about sitting with discomfort, about staying present with what’s hard instead of trying to escape it. This week, let’s just talk about sitting. What does it actually mean to sit with something, not to fix it, explain it, or push it away, but simply to stay?

In yogic philosophy, svadhyaya (self-study) asks us to turn inward, not with judgment or problem-solving, but with witnessing. That witnessing presence is the part of us that observes without getting tangled in it. It’s the quiet awareness that notices: this is what I’m feeling, this is where I’m holding it, this is what I’m telling myself about it.

To sit, then, is to shift into that witness space. To let the body settle and the breath soften. To stay curious about what’s present, without demanding clarity or rushing to act. Svadhyaya doesn’t always mean dissecting yourself; it can also mean listening. It can mean staying long enough to hear what’s beneath the story.

🔍 Macro Lens: Sitting With Systems, Sitting With Ourselves

On the mat, we practice sitting with discomfort, sensation, or stillness. Off the mat, we can sit with something else: the stories we’ve absorbed about who we’re allowed to be, what we’re allowed to need, and what parts of ourselves are “acceptable” to care for.

When I was deeply uncomfortable with my body and my size, I avoided certain types of self-care. I didn’t want to touch or pay attention to parts of my body I didn’t like (underarms, belly folds, thighs). I thought if I ignored them, they might go away. But all that really did was cut me off from myself. I wasn’t avoiding just discomfort; I was avoiding intimacy. I was avoiding the parts of me that deserved care the most.

Sitting with those parts, literally and metaphorically, helped shift that. When I allowed myself to notice how I felt about my body, to witness how society’s stories about my body affected my own perception of it, something softened. I could begin to care for myself not just out of necessity, but out of compassion.

That’s svadhyaya, too. Self-study not as self-improvement, but as relationship. And from a sociological lens, it’s not just about individual discomfort, it’s about how systems like fatphobia, ableism, and gendered beauty norms teach us to fragment ourselves. To disconnect from our own needs.

This week’s summer self-care isn’t superficial; it’s a way back into relationship. To touch, tend to, and honor the parts of us we were taught to ignore. And to sit, with care, in the bodies we live in now.

☀️ Summer Self-Care for the Folded & Fabulous

This week’s tip: Underarm & fold care

Warm, damp areas like underarms, belly folds, or groin creases often need extra support in the summer. One option I love: using Head & Shoulders shampoo as a body wash. The active ingredient (zinc pyrithione) helps support skin balance, especially if you’re managing irritation or yeast.

Follow with a soft towel and a little barrier balm, like Aquifor or Boudreaux’s Butt Paste, if your skin needs it. Nothing fancy, just care.

🧰 For the Teachers & Changemakers

This new monthly section is for the folks teaching, holding space, or building brave businesses. If you’re a yoga teacher, facilitator, or creative worker, this is for you.

We talk a lot about showing up for others, but what does it look like to show up for yourself, in the body and mind you’re in right now?

Lately, I’ve been practicing this on and off the mat: letting go of the need to perform energy, confidence, or polish, and instead just teaching from where I actually am. Not pushing through. Not hiding it.

Sometimes that means telling my class, “Today’s practice will be slower and quieter,” or “I’m honoring my own needs, and I invite you to do the same.” And you know what? That honesty builds more trust than any script I could have rehearsed.

It’s the same thread as svadhyaya. The same as tending to body parts I once avoided. When I’m willing to sit with what’s true, I teach more truthfully. When I take care of myself first **not perfectly, but honestly** I can hold space more sustainably.

How are you adapting your teaching to your needs these days? Are there parts of yourself you’ve had to learn to sit with before you could teach from them? I’d love to hear. Hit reply and tell me. I might feature your reflection next month (with permission, of course).

🎥 This Week’s Practice

Yoga for Sciatica & Piriformis Relief | Ground, Release & Restore
Sunday, July 20, 2025 at 9 pm Eastern
🕙 Watch the class on YouTube

Feeling tight, sore, or stuck in the lower body? This restorative yoga class is designed to help ease sciatica, piriformis tension, and hip discomfort, gently and accessibly.

We’ll move through a sequence of grounding poses to support the hips, glutes, and low back, paired with breathwork and a calming meditation to release stored tension and soothe the nervous system. Whether you're in pain or simply need to reconnect with your body, this class invites you to soften, release, and restore.

That’s it for this week.

If something lands, I’d love to hear about it. If you’ve got a practice that’s supporting you, or a sweaty summer body care tip you swear by, hit reply and tell me. This space is made for and with you.

Until next time: take care of your tender bits, rage if you need to, and rest when you can.

With love and way too many bolsters,
Shannon
they/them | Fringe(ish)
Accessible yoga, body liberation, and bite-sized doxa disruption