257PERSONAL JOURNEYS
Dana Byerlee
Dana is a writer and meditation and yoga teacher based in Los Angeles. As a cancer survivor,
Dana has a passion for studying the mind–body–spirit connection. Her mission is to help people
embrace their lives fully and with an open heart.
T.E. Can you share a little of your backstory?
D.B. I used to live in New York, working in the corporate world. Sometimes it would be 17-hour
days, and then going out drinking, not eating properly, and not sleeping well. Back then I thought
the only way to be successful and to achieve things was to be in burnout mode all the time. After
moving to San Francisco, I noticed a lump, and then it was diagnosed as a cancerous mass. At
the time, all I did was have a lumpectomy and tried to change my diet and lifestyle. I embraced
a much more alkaline diet. I moved to LA, and I went to a yoga class of yours. You were talking
about a yoga teacher training and something told me, “Oh, that’d be good. I need this for my
health and for the long term.” After that fall training, I went back to the doctor and the lump
had come back. This time I had to take a different action. Along with the Western approach of
chemotherapy and surgery, now I also had the tools from yoga and meditation. This helped me
to be with uncomfortable physical things and uncomfortable emotions like fear.
T.E. When did you do yin yoga the rst time and what was it like?
D.B. It was in teacher training. It was really confronting and intense. I’m not intrinsically the most
flexible, so there was that point of not wanting to hold things for that long and wanting to really
run away. Seeing the difference of holding something 30 seconds and up to four or five minutes
was so confronting. Even though it was a really difficult practice, there were a couple of moments
where I was able to use my breath as that ladder to extend and then deepen. When I actually
shut off the mental and physical resistance, I noticed how the body began to relax into the pose.
T.E. How did the insights from your practice support you during your treatment
phase?
D.B. I explored what would happen if I just stood out of the way as much as possible. Something
I learned from yin and the Tao is that nature’s power is its patience. So, could I have the patience
to let the treatment run its course? That was huge. During these times, especially in between
treatments, yin was all I could do. I feel like those practices kept my body in a better state, kept
me more supple. I think yin yoga kept the chi flowing in a more balanced way.
T.E. What’s your favorite yin yoga pose?
D.B. Shoelace.
T.E. What is your least favorite yin yoga pose?
D.B. I would say dragonfly pose.
T.E. What is the biggest takeaway from your transition from the high-achieving
corporate Dana from the past and who you are now?
D.B. I think the wisdom that not all movement and progress comes just from the things that
we can see and control. There’s a natural wisdom at work. Our body’s innate healing system
is at work. Also, letting myself have a bit more flow to life instead of pushing and forcing. It’s
allowing myself to be led different places. I used to feel that might sound passive or not being
responsible. But it is true there’s a lot more flow and synchronicity. I don’t know what you call
it, maybe natural magic. I’ve definitely lightened my foot off the gas pedal!