Featured Teacher: Emma Preiss

Ask a New Yorker how they feel about New Year’s resolutions, and you’ll receive a mixed bag of responses. Some dismiss the idea with a brandished cynicism, while others look to counter that classic NY energy by restoring peace, calm, and balance. Typically this leads to the resolution: “do more yoga”.

New York City in January is rough. New York City in January while waiting for a weekend train is worse. The cold, the gray, the constant state of feeling gaslit by the MTA is enough to derail any person’s New Year’s goal of “centering and restoring balance”. Sometimes we just need to feel mad. The good news, that doesn’t have to throw off the plan of doing more yoga.

Yoga philosophy doesn’t deny the existence or validity of anger. Instead, it offers tools to understand and transform it. Through mindfulness, self-awareness, and the cultivation of non-violence-known as the Yama, Ahimsa-anger can be seen as energy to be harnessed rather than something to be feared or suppressed. By grounding ourselves in our practice, we can hold space for all emotions, including anger, allowing them to become vehicles for growth and deeper self-understanding. Yoga is not just about seeking peace—it’s about accepting and transforming all emotions into opportunities for insight, strength, healing, even action.

So get mad! There’s a lot to be angry about. Feeling grounded in anger might seem counterintuitive at first—it is often seen as something chaotic, fleeting, or destructive. But when you explore anger through yoga, it can become an opportunity to reconnect with yourself and your emotions in a powerful, embodied way.

Maybe you start exploring your meditation practice, or perhaps you start by incorporating the fiercer, more fiery warrior poses into your physical practice. When channeled effectively, it doesn’t have to be destructive. Anger, untapped by the practice of Yoga, can propel you into action, whether that’s advocating for yourself, standing up for others, or taking steps toward personal growth.