My honey and I have a long-standing game that we love to play: creating autobiographical book titles for the people in our lives… because… it’s entertaining.

It started with my dad, whose life just feels like it demands an autobiography. We landed on A Steve S. Story: By the Skin of His Teeth. Which, if you know him… is just a nod-your-head-and-chuckle kind of moment.

My beau says my book title would be It Takes a Lot with a picture of an empty toilet paper roll on the front cover—which… look, I know I’m a handful. 🙄

Anywhoozy…

After class this afternoon, a student and I were chatting about the power of why. He told me how much he appreciated that I don’t just tell people what to do, but why to do it.

Shucks.

I mean… this isn’t an Ashleytocracy, folks. I’ll tell you why I think something works, but this is yoga—the art & science of self-knowledge. You try it out and see what works for you.

As we were wrapping up, he said, “I think the name of your book would be Action Through Understanding.”

Color me moved.

I spend a lot of time thinking about how we get to know ourselves better—and how, in doing so, we might become a little kinder, a little more aware, a little more human.

Which is probably why I’ve now spent the last few hours thinking about this idea of the WHY.

I’ve always been a “why” person. I like to understand how things work.

Don’t just tell me what to do. Tell me why I might want to do it—and I’ll decide if it’s right for me.

(It takes a lot… you’re seeing it now, aren’t you?)

When we ask why, it means we’re curious.

And curiosity is a powerful thing.

Curiosity leads to understanding.
Understanding leads to more skillful action.
And that action often brings us right back to curiosity.

So when you ask me why, I’m thrilled. It means you’re hooked.

And I really hope yoga hooks you.

Because the deeper we go, the more questions there are:

Why does this work?
How can I feel better?
What can I do?
Where can I learn more?
When should I practice?

…Who am I?

Yoga isn’t just about learning a pose or getting it “right.”

It’s about getting curious.

Not just doing something because someone told you to… but tuning in and figuring out what’s true for you—why you are here, and who you are.