Storytime | Dreams, Embarrassing Yoga Moments & Plant Wisdom

Q: 3) What is one thing about the way plants live that you wish your yoga students or dancers understood better? And how did you come up with your YouTube name?

Let’s start with the name Whorled Leaf Yoga. I originally used Whorled Leaf Nursery when I had the plant nursery. It felt like a natural transition, even though “whorled leaf” is a botanical term meaning “three leaves emerging from the stem at the same point.” I loved the play on words — whorled leaf / world peace. Makes me think of Miss Congeniality: “I really do want world peace.” And no one else was using it, which made everything easy — email, website, Google search. Now, what lessons do I wish students would take from plants? Myself included: Don’t rush time. Honor the seasons. Growth happens gradually and looks different throughout the year. A seed takes the time it takes to sprout. A flower won’t bloom unless conditions are right. Many plants have a period of dormancy where they simply rest until the growing season begins again. Treat yourself like nature: grow when you can grow, rest when you need to rest, and trust that the bloom will happen when the time is right.

Nicole Young
Jul 12
3 min read

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30‑minute full‑body wake‑up flow

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A forest flow for the weekly yoga class BTS — Part One

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Dream share + discussion

https://youtu.be/nNTTepOA70A

1) Do you believe dreams can reshape and rewire your mind? Has this ever happened to you?

I don’t think dreams “rewire” your brain in the traditional sense, unless you’re learning a new skill like remembering them or practicing lucid dreaming. Like any skill, that creates new neural pathways. More than rewiring, I think dreams reflect who we already are.

I’ve had dreams bring things to my attention that I could then work on consciously, and I’ve had dreams where I’m actively participating in a healing process. If your mind is you, and your dreams are you, then they’re the same thing — just different communication methods.

We all dream every night, whether we remember them or not. So why do we dream? That’s the big question. If you choose to work with your dreams or improve recall, they’ll have a much larger impact on your waking life than if you ignore them. Either way, dreams are happening, and we get to choose how much attention we give them.

I definitely use and think about my dreams, and they influence my waking life in many ways. Even if you disregard them, I think dreams still affect you — whether you give them credit or not. Think about waking up in a mood that has no explanation. Maybe it’s the stress dream you just had. Extra tired? Maybe you were on an intense mission to Mars.

2) What is the weirdest, most non‑spiritual thing you’ve spent an entire class obsessing over?

I can’t remember if I’ve told this embarrassing story before, but it’s one for the record books.

I was a newer student and had just started taking a more advanced Saturday morning yoga class — an intense two‑hour class with only a handful of people. The studio had two rooms, and the back room was perfect for smaller groups, which is where we practiced.

A large portion of the class was inversions: handstands, forearm stands, headstands. When I was first learning proper engagement, certain poses would lead to a queef. To prevent the very embarrassing fart‑noise moments, I would wear a tampon. But this particular class… I had not prepared. You see where this is going.

We kicked up into a handstand — no music playing — and as we came down… a queef. Mortifying. Everyone politely pretended they heard nothing. I tried a few more inversions, each one producing the same loud sound. I couldn’t take the embarrassment anymore and gave up on the inversions for the rest of class. The whole time, no one said a word. That almost made it worse.

Talk about obsessing over something non‑spiritual for the rest of class. I know it’s natural, but my little ego took a beating that day. I’ve grown up since then, and with proper engagement it doesn’t happen anymore — but I still wouldn’t want to relive that moment.

3) What is one thing about the way plants live that you wish your yoga students or dancers understood better? And how did you come up with your YouTube name?

Let’s start with the name Whorled Leaf Yoga. I originally used Whorled Leaf Nursery when I had the plant nursery. It felt like a natural transition, even though “whorled leaf” is a botanical term meaning “three leaves emerging from the stem at the same point.” I loved the play on words — whorled leaf / world peace. Makes me think of Miss Congeniality: “I really do want world peace.” And no one else was using it, which made everything easy — email, website, Google search.

Now, what lessons do I wish students would take from plants? Myself included: Don’t rush time. Honor the seasons. Growth happens gradually and looks different throughout the year. A seed takes the time it takes to sprout. A flower won’t bloom unless conditions are right. Many plants have a period of dormancy where they simply rest until the growing season begins again.

Treat yourself like nature: grow when you can grow, rest when you need to rest, and trust that the bloom will happen when the time is right.

Whorled Leaf Yoga