Yoga is both on and off the mat, so it's not just the sweat of asana, but the difficult things that confront us in life, the things that challenge us and that we stand up to without fear.
I can relate to this as I too have been hanging onto all kinds of spiritual and artistic practices in order to muster the courage needed to face this chaotic world.
They say the real yoga begins off the mat. We hurt there so it hurts less when we step off the mat. Grateful for the practice.