Brian Nelson, a former actor and writer, wrote a piece for the New York Times today that stopped me in my tracks. His article, "When Cancer Changes Your Appearance," documents his long fight with cancer and the many side-effects of treatment. His latest: a very swollen "moon" face. From a cable technician in his home to friends and neighbors, people stare at him, rudely ask if he's contagious and try to avoid him. Nelson writes, "How does one deal with someone ... totally disfigured and, one might say, grotesque? We’ve been trained by movies and TV to worship perfection."

Making snap judgments based on appearance alone is an easy trap to fall into—much to my dismay, I know I've done it—yet yoga can help us stop. At the Yogapalooza workshop in San Francisco in June, instructor Soleil Hepner led us through an exercise that involved choosing a partner silently and then closing our eyes and trusting him or her as she led us through a few partner poses. I found this process of working with a stranger without sight or words very challenging and very thought-provoking. It made me realize how many opinions we form almost instantly based on sight alone and how unproductive those thoughts can be. Yoga reminds us to practice loving-kindness and compassion, something we all need more of in our lives.