Like climbing a mountain, there are many ways up—different methods, beliefs, and lineages within the vast world of yoga. I’m grateful you’ve found something in what I share that resonates with your own path. At its core, yoga is a way of becoming familiar with your own lived experience. The body is often the most direct and accessible place to begin. And of course, the physical body is never separate from the mind, energy, and deeper layers of experience often described as the 5 koshas. When...

I just love learning about the body, and the way it works with such intelligence. The first time I heard about Autophagy was when I joined my first ever fasting retreat, a decade ago.I had the privilege of translating for a Japanese couple who have been teaching fasting in the Blue Mountains for over 30 years. Autophagy is a function in the body, studied by biologist Yoshinori Ohsumi, and became more widely known after he received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2016. The function...

I have been contemplating about rituals recently. I began my Sado Okeiko (tea ceremony practice) this year - One of my intention for the year. The first challenge is the hour of seiza— a numbing, fidget-inducing, blood-stoppingly painful seated position. The interesting thing is that the precise, simple, but prolonged processes— such as purifying the bowl or performing the sequence of observing the bowl— consume your focus. Eventually, you only feel the pain (pretty bad) when you are coming...