Making a difference can be within family and friends, through clients and business, or working for a bigger cause like social justice, animal rights, healthcare, the environment.

And the answer is nothing. Absolutely nothing is wrong with feeling good. But if you set your compass for “feeling good”, you’re likely to avoid the friction, frustration and challenge required for growth. Because when “feeling good” is the standard, it’s easy to label the uncomfortable and unfamiliar as “not right” or flat out wrong.

It took great faith to orient my practice this way. But it’s been miraculous. It has trained me to look for wholeness, completeness and goodness. Inside of myself and all around me. And the only thing more astounding and exhilarating than what it's done for my physical body is how it continues to encourage my relationships and empower my work.

I see them.

And I see myself in all of them.

Sometimes I’m elongated exhaling which is probably distracting. I’m often doing my own bizarre thing. There are mornings I go to the gym to escape the chaos of home. Sometimes I’m terribly distracted. I have occasional episodes of enthusiasm. I can get bogged down in technique. There are workouts that verge on self-punishing.

At the Bend Yoga Festival, I presented one of my favorite synthesis experiments: Polyvagal Theory meets Yoga Philosophy. It’s a dance of east and west, ancient and modern, philosophy and psychology.

And that’s what's tricky about all of this. We’re driven by shifts happening below consciousness. Once the mind catches up, a neurochemical cascade has already occurred in the body.

And that’s what's tricky about all of this. We’re driven by shifts happening below consciousness. Once the mind catches up, a neurochemical cascade has already occurred in the body.

Is it just me, or does urgency seem to be everywhere. And its symptoms too: burnout, overwhelm, adrenal fatigue. We appear to be running ourselves into the ground. So why don't we slow down?

I’ve loved your responses to the runaway trains post. A common comment was “by the time I realize I’m on a runaway train, it’s too late in the game” or “I only recognize it when I crash”. At that point, 1* shifts seem insignificant.

Here's what I know to be true: if it's easier and more convenient to practice, you'll be more consistent. When you're consistent, you gain clarity. Clarity creates precision. And precision has power.

In this situation, there were sneaky stress-creating stories about how I should and shouldn’t feel. But years of studying the nervous system has taught me that story follows state. Why you feel how you feel is much less important than what you do about what you’re feeling. If the body says “runaway train”, you can respond (and it will shift) or repress (and it will persist).

Being shattered exposed things. Thought patterns that were distorted. Ways of being that were outdated. Sub-conscious beliefs that were mis-aligned with reality. In the healing process, it was like I could pick up each piece and decide if I wanted to put it back in the puzzle of personality.

We’re approaching 4 years of virtual yoga. And I am so proud of what we’ve done. Yes, I mean WE, as in you and me, because you provide the fuel for exploring, experimenting and teaching. Whether you’re in class every week, practice through the virtual library, read these writings from another country, or follow along on instagram. You are part of the team.

Practice from the perspective of fascia can be a paradigm shift. Like going from the world as flat to the world as round. You go from the body as bio-mechanical to the body as bio-tensegral. I found this so mind-boggling, I made a chart.

Practice from the perspective of fascia can be a paradigm shift. Like going from the world as flat to the world as round. You go from the body as bio-mechanical to the body as bio-tensegral. I found this so mind-boggling, I made a chart.

A family friend was sitting next to me, the magnificent Mary Ingle. It was like she could hear my thoughts, feel the tears brimming in my eyes. “Funny" she said, "that you’ve been running from this your whole life.” The comment might have stung if it wasn’t so true. Instead, the raw honesty was touching. Her insight honored the journey.

First, I was visiting an ashram and stopped mid-sentence, mid-step when I saw Jesus next to Ramakrishna as part of Paramhamsa Yogananda’s lineage (see for yourself here). Shocked. Confused. A torrent of questions tumbled out. Once I was placated enough to practice, meditating in that room stirred up old hurt, discomfort, even anger and a bit of betrayal. I had work to do.

We might say I lacked resilience. My family labeled it as "too sensitive". Doctors classified it as "imbalanced". Friends said I seemed "lost". All of these labels had a grain of truth, but very little actionable information. If I had known a fraction of what I know today, it would have saved me a lot of pain and shame.

Despite this, I felt HOME. Home in a way I’ve never felt before. Like I belonged there. Like an ache in my soul was (somewhat) (finally) satisfied. Like I kept seeing and sensing… something… out of the corner of my eye, beckoning, waiting… but just out of reach and recognition.

Looking back, the airport was quiet. Customs officers were subdued. And there was a heavy energy. But our first real clue that something was wrong didn’t come until we were in a car heading to Jerusalem. Our driver looked back with wild eyes repeating “things will be okay in the morning” and “no one wants this.” He insisted that we stay inside our hotel once we arrived. As he sped through empty streets, we started searching. What was happening?