Once upon a time, yoga was weird. And everyone was a beginner. During classes, discussion was common, demonstrations were expected, and there was an abundance of education.

Now that yoga is popular, everyone has some experience, classes are all levels, and emphasis is on practice. This is good. Practice puts teachings into the fabric of your body and being. It gets you out of your head and into your physical form. Out of the thinking space and into the feeling place.

I’ve named this underlying urge to go, go, go, do, do, do the “Hounds of Hurry” because it feels like hustle is always nipping at your heels. Even when you’ve got the time and space to take a break, you can’t shake the sense that the hounds have your scent. At any moment they could catch you, overwhelm you.

Desire is innately human. Yoga encourages you to examine it. Watch how it works. Notice that as soon as you satisfy one desire (you buy the thing!) almost immediately another desire replaces it (I need another thing!) or “satisfying” the desire does not feel how you thought it would (I got the thing but now I have this/that issue!).

These creatures of modern culture drive despair, overwhelm, and burnout. They generate relentless, aggressive self-talk. Erode dignity, autonomy, and soul-level satisfaction. They make meditation “hard” and turn “self-care” into self-beating. They thrive in the soil of distraction, competition and isolation.

Which may lead you to ask: how? what technique? which app? These are common questions with no good answers. How you meditate, what technique you use, the amount of time, depends on YOU. Your needs, intention, and aims with meditation. This is why I often invite you to meditate, but rarely instruct meditation.

Over the past 20 years, Yoga has changed. Some things for the better. Some things for worse. Men in speedos standing on students’ backs are no longer celebrated (win!). Our conversation about the body and benefits of practice has matured beyond platitudes into provable facts. (This article on breathing is an excellent example). But classes (more often than not) have become a feel-good-crowd-pleasing-flow, not a journey of Self-discovery.

Near Enemy #1: “Breathe Deep” When you hear “breathe deep” what do you do? Most humans will gasp, gulp or suck in air which will keep you breathing shallow. Because the breath gets stuck in your chest.

Instead, when you hear “breathe deep” you want to breathe deep into your body. Through the nostrils. Using the respiratory diaphragm. Why? because the respiratory diaphragm brings air into your lower lungs where oxygen exchange occurs.

What brings you flow? How do you create flow states?

A student recently shared, "the breath reminds me that there is always flow even when I don't feel flow". That is the magic, mystery and medicine of the breath: to restore flow in body and BEING.

The breath is the magic bullet, the secret sauce, the easy antidote. Why? because your body is listening to your breathing. Responding to your rhythm (or lack thereof). Slow, deep breathing, especially with an elongated exhale, stimulates the vagus nerve. The vagus nerve is your 10th cranial nerve. It runs down the sides of your throat, enervates the organs of your gut (this is the gut-brain axis) and your face. It comprises most of your parasympathetic nervous system (the cool, calm, content vs. the get-up-and-go of the sympathetic system).

This email is one of those items for me. It's been 3 years in the making. Yup, 3 years. Since Kanda's creation, we've lacked a coherent and consistent way to communicate with you all.

As of today, we finally have you in one place.

During the holidays there is a meltdown of routine and normalcy. Rather than rush back to old ways, I encourage you to savor and stretch out what the Yoga Tradition calls a sandhi. A transition point.

Depending on the context, sandhi translates to critical juncture, opportune moment, interval, pause, or rest. The word is used in Ayurveda (the science of longevity), Jyotish (the science of light, commonly called vedic astrology) and Vastu (the science of dwelling, similar to feng shui).

As we enter the New Year, there is a surge of messaging about detoxing and cleansing, resolutions and commitments, goals and achievements. We’ve all lived long enough to look at New Year’s resolutions with cynicism at best, hopelessness at worst. For the record, I think the idea is excellent.

But, the implementation is awful. Why? Because it starts with a misaligned motive: to “fix” something that is wrong or bad. It’s a stick. And a stick that is often used to bludgeon based on external standards - to look or behave a certain way. To accomplish or achieve a certain thing.

What is the aim of your practice? And how do you get “better”? My teacher would tell me, “get on your mat, open your channels, and get out of there.”

She steered me away from the “more is better” narrative as well as the exercise/calisthenics/gynmastics empahsis so I could sense something different: the subtle body. She wanted to refine my palate for more than the hot sauce of stretch and sensation, she wanted me to savor satisfaction and embrace the sweetness of enough.

At their core, all mind-body, health-wellness, spiritual practices have a similar aim: reduce suffering, increase connection. Not give you a perfect body, zen master mind, or make all the difficulty and discomfort disappear, but to give you tools, techniques and strategies to make the most of whatever is happening.

How strong is your practice during the holidays? Not just on the mat or meditation cushion, but in real life... Can you show up as your best self? Stay calm, clear and centered? Maintain poise?

The holidays aspire to be a time of connection, joy, and celebration. But most experience the season as stressful, difficult, even painful. What goes wrong? And what can we do about it?

Your practice is an opportunity to cultivate strong roots and a solid center for the budding branches of your heart. We've been doing just that in the Vayu classes. Apana Vayu is your grounding current running through pelvis, legs, and feet. Samana Vayu develops your power center at the respiratory diaphragm.

You've got practices for both in your Virtual Library. Use them! Because the holidays are on the horizon. This is a time when routines are uprooted and we tend to loose our center.

I feel like Kanda is at a bridge. With no guardrails. No clear-cut path. The only way forward is one foot in front of the other.

What is the bridge? The world post-COVID. How to move forward with a virtual school. How to innovate and create more educational opportunities. How to expand and enhance your relationship to yoga.

While Apana teaches you to settle into solid ground, create internal support, and relish release, Samana will ask you to evaluate your digestion. And not just of food, but everything you consume - from memes on social media, to the endless stream of marketing, to conversations with your mother. Everything.

At the time, there was something inside of me, buried under years of conditioning, an inner knowing that said... keep going.

20 years later, following that inner knowing has changed everything. When I take time to digest and reflect, I see how much has been done and overcome.

Practices that expand inner awareness are like being on a speedboat. You're cruising through uncharted waters. The winds of change whip your hair and pull tears from your eyes. You keep your head down. And only over time, with distance, can you appreciate how far you've come.