The House I Had Forgotten

"Some journeys take us across the country. Others take us back to ourselves." The first thing that greeted me wasn't my family. It wasn't the familiar highways winding away from the airport or the skyline I'd seen hundreds of times before. It wasn't even the landscape that had shaped the first tw... Read More

The Current Beneath My Feet: When I Stopped Fighting Life

The Current Beneath My FeetWhen I Stopped Fighting Life "Ultimately there is nothing I can tell you about surrender except… Having nothing and wanting nothing; not keeping score, not trying to be richer, not being afraid of losing; not being particularly interested in our own personalities; choos... Read More

The Freedom of Open Hands: Embracing Aparigraha

When I left the corporate world for the second time, I thought I understood what I was leaving behind. After twenty-plus years, I expected to miss the people. I expected to miss the rhythm of full calendars, difficult conversations, strategic planning, and the satisfaction that came from helping ... Read More

What My Garden Taught Me About Svadhyaya

These mornings, I spend a lot of time in my backyard, sitting beside or wandering through my garden areas. Before the heat settles over the day, I'll carry a warm mug of tea outside and move slowly among the flowers, vegetables, and herbs. A bee disappears into a blossom. A spiderweb catches the ... Read More

The Wonder That Came Back: A Reflection on Brahmacharya

There was a season of my life when the magic seemed to disappear. I couldn't explain it at first. Almost every morning, before the demands of the day arrived, I carried a warm mug of coffee onto the back patio of my home. It was my small sanctuary—a place where I could settle into meditation befo... Read More

I Trust My Inner Fire: Reflections on Tapas

"Tapas, literally means 'heat,' and can be translated as catharsis, austerities, self-discipline, spiritual effort, change, tolerance or transformation. Tapas has a sense of 'cooking' ourselves in the fire of discipline to transform ourselves into something else. It is our determined effort to be... Read More

The Peace I Kept Postponing: Asteya and the Ways We Steal from Ourselves

For most of my life, I thought peace was something I would earn. I believed that if I worked hard enough, saved enough money, achieved enough, healed enough, or became enough, then I would finally be able to relax. Then I could enjoy my life. There was always some future version of myself waiting... Read More

Falling in Love With Your Life: A Reflection on Santosha

"Contentment is falling in love with your life."— Swami Rama A few weeks ago, I found myself sitting in my garden with absolutely nothing productive to do. No emails to answer. No classes to teach. No projects to finish. Just me, a patch of dirt, and a parade of ants moving purposefully through o... Read More

The Truth That Changed Shape: A Reflection on Satya

When we think about truth, we often imagine something fixed. A fact. A certainty. Something we either know or we don't. But the older I get, the less convinced I am that truth works that way. As I have reflected on Satya—the yogic practice of truthfulness—I have found myself returning to a differ... Read More

Life Beneath the Noise: A Reflection on Saucha

Y This week, my partner and I disappeared into the mountains of Idaho for a few days at Maple Grove Hot Springs. Nestled along a river and surrounded by wide-open skies, it is one of my favorite places to visit for many reasons. But perhaps my favorite thing about Maple Grove is what it doesn't h... Read More