I see that creativity is embodied spirituality. Through creativity we connect to the energy of creation. Ironically, this is often lacking from spiritual practice. We are told how to practice without being given creative license to explore on our own. Even worse, we are often scolded for being undisciplined and disrespectful if we don’t follow

In many ways, yoga is a practice of truthfulness, satya. The truth is we are spiritual beings having this temporary human experience. Truthful thoughts reflect the universal love that is the nature of our spiritual essence. Thoughts that reflect our loving nature are true, while thoughts that are based on attachments, or external, limited things,

White supremacy and systemic racism have poisoned the water to the point that our personal practice alone can’t make it drinkable. But, our practice can give us the clarity to step up to the task of making real political and social change.

Sometimes confusion arises in spiritual practice because attachment and nonattachment both stem from love. It’s just that attachment is the love that comes from our ego-mind, and nonattachment is the love that flows from our heart.

The point is, yoga is not just about stopping the mind, as Patanjali advocates, at least not unless our goal is renouncing the world. Instead, it’s about learning how to use the mind wisely, to cultivate discernment. This may seem like a minor point, but I think it has huge repercussions. We have created modern yoga systems around a philosophy of

According to Michelle Cassandra Johnson, this is also the way to make social change—through feeling, not through thinking: If we are going to make social change, we need to cultivate a practice of feeling. If someone could think us out of the social injustice that we are swimming in, a very smart someone would have done so by now. When one connects

As we move into a time of post-lineage yoga, I think we should celebrate our independence from traditional gurus who were so often abusive. But we can keep in mind that there were benefits to the guru relationship that may be lost—the power of tradition and lineage, the focused attention, the individual support—but this should not keep us from

I don’t think a lineage is essential for the transmission of the teachings, but we have to do a better job of sharing and supporting each other if the community is going to replace the guru.

Remember, spiritual power without service is simply power. Service is an outlet for your energy. It allows the energy that you build in your practice to be used for the greater good—not just for your own personal benefit. This focus on others, and not simply expanding your own ego, is really at the basis of spiritual practice. So, it’s not a matter