As kids progressed from middle school to college, even if they’d learned well and accumulated knowledge and techniques – there was a decline in creativity, particularly when it came to approaching unfamiliar problems.  And the few adults I taught over the years were in general less flexible and empowered than the teens.  While some of this decline came from brain development (and had an evolutionary understanding), I wondered how much of it was psychological, social.

 

Anxiety played a huge role in learning outcomes across the board.  The gradual disempowerment of learners as they aged depended on the defense mechanisms they’d adopted in the face of anxiety and the sense of failure.  And when anxiety was alleviated, suddenly enormous progress could be made.  Often a learner who had been deemed “slow” would turn out to have impressive powers in the subject!

 

I began to incorporate yogic practices – movement, breathwork, meditation – into all kinds of learning spaces, from the astrophysics classroom to the improv theater.  When this energy-balancing work was done, everything that followed – whether calculating orbits or collaborating on a surreal dance – was more vivid, focused, and joyful!

 

I discovered yoga soon after I moved to New York City with a theater company.  A director brought in a teacher to lead asanas – At first I was skeptical but soon I was hooked!  I took classes, eventually became certified as a teacher, and studied many esoteric forms such as jnana yoga and Tibetan Dream Yoga.  

 

But throughout the years, there was always depression sapping my energy and making every step more difficult.  I delved into physical practices, breathwork, meditation and philosophy to ease the pain and ignite the spark.  Psychedelics, integrated with yogic methods, turned out to be the missing puzzle piece.  

 

My life and path changed due to a psychedelic experience with ketamine.  I describe this in the preface (soon to be published in the Psychedelic Press Journal) of my book, Yoga of the Ketamine State.  I developed Ketamine-State Yoga from the insights that exploded from that peak mystical experience.  I have trained a dozen yogis so far in Ketamine-State Yoga, have given online teachings, and maintain a subreddit dedicated to the topic.

 

Over the past few years, I have explored a wide variety of psychedelic-healing modalities, seeking a general understanding that will inform psychedelic yoga.  My depression and anxiety have evaporated – I have reclaimed so much of my creative energy and want to share these methods and insights with others.  My goal is to unite psychedelic and yoga communities around the shared goal of fostering individual and social healing.

 

In addition to enabling mental-health benefits, psychedelics – used properly – will boost creative flow and learning, by restoring “Child’s Mind.”  I am working on integrating yogic methods into microdosing practices, in order to balance and harmonize the energy that comes from these subtle shifts in consciousness.  

 

I have been collaborating – sharing and building energy and ideas – with a talented group of yoga teachers, therapists, psychedelic healers, artists and others, in NYC and around the globe.  I have trained therapists in Ketamine-State Yoga, and run community events for the Brooklyn Psychedelic Society.  I lead workshops for STEM teachers to help them tap their students’ creativity and allow collaboration to flourish.

 

I am always learning about myself, the individual folks around me, the community, the world of Homo Sapiens, the physical universe, and beyond!