In Punk Rock Vegan Movie, Moby explores the deep links between punk rock and the animal rights movement. His documentary is both inspiring and challenging, reminding us that yoga, like punk, is about questioning the status quo. As yogis, activism and compassion are part of the path—choosing awareness, kindness, and conscious living for all beings.

At a recent yoga retreat, I discovered that the most powerful practice wasn’t physical movement but meditation. Reflecting on Yoga Sutra I.4 (vrtti sarupyam itaratra), I was reminded how easily we identify with our fluctuating thoughts and emotions—becoming the waves instead of the calm ocean beneath. Through meditation, yoga teaches us to step back, observe, and reconnect with our true self beyond the noise of the mind.

Discover how yoga and love intertwine—expanding the heart, deepening connection, and reminding us that love flows endlessly through practice.

Turning 30 felt daunting at first, but through conversations with friends, family, and teachers I’ve come to see it as a moment of grounding rather than loss. The twenties were about exploration and searching, while the thirties bring clarity, self-respect, and a deeper sense of rootedness. It’s not about having everything figured out—it’s about embracing growth, owning your story, and stepping into this new chapter with confidence and joy.

🌞 Summer aligns with the Fire element, symbolising joy, warmth, and connection.
🧘 Yin Yoga helps balance this energy, preventing burnout and restlessness.
💗 Poses like Melting Heart (Anahatasana) nourish the Heart and Small Intestine meridians.
✨ A simple daily Yin practice can restore balance, joy, and harmony with the season.

At the heart of every class I teach is one clear intention: to build community. A space where we feel safe, seen, and supported — not just in our bodies, but in our whole selves. When we come together in practice, something shifts. Shyness becomes strength, and strangers become part of a shared journey. Community isn’t just a concept at Oca — it’s a living, breathing value we grow together, on and off the mat.

This week, I’ve been sitting with the passing of Dr. Joanna Macy — a visionary teacher, systems thinker, and deep ecologist whose life and work continue to ripple through so many of us who walk the path of embodied awareness and collective care.

Macy taught that “the most radical thing any of us can do at this time is to be fully present to what is happening in the world.” Her work wove together systems theory, Buddhist philosophy, and activism, reminding us that we are not isolated beings but part of an intricate, interdependent web of life — an insight that mirrors so beautifully the essence of vinyasa practice.

In vinyasa, we explore not just movement, but connection: breath to body, posture to posture, self to world. When we flow mindfully, we begin to feel the truth of dependent origination — that nothing arises independently. The inhale is shaped by the exhale,the outside become part of us, parts of us leaving to become the world, and each transition draws meaning from what came before and gives rise what unfolds next.

Macy’s teachings offer a kind of courage for our times. In the yoga studio, as on the planet, we can meet the discomfort, beauty, and uncertainty of change with open hearts. She encouraged us not to turn away, but to let our practice — whether on the mat or in the world — be an act of love and resilience.

As I write this, I’m at Mulino Carletti — an old watermill nestled deep in an Apennine forest — guiding a retreat where we’re exploring the intersections of yoga and ecodharma. Each day, we move and breathe together under the canopy of beech, chestnut and oak, listening to the river’s song and the palpable interconnectness of earth, air, water and the fire of natures’s life force. Macy’s presence is felt strongly here — in our teachings on interbeing, our meditations on grief and belonging, and the way we return again and again to the land, to the breath, and to each other.

Back in London, these same themes pulse through the community at Oca — where the classes feel like small, steady circles of connection. The energy we create together — quiet, real, present — continues to inspire me. I’m feeling grateful that in an age of the corporate wellness industrial complex, there are still people with a vision and heart that have created space for these things. And I’m really looking forward to being back in the studio on Monday 5th August, to move and breathe again with that same spirit of shared care.

“You are part of this world. You are made of rivers and stars. And when you look with eyes of compassion, what you see is yourself — everywhere.” — Dr Joanna Macy

A Simple Mediatation Practice from

The Work That Reconnects

Breathing Through: A Meditation on Interbeing and Gratitude

Inspired by the teachings of Joanna Macy

Find a quiet place to sit or lie down. Rest your hands on your body or the earth.

1. Ground yourself.

Feel the support beneath you. Notice your breath — no need to change it. Just arrive.

2. Call in gratitude.

Bring to mind something you feel thankful for — something simple, real, grounding.

Let yourself breathe with it for a few moments.

Inhale gratitude. Exhale gently, sending it out into the world.

3. Extend your care.

Now think of someone or something beyond yourself — a person, forest, river, or cause that matters to you.

Inhale with awareness of their suffering or need. Exhale with compassion and steadiness.

4. Rest in connection.

Stay with the breath for a few more cycles.

Notice how your care and presence can hold both joy and sorrow — how staying open is a kind of strength.

This practice is a way to stay connected — to ourselves, each other, and this aching, beautiful world. A small act of love in uncertain times.

You can listen to an interview with Joanna Macy here:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/3g99paUmnW6QVxAYuOOEUi

And read about her work here:

https://workthatreconnects.org/

With love and gratitude,

Chris