STAYING HUMAn IN 2026

I’ve been practising yoga for 21 years. In that time I’ve seen huge changes in the way people approach yoga. Both as yoga students and also the studios.

When I first started practising in London, yoga studios were booming. Yoga was the hot trend. Celebrities were doing it. Media was talking about it. Especially styles like Bikram and Power Yoga. I got hooked and as you know this practice changed my life dramatically.

Back then we only had Facebook on our computers. Social media was in its infancy. And this was years before society became hooked on smartphone screens and apps and connectivity.

So it felt different showing up to a yoga studio. This was also long before Urban Sports Club and Class Pass. Most of us would become members of a studio and become very loyal to their teachers. You would recognise familiar faces in every class. Slowly staring to make friends and connections and feel part of the community of the studio. The changing rooms and waiting areas would be filled with laughter and chat and gossip and excitement for the next class. I loved every part of this. Now many students walk into class, scan the QR code to sign in, do the practice, and then leave with their phone in their hand.

In my early yoga years, we all of course came to class for personal reasons. The usual stuff. We wanted to get stronger, discover who we are, find meaning and purpose in our lives, ease the pain of the past, lessen the anxiety of the future. And grow our practice so that we could feel confident moving through the world as ourselves. If you were lucky to find a good studio with inspiring teachers, every class you were reminded that we are there to support each other, to grow together, to share the burdens we carry through life, to heal together, to lift each other up. It very much felt like a collective effort and community.

Over time I’ve noticed this change. Many students use Urban Sports Club and Class Pass and drop into different studios and teachers around town. Very few pay for monthly memberships and remain loyal to the same studio. Which makes it very difficult to cultivate togetherness, continuity, and community.

We live in an age of hyper individuality and connectivity. And something the wellness industry gets wrong is focusing too much on the individual journey. If you are practicing yoga for yourself, and only focusing on our own healing, and your own personal journey, you’re missing the point, and so many of the life changing benefits and teachings of this practice.

This is the age of the individual. Social media has completely changed our relationship to ourselves, to community, and to the world. I’ve definitely fallen into this trap also. Becoming too focused on my own journey, and losing the bigger picture - that we are all connected, our most basic needs are survival, safety, and belonging. We can’t do it alone. We need to feel connected, we need to feel like we belong, we need to feel welcome in community.

I’ve also noticed a change in my teaching over the years. Especially on retreat. In the early years it was to bring people together to celebrate life with joy and appreciation. To learn practices that help us to grow and to heal. 10 years ago we were all still familiar with gathering as humans without the saturation of screens and notifications and apps and social media.

In the past 10 years technology has dramatically changed our lives. In many miraculous ways. But with all this information, all these opportunities for experience and connection, are we any happier? Do we feel more fulfilled? Do we feel clearer on our purpose in life. Or do we just feel more anxious and alone?

I realised that my priorities were shifting in the way I organised retreats. And that actually the main focus of our time together was to help participants to remember what it feels like to be human again, in a world filled with technology that demands their attention.

I noticed that people (myself included) were so overwhelmed by the modern world, that they needed a structured space to rest, reset, and to detox from modern life. Thankfully, this is not complicated, it’s actually very simple! Switch off devices, slow down, get still, eat well, do yoga, watch the sunrise, watch the sunset, sleep well, do yoga, play games, spend time alone, read a book, sing songs, dance sober, it’s not rocket science. And very quickly you see people’s energy shift, they get brighter and more alive. As their human nature starts to return.

I was thrilled this week to read about the Meta and YouTube being found liable for intentionally making addictive products that harmed people. Hundred of millions of dollars in fines, which is nothing to them, but this is just the start.

I have been saying for years that Big Tech will have its moment like Big Tobacco did in the 90s. There will be a public reckoning with huge fines and legislation that requires them to change the design. We have been the guinea pigs, the canaries in the coal mine. And we are suffering the consequences. Human attention was intentionally manipulated and monetised. And we’re struggling individually and societally as our mammal brains are not evolved to cope. We’re losing our humanity.

So how to counter this in the modern world? Here are my suggestions

• Join a community or create your own. Around a hobby, spiritual tradition, or whatever else that looks like to you. But where participation does not depend on payment or buying a ticket for an experience. A community where you have to self organise together. And the focus is for the greater good of the community and not profit or reputation. Community is hard work and stressful. But in a hyper individualistic world it’s essential to remember our humanity, and what’s important in life. And working together makes us feel like we belong, and reminds os of our place in the world. And can be filled with moments of deep joy, purpose and gratitude. In my life this is the Radical Faerie Community which I give significant time to over the year.
  
  

• Is there a place in your life where you can sit around a fire and sing songs, share stories, or just sit in silence? If not - make one! Humans have been sitting around fires for thousands and thousands of years. Fire is the element of transformation. Fire brings us together in community. When you sit under the stars around a fire, with fellow humans, the cells of your body remember something ancient. There is a wisdom and intelligence there that is timeless. Staring into the fire will ease pain, quieten confusion, allow emotions to flow and be expressed. And time around the fire is spontaneous. It can be hilarious and loud. It can be quiet and introspective. It can be musical. It can be whatever you want it to be.
  
  

• Sing in a group. Dance sober. Play games. Learn new hobbies. Simple, satisfying, pleasurable, human activities that bring us together. There is a deep reason why music and dance and games play such a central role in my retreats. They are an ancient and effective way of bringing us together, where we can be ourselves, and be present, and get to know ourselves and each other. Life is complicated. Our journey is complicated. Emotions and thoughts are complicated. Group activities like this remind us to keep things simple, to appreciate life.
  
  

• Prioritise small talk! Talk to strangers. This is a funny one. Especially in spiritual communities there can be an aversion to small talk. I don’t want o talk about bla bla nonsense that doesn’t matter, I just want to talk about trauma and my pain and the real shit. That’s the important stuff. I have been like this myself in the past! There is a time and a place for deep conversations and for emotional honesty and vulnerability. But not at the expense of spontaneous interactions with people in our lives or strangers. Why? When we embrace the art of small talk we are present and looking to connect with the world around us. Who is this person in front of you? What can you do or say in 30 seconds that will put a smile on their face, surprise them, or teach them something new. What opportunities and possibilities could emerge through having the courage to talk with a random stranger. Not knowing what;’s going to happen but trusting your instincts. How often do you sit on the train and observe the whole carriage including yourself just staring down at a phone? How many real life connections have been sacrificed because we’re too distracted by screens. Talking to strangers and celebrating small talk, is a beautiful and simple way to embrace the flow of life. To embrace reality just as it is. And to be open to whatever surprises the universe may have in store. It also makes us feel human. We feel seen, we feel heard, we feel accepted, we feel like we belong.
  
  

• And of course go to yoga. Go to yoga to invest time in your personal practice. To honour your healing journey. To make peace with yourself. And to live a life of meaning and authenticity. But remember that you can’t do it alone. And you are never alone in your fears and anxieties. Every single person in the room, including the teacher, is not so different to you and has their own struggles. Go to yoga for personal reasons, but also know that just by showing up, your presence is a gift to everyone else. That the power of yoga is collective practice. Talk to the teacher. Talk to the other students. Find a studio and teachers that know how to truly cultivate community.

I feel like this topic is especially important now, as we move into the AI era. Which will transform everything in ways that we can’t even imagine. But no technology can ever replace our ancient need for survival, safety, and belonging. This means real world human connection. True community. Spaces and people where we can be ourselves and where we can belong. Thankfully, no matter how advanced technology gets, the path to feeling human again will always remain, very simple.