#169 Practice, Philosophy and Presence
How Meditation, Patanjali & My Social Media time off became my real post-traumatic growth
Is it post-traumatic growth?
Is it 365 days of meditation?
Is it my social-media detox?
Or is it my obsession with Patañjali?
Maybe it’s all of it.
Over the last year, I’ve written often about how much I’ve changed since the incident that happened in February - and how I’ve called it post-traumatic growth.
But lately, I’ve been realizing that what’s shifted in me goes far beyond that event.
My entire way of being has changed over the last calendar year.
The Power of Practice
This week, I officially completed my online Meditation Teacher Training.
I’m approaching a full year of daily practice - forty minutes every day. (If I hadn’t taken a week off at Christmas, I’d already be at 365, but… that’s life!)
Practicing Mantra Meditation has been life-changing. Choosing one technique and going deep with it has been life-changing.
Halfway through my training course, my teacher began describing the long-term effects of consistent meditation, and I had this moment of realization: everything I’ve been calling “post-traumatic growth” could just as easily be called “the fruit of meditation.”
I’m less reactive.
Less interested in juggling endless commitments.
More confident in my worth as a human being.
Less attached to the rollercoaster - and more content to simply watch it pass.
As I learned more about the science of meditation, it all made sense.
Meditation rewires the brain: it increases grey-matter volume, improves blood flow, lowers cortisol, boosts serotonin and dopamine, strengthens the immune system, slows aging, and trains the nervous system to rest and recover.
But the most profound benefits aren’t just physical. Meditation stabilizes emotions, increases compassion, heightens creativity, and reconnects us with our natural state - calm, clear, and capable.
The Power of Presence
Alongside my meditation journey, I spent much of this year off social media — which is why I started this Substack in the first place.
Stepping away from the scroll gave me space to feel my own mind again.
When I’m not on socials, here’s what I notice:
Mental Clarity & Nervous-System Healing – My mind quiets, my focus deepens, and my stress response softens.
Enhanced Creativity & Intuition – Without constant comparison, my own ideas start flowing again.
Better Sleep, Mood & Energy – Less blue light, fewer dopamine crashes, and more steady peace.
Deeper Presence & Authentic Connection – Real conversations replaced comments. I feel more alive in my relationships, my teaching, and my self.
Lately I’ve been back online a little - supporting my team as we launch the Instagram for Mindful Bali — but I can feel the difference instantly. My sleep suffers. My creativity dims. My wellbeing dips. I’m working on an exit strategy very soon…
The Power of Philosophy
And then, there’s Patanjali.
I’ve now taught the Yoga Sutras eighteen, nineteen, maybe twenty times — and somehow, I am still learning about this text.
Each sutra points me back to the same truth I discover in meditation and in my offline life.
Master the Mind – The Sutras offer a precise map of consciousness, teaching us how to witness thought instead of being ruled by it.
Deepen Meditation – Every line points toward nirodha, the quieting of the mind’s waves.
Transform Samskaras – Through svadhyaya (self-study), tapas (discipline), and isvara-praṇidhana (surrender), we begin to rewrite the stories that keep us stuck.
Live with Purpose, Clarity & Grace – These teachings guide us back to alignment with our highest Self — to peace, presence, and dharma.
Weaving It All Together
So maybe it’s not just post-traumatic growth.
Maybe it’s practice, philosophy, and presence.
Meditation changed my brain.
Social-media breaks healed my nervous system.
And Patanjali gave me the language for both.
Together, they’ve become the foundation for something new — something I’ll be working on (and living) for the rest of the year - and launching towards the end of the year. I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT IT!
It’s not quite ready yet, but it’s forming.
A project that weaves together daily meditation, yogic philosophy, and digital detox into a path of living yoga.
Stay tuned - I’ll be sharing more soon as it unfolds.
Practice. Philosophy. Presence.
Maybe post-traumatic growth is just what happens when we finally stop running from ourselves — and sit still long enough to meet what’s been there all along.