#178 Cutting the Digital Cord
How Deactivating Instagram feels like a Reset for My Brain, My Nervous System & My Recovery
I deactivated my personal Instagram account this afternoon.
It honestly felt like a cord was cut between my brain and my phone.
The sensation reminded me instantly of the cord cutting meditation I used to guide so often (here’s the link if you’ve never done it with me:)
(Btw, I searched myself on YouTube today and found ten different versions of that same meditation recorded over the years — a reminder of just how much I loved that practice and how often I offered it!)
But this time, the cord wasn’t an energetic visualization - it was a literal cord being cut.
And it went straight into my nervous system.
A Year of On–Off Detoxing
I’ve been aware for a long time that Instagram had taken over more space in my mind than felt healthy. I spent a lot of 2025 detoxing from social media — including a 30-day (which became 60-day) break I took with my community back in January. That was the first time I clearly named Instagram for what it had become for me: an addiction.
Many people in that group stayed off social media long-term, and some only stayed off a few days, before going back on. I suppose it’s like any sober group: some of the group remains sober, some return to alcohol or moderation. It’s a personal journey for everyone! I bounced in and out - with my business being so deeply tied to connecting to people on social media, I spent some months on, some months off - but the pattern was undeniable:
when I’m off Instagram, my entire nervous system exhales.
I feel clearer. I create more. I’m alive inside my own life again.
Why Taking a Break is So Healing…
Instagram’s effect on the brain is almost identical to substances like alcohol. Dopamine spikes occur every time you check notifications, scroll, or post. The brain begins to anticipate the reward, increasing cravings. Over time, the dopamine receptors down-regulate, meaning it takes more scrolling to feel the same tiny hit. When you stop, the brain initially panics - then stabilizes into a calmer, more regulated baseline.
This mirrors alcohol addiction so closely that neuroscientists call it behavioural dopamine cycling.
The pattern is the same:
Trigger → craving → ritual → reward → crash → repeat.
From a yogic perspective, Patanjali names this pattern raga: the klesha or cause of suffering that pulls us into unconscious repetition. When the object of attachment is removed, we remove the cravings, we remove the vrittis, we remove the karma (action) to use the substance or object, and we remove the samskara (the impression it leaves). Then the mind experiences nirodha: space, stillness, clarity.
Today, when I deactivated the app, I felt a shift immediately.
Like a klesha dissolving. Like a samskara losing its charge. Like sobriety.
Tonight, I was happy to be invited to sing with my teacher at a cafe in Ubud. This was my last kirtan before my ten day vipassana starting tomorrow. When the kirtan began this evening, I found myself unexpectedly emotional - almost overwhelmed. At first I didn’t understand why, but now I can see it clearly: it was a wave of digital withdrawal moving through my system. Addiction researchers say that withdrawal from dopamine-based habits often begins within the first 30 minutes to three hours after stopping the behaviour, and the timing matched almost exactly — it was about one to two hours after I deactivated Instagram. My brain felt flooded and raw. Removing the constant micro-stimulation of scrolling creates an abrupt drop in dopamine, which can feel like sadness, overwhelm, or even grief. And because kirtan is such a heart-opening practice, bhakti, it became the perfect space for that emotional release. It actually felt like my nervous system was recalibrating in real time: the old pattern dissolving, a new spaciousness emerging.
As we got to the end of the kirtan tonight, my brain felt quieter. I didn’t get the usual egoic dopamine jolt when I saw people filming.
In the past, being filmed while singing created a chain reaction in my mind:
Is it flattering → should I post it → who viewed it → why didn’t that person view it/like it/repost it → what does it mean?
Tonight, the chain wasn’t there. I was simply singing from the heart.
That’s what deactivation does.
It breaks the loop.
A Text From My ITAA Friend
I texted a friend from the ITAA (Internet and Tech Addicts Anonymous) group in Ubud to tell him I deactivated Instagram - and he reminded me how huge this step is. He’s right — I’ve never actually deactivated my account in all the years I’ve cycled through addiction with it.
The act of pressing deactivate was a boundary.
A form of abhyāsa - disciplined practice.
A moment of vairāgya - detachment.
The Return of My Brain
Within a few hours of deactivating Instagram, I finished tasks I’d been procrastinating for months: paperwork for my Bali accountant, payments, documents, all done in an hour. I created the sign-up page for a new January program (more info at the bottom!). I drafted emails. Ideas poured through me.
When I stop flooding my brain with micro-stimuli - reels, stories, people’s lives, people’s opinions - the mental fog lifts.
This is exactly what sobriety from alcohol felt like.
The mind becomes a place where thoughts can actually land.
Preparing for Vipassana
Tomorrow I fly to Java for my 10-day Vipassana retreat. I genuinely felt like I couldn’t go if my Instagram was still active — that’s how fused my nervous system has been with the app.
I was terrified this morning. I almost backed out, researched other retreats that wouldn’t require total silence from me for ten days, even texted my psychic. But eventually I recognized the truth:
Structure is what I need.
Simplicity is what I need.
A break from stimulation is what I need.
And deactivation is part of that preparation.
The Social Media Sabbatical (January 2026)
I’m excited to be running another digital detox experience in January, like last year - but this time with even more structure!
I want to provide you with tools and structured support in a social media time away. Last year I was fumbling along with it (because I was figuring it out too!) This year, I realize what I really needed last year when I did my social media detox in January - and I want to offer it to you!
The Social Media Sabbatical
A 30-day slow, intentional reset for your brain, nervous system, and relationship with technology.
Free participation in the 3-Day How to Meditate course on Jan 1-3 to get you set up with a solid practice to carry you through the month off
Weekly circle calls on Thursday Nights North America/Friday morning Bali - check-in, meditation, discussion on the book study
Daily emails with science + yoga philosophy on tech addiction
A WhatsApp group of support from others who are also taking a month off social media in January
Upcoming Online Offerings
I have a selection of online offerings right now. (With the exception of me taking the next two weeks off for my Vipassana!) Here’s where you can find me…
💗 Monday Mornings Bali (Sunday Evenings North America) - starting Dec 22
Bali Bhakti Flows (Asana Classes)
Included in the Bali Bhakti Bundle. Series 2 Starts Dec 22, Join us here. In this series, will meet Hanuman, Krishna, Rama & Sita and Shiva.
🧘♀️ January 1–3 — How to Meditate (3-Day Course)
Free for Social Media Sabbatical, Sutra Study, Gita participants. Also free for anyone who has taken the program before as a refresher, and free for any of my retreat/YTT guests! Join us here.
📘 Tuesday Mornings (Monday Nights for North America) - starting Jan 6
Bhagavad Gita Studies: This will be the only time I teach this text live. Sign up here.
📜 Thursday Mornings (Wednesday Nights for North America) - starting Jan 22
Yoga Sutra Studies A hybrid course with on-demand teachings + 10 live sessions over five months. Sign up here.
✨ Friday Mornings (Thursday Nights for North America) - starting Jan 1
Open community offering space. Every month I will have a different offering in this time! In January: The Social Media Sabbatical circle + book study. Join the Social Media Sabbatical here
Upcoming YTTs & Retreats
Reminder: there is one spot left in my next 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training in March (the first one in the villa, Mindful Bali! I would LOVE for it to be you joining us.
Early bird discount ($200 off) ends December 15, 2025.
If your heart is calling you to Bali — maybe it’s for you.
You can save your spot here.
You’ve got this ❤️