I ended my year the way I started, which is in a semi-hibernation state that spans the winter solstice. In between, I had the pleasure to teach, meet new yoga communities, travel, and take my time with my own practice. Here are some favorites .

The Release of Studies that Don’t Verify the Hypothesis

Imagine devising a study to prove a correlation, securing funding and conducting perhaps months of research, all to conclude that your investigation leads to a blind alley.

Low back pain has been a particular mystery this year, with two studies concluding they didn’t find anything. One attempted a correlation between bulk spinal stiffness and internal spinal stiffness. Another compared musculoskeletal ultrasound and MRI techniques in hopes of identifying muscle atrophy. The former found no correlation, and the latter had partial success.

I’m sure publishing papers like this is a bit of a bummer, but these studies are still invaluable. This process of elimination sheds just as much light on back health as statistically significant findings.

On Muscle by Bonnie Tsui

I’m excited by the popularization of this rich reminder: muscle isn’t just about power or shape; it’s about connection — to breath, to movement, to our biology, to our history, and to the potential for strength and healing at every stage of life.

On Muscle is not as science-based as I expected. The stories span from weightlifting to running, and also deal with the author’s relationship with her father. On Muscle is a reminder that we can make far-reaching associations between movement and the world we move in.

Mindfulness and Complexity Science

Pavel Chvykov’s essay “What if ‘stress reduction’ is the least interesting thing mindfulness does?” is a deep exploration of what science is discovering about sati (smṛti in Sanskrit), and how we can expand our concept of mindfulness beyond a one-size-fits-all approach.

Generic alignment in yoga has already been discarded by me and any yoga teacher who understands basic biomechanics. It’s heartening to read that we can begin to shed the concept of generic mindfulness as well.

The Art Islands of Japan

Naoshima and Teshima were highlights of our first ever trip to Japan. Entire islands have been designed as art space. It was amazing to spend a few days in an environment built on human expression and design.

Blue Prince

As a kid, I played the video game Myst with a friend for three days straight. It’s an immersive walk-through where the story developed through solving puzzles. Blue Prince is also in this vein, with exceptional graphics, puzzles, multiple stories and soundtrack.

My Favorite Records

There is always so much great new music being released that it’s hard to keep up, but here are a few gems this year. Will Stratton’s Points of Origin is a modern California folk album that deals with climate change. JID’s God Does Like Ugly was nominated for a Grammy and demonstrates his lyrical prowess, rapping acumen over a dynamic amount of music. Pôt-pot’s Warsaw 480km is krautrock at its finest without sounding rehashed. Ron Gallo’s Checkmate hovers around the songwriting of Paul Westerberg and Sufjan Stevens.