In this YogaScussion, author and former Northwestern professor Michael McColly shares how yoga became his anchor after an HIV diagnosis, transforming his practice into a path of care, embodiment, and connection. He discusses teaching yoga to people living with HIV across continents, weaving mindful movement with creative writing to help students feel their words in their bodies. Michael explores walking meditation as urban pilgrimage through his latest book, Walking Chicago's Coast, a 63-mile journey from his doorstep to the Indiana Dunes that blends memoir, environmental witness, and place-based awareness. Discover how walking cultivates perception, sensing history in the land, and developing empathy for body and others. Learn about yoga as care, the power of intention in practice, and how simple acts of walking can become moving asana that connects us to place, community, and the sacredness of everyday life.
Key Topics
- Michael's journey from HIV diagnosis to finding yoga as agency, community, and spiritual practice
- Teaching yoga to people living with HIV across Africa, Asia, and the U.S. as an act of care and empowerment
- Weaving yoga with creative writing to help students cultivate embodied, sensory-rich prose through body awareness
- Walking Chicago's Coast: a 63-mile urban pilgrimage blending memoir, environmental witness, and walking meditation
- How walking cultivates perception, empathy, and connection to place as an extension of yoga practice
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About YogaScussion: YogaScussion is a dynamic podcast that goes far beyond the yoga mat. Each episode brings together passionate practitioners, teachers, experts, and thought leaders from various backgrounds to dive deep into the rich, nuanced world of yoga. Hosted by Brendon Orr and Gina Clingerman, the show explores yoga’s intersection with philosophy, wellness, culture, personal growth, and social issues. Expect authentic, thought-provoking discussions, personal stories, and insights that challenge and expand your understanding of what yoga has meant in the past and what it means today. In each episode of YogaScussion, Gina and Brendon are joined by guests and paid member listeners to share in a collective discussion about what yoga is, what it’s not, what it was, what it wasn’t, what it is becoming, and what it can be.
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Chapters
- (00:00:05) - Yoga is stillness, awareness
- (00:00:45) - Michael McCauley On Walking Chicago's Coast
- (00:02:18) - How Yoga Changed My Life
- (00:11:36) - In the Elevator With Yoga
- (00:13:52) - In the Body as Poet
- (00:19:07) - The Walk Around Lake Michigan
- (00:24:40) - What Could a Walking Practice Teach Us?
- (00:29:07) - You're Bringing Honor to the Land
- (00:35:20) - The Yoga Walk Through Chicago
- (00:43:17) - A Lesson on Yoga
- (00:47:40) - Yoga Discussion