We’re Going Unplugged This September (Don’t Panic.)

Yes… we’re asking you to leave your phone outside the yoga room (maybe even in your car, along with your smart watch).

And yes… there won’t be music either.

Before you start wondering if we’ve completely lost it, let us explain! And yes, we’ve also sorta cringed at this idea too at first. This isn’t because we’re anti-technology. We love that our phones let us take photos, order dinner, do the socials, and somehow tell us it’s going to rain in exactly 17 minutes.

But here’s the thing, when was the last time you had an entire hour where absolutely nothing demanded more of your attention? An entire uninterrupted hour working on your well-being?

No texts.

No notifications.

No monitoring or tracking every heartbeat and movement.

No vibrating wrist for whatever reason.

We’ve become so used to constant stimulation, small interruptions and reminders, and short form doses of content, that silence and paying attention for more than 1 minute at a time can actually feel…weird or even difficult.

That’s exactly one huge reason why we’re doing this.

Yoga isn’t about escaping life, it’s about finally paying attention to it. Even the crummy parts. When there isn’t a playlist telling you how to feel or a watch telling you how many calories you’ve burned… something pretty amazing happens. You start noticing yourself. You begin to introspect a little deeper. You stop measuring your practice and start experiencing it. The way yoga was traditionally designed.

Sure, maybe this will make you more distracted in the beginning. But you’ll hear your breath instead of a playlist that may or may not match the sequence or manipulating the mood, you’ll notice your shoulders relax, and savasana somehow feels more restful and complete. You’ll stop wondering who or what is interrupting your yoga practice. And perhaps more importantly, you’ll realize the world kept spinning for an entire hour without you checking your phone.

The habit of protecting where your attention goes starts to build.

And yes, the no music part. This has raised a few eyebrows during our 3 month transition period. Music is wonderful. We actually love music! But it turns out, silence has a lot to say, and a lot to gain from. In many ways yoga is fitness and exercise. But as a studio we strive yoga to be “more” yoga, if that makes any sense. We want to return to the roots of yoga where yoga is a moving meditation of getting to know ourselves better and improve physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally… beyond gym fitness. Where “tuning inward” instead of tuning into the music is a huge part of the practice, instead of trying to escape ourselves via music.

So consider it a daily or weekly mini vacation. One hour no-body and no-thing needs anything from you. Just breathing, moving, and being present. This may be the greatest luxuries left! So this September, we’re inviting you try something that feels surprisingly revolutionary: being unavailable for just one hour to the world.

We think you’ll feel lighter— not because your phone weighs that much, but because your mind does.

Oh and don’t worry, your phone will still be waiting for you afterward. We checked :)