32: Persuasive Technology: An Important Conversation Between Yogis

This special episode of the Yoga Inspiration Podcast is going to feel like a conversation between friends. I have a lot of things on my mind since publishing my brand new book, Get Your Yoga On, and I feel like it's getting harder and harder for us to talk to one another with compassion. Studies show that bad news travels faster than good news. And, unfortunately, the algorithms in our social media accounts are designed to capture our attention and draw us in. This is why the bad news shows up at the top of our newsfeeds way more often.  Every time you react to these negative posts, the more the algorithm thinks that's what you like and will keep showing you more. This kind of persuasive technology is what I'm discussing in this episode, and I want to help my fellow yogis gain consciousness over the information we're consuming online. Negativity bias is real. It's a biological inheritance from a time when it was really important to amplify negative experiences. This makes sense when it was protecting us from predators, but in this modern hi-tech world it means that our brain is going to remember the worst things without letting us focus on the moments that make us happiest. I do not doubt that this is why we have so much negativity in the world right now. I know that if we took a moment, took a breath, before responding or reacting to a negative encounter - online or off - we might have a little more compassion for one another.  This is why shadow work is so important. Bringing up things that make you uncomfortable teaches you how to be compassionate toward yourself, which is a call for healing. It's a powerful thing to be able to recognize and forgive negativity in yourself, and even more so when you can apply this same compassion to others.  As yogis we are called to embrace compassion and love. The emotional labor of our practice teaches us how to use compassion to improve ourselves on emotional and spiritual levels. I am asking you now to apply this same compassion to those around you.  I'm ending this episode with a special metta practice designed to tap into this compassion. I see the good in you, and I see the potential goodness that can be throughout the world through us. Please take this metta practice to heart and grow your light big enough to embrace, understand, and help others through their own pain. If you're a practicing yoga student, please share a bit of your yoga journey with me - the good and the bad. I want to talk with you about it so send me an email at [email protected] and tell me - what does yoga mean to you? You could be invited to guest spot on The Yoga Inspiration Podcast with Kino MacGregor! Stay connected: @kinoyoga and @omstarsofficial View my teaching schedule, blogs, etc on Kinoyoga.com Get your free 30 day membership on Omstars.com& use code: PODCAST