Elena Brower: Care Deeply and Hold Nothing

About a decade ago, I was speaking at a Wisdom 2.0 event in New York City. My topic was yoga’s profound influence on Steve Jobs, founder of Apple. I was nervous backstage, so I struck up a conversation with a woman who was leading yoga during the breaks.She had a very deep, grounding presence. Elena also had a striking resemblance to Trinity from the Matrix, actress Carrie-Anne Moss. When I pointed this out, she said, “We get that a lot. Carrie-Anne is one of my closest friends!”Wait, what?For more than 10 years, so many of the roads I travel in the yoga world lead back to Elena Brower. She has built one the largest online platforms, teaching from her home in New Mexico through Glo.You immediately sense Elena is much more interested than the inner journey, rather than outer accomplishments.Our podcast conversation today is about so much more than 27 years of building a body of work and global brand as a yoga and meditation teacher. It’s about the practice of caring deeply at every level, while also letting go of attachment. If you’ve ever meditated for even a minute: you know this isn’t easy.Elena has recently released one of the best books I’ve ever read on conscious living. Hold Nothing is a meditation on every aspect of life, through the lens of letting go. How much easier, more fulfilling, and beautiful could life be if we just let it happen as our true, authentic selves?Listen now on Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Or, wherever elseWe All Live in PolaritiesThere are recurring tensions that show up in our lives and our work. They aren’t problems to solve—these are opposing polarities to navigate. This comes from Barry Johnson’s Polarity Management research.Big polarities in my life show up as: humanity and spirituality, creative input versus output, art versus business. We get stuck in binary thinking. When we practice dancing with both, we keep moving.Today’s themes may be the hardest to hold in our current world: to Care Deeply, AND Hold Nothing.How do you pour everything into your work, your family, your business, your art—and simultaneously release your grip on outcomes? How do you love fiercely without clinging?We all know people who burn out because they can’t stop caring. I’ve coached plenty of leaders who protect themselves by caring less. Neither works. The mastery is in the both/and.My guest has been learning and teaching this polarity for over 25 years.Elena Brower is a mother, mentor, poet, artist, and one of the most celebrated yoga and meditation teachers in the world—guiding transformative practices since 1999.Her debut book Art of Attention has been translated into seven languages. Her bestselling journals Practice You and Being You have become companions for thousands. Her brand new book, Hold Nothing, came out last fall—and it currently goes with me everywhere. Not hyperbole: this book is a complete vibe. Profound wisdom, artistic beauty.Elena hosts the podcast Practice You. She received lay Buddhist vows from Roshi Joan Halifax in 2023. She’s completing chaplaincy training at Upaya Zen Center. She volunteers in hospice and in prisons.And through all of it—the books, the teaching, the service—she’s someone who lives in the delicate balance of caring deeply, while holding nothing. How do we care with everything we have, and hold nothing?Listen now on Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Or, wherever elseListen, Share, and Leave a Review* Listen to the episode above, or wherever else 🎧 (27:42)* The 1-min show trailer is here 🎧* Subscribe and Leave us a Review:Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Or, wherever you listen* Share it with someone who could use reminders to keep going.*Enter to win a free book in the mail with a personal noteConnect with Elena Brower:* Here on Substack* Official book site: Hold Nothing. Upcoming retreats, programs, etc* Order her latest book, Hold Nothing— An Incitation to Let Go and COme Home to YourselfWe’d love your feedback? Anything stick out for you? Get full access to Hell Yeah You Will with Kristoffer Carter at kristoffercarter.substack.com/subscribe