Hi, I’m Michael.
I teach insight practices — yoga, meditation, and a few less obvious ones — to people building things in leadership and technology.
Get a daily digest from my shala in Washington, DC on practice, leadership, and technology.
About
Twenty years teaching yoga, running a studio, and thinking about what insight practices actually do. They sharpen attention — and attention is the bottleneck on every hard problem, personal or professional. I write about that intersection, work one-on-one with leaders and builders, and run The Yoga Club in D.C.
Open the full Journal & Field Ledger →
Sunday
June 28, 2026
wtop.comHumor laurels for comedian Bill Maher as the Kennedy Center navigates Trump-era upheavalComedian Bill Maher will receive the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center, an event happening amid significant institutional upheaval after President Trump installed allies on the board and attempted to close and rename the venue. Maher's selection is notable given his long, con
akrites.orgWe All Depend on Open Source. We Will Defend It TogetherAn open letter from the technology industry, and the launch of Akrites - a coordinated effort to remediate vulnerabilities in the open source software the world runs on.
experimental-history.comReading the news is the new smokingI quit. I feel great. You can too.
newscientist.comRead an extract from Slow Gods by Claire NorthThe New Scientist Book Club’s read for July is Claire North’s space opera Slow Gods. In this extract from its second chapter, we learn about the upbringing of its protagonist on the planet Tu-mdoSaturday
June 27, 2026
washingtonian.comMap: Navigating the National MallYour guide to road closures, fences, bathrooms, water fountains, and more.
popville.com“D.C. Police Agree To Compensate District Resident Handcuffed for Playing Star Wars “Imperial March” Theme Near National Guard Troops”photo by Diane Krauthamer From the DC ACLU: "The District of Columbia has agreed to pay to settle a First Amendment lawsuit, brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of the District of Columbia (ACLU-D.C.), on behalf of Sam O’Hara, a D.C. resident who was handcuffed for playing the "Imperial March" from Star Wars while
lionsroar.comHow to Speak Up in Difficult MomentsA Buddhist practitioner recounts standing with interfaith clergy outside an LA detention center during ICE actions, speaking unprepared to riot-geared LAPD officers about the fear he sensed in them. He traces how the Eightfold Path, particularly Wise Speech and sila, helped him move past lifelong co
lionsroar.comUsing Heartbreak as PracticeA Latina Buddhist practitioner reflects on the bodhisattva vow through the story of Chenrezig shattering at the world's suffering. She argues that genuine practice should break us open in response to injustice like ICE raids, and warns against spiritual bypassing that hides behind concepts like equa
mexiconewsdaily.comWhy is Mexican candy both sweet and spicy? The answer might surprise youWhy is so much of Mexican candy not only sweet but spicy? The reason is chamoy, a local adaptation of a foreign fruit snack.
toddhargrove.substack.comWalkingChapter 9 of Healthy Movements for Human Animals
washingtonian.comI Went to Trump’s Great American State Fair. It Was Bleaker Than I Expected.Opening day of the Freedom 250 event in DC was sparsely attended and shockingly boring.
popville.comJUST IN: Action at the Atlantic Plumbing Movie Theatre in Shaw!2112 8th Street, NW Thanks to Jay for sending: "New chairs at Atlantic Plumbing movie theater Shaw" Nice!
wtop.comCityCenterDC unveils new public art exhibit: Urban Living RoomsOn Friday, city officials and leaders of the D.C. arts community gathered at CityCenter DC to unveil a brand new public art exhibit called “Urban Living Rooms.”
strongerbyscience.comHold Still: What Does the Evidence Actually Say About Isometric Training for Strength and Hypertrophy?Isometric training has long been thought to be inferior to dynamic training, but the current evidence doesn’t support those claims.
newscientist.comCan video games help us better understand quantum mechanics?The world of quantum video games is vast – there are hundreds that are either inspired by quantum mechanics or use quantum computers in their development. Columnist Karmela Padavic-Callaghan explores how these could change our understanding of quantum physics, or even help us make better devices
scientificamerican.comWill humans one day talk to animals? This scientist is bringing us closerJulie Elie has been studying zebra finch vocalizations for years. Now, she has won the Coller-Dolittle Prize for progress toward a world where humans can talk to animals
newscientist.comPhages could enable us to hijack vaccine immunity to kill cancer cellsPhages, viruses that infect bacteria, could be genetically manipulated to destroy cancerous cells using the immunity we have acquired from vaccines
themarginalian.orgKafka’s Approach to Creative Block and the Four Psychological Hindrances That Keep the Gifted from Living Up to Their GiftsThe most paradoxical thing about creative work is that it is both a way in and a way out, that it plunges you into the depths of your being and at the same time takes you out of yourself. Writing i…
toddhargrove.substack.comIs Nociception Required for Pain?Another Unfortunate Semantic Debate
nautil.usHow Fruit Flies Manage Their Exceptionally Long SpermResearchers at the Flatiron Institute used high-speed microscopy and mathematical modeling to study how fruit fly sperm—nearly as long as the fly's entire body—remain orderly inside a hair-thin seminal vesicle. Rather than tangling, the sperm form wave-like collective flows, propelling themselves by
strongerbyscience.comIs the Correlation Between Hypertrophy and Strength Gains Stronger Than We Realized?Hypertrophy probably contributes more to strength gains in new lifters than prior studies suggested … but the relationship is nowhere near as strong as it appears at first glance.
themarginalian.orgMushrooms and Our Search for MeaningThis essay was originally published as the cover story in the Summer 2025 issue of Orion Magazine. “Who are you?” the caterpillar barks at Alice from atop the giant mushroom, and Alice, never quite…
tricycle.orgThe Four Noble Truths of TravelA journalist and food writer provides a summer sojourn-inflected take on the Buddha’s foundational teachings.
newscientist.comSome of the last Neanderthals were surprisingly genetically diverseGenetic analysis of Neanderthals in north-western Europe reveals that this population was surprisingly genetically diverse, hinting that inbreeding didn’t lead to the species' demise
themarginalian.orgYes to Life, in Spite of Everything: Viktor Frankl’s Lost Lectures on Moving Beyond Optimism and Pessimism to Find the Deepest Source of Meaning“Everything depends on the individual human being, regardless of how small a number of like-minded people there is… on each person… creatively making the meaning of life a reality…Practice with us this season
Two ways to go deeper before the year turns — a full Ashtanga study season in DC, and an intimate Mysore retreat on the coast of Mexico.
Self Practice by the Sea
A Mysore retreat on the Riviera Maya.
Four mornings of practice, four nights on the coast, a private home with a rooftop pool. Small on purpose — four spots only.
Ashtanga Study Group
Three series. One room. One season.
Sixteen Tuesday cohort nights and sixteen Sunday all-levels sessions — Primary, Intermediate, and Advanced A, side by side. Choose your cohort.
Books by Michael Joel Hall
Six books on Ashtanga, systems, and the craft of a practice. Functional Ashtanga is free; the rest are $10 each, or all six for $50. EPUB + PDF, instant download.
Functional Ashtanga
The manifesto and the method — the whole project’s front door, built on one principle: agency, not compliance.
Free
Self Practice
The method as a manual — how to build an intelligent, sustainable self-practice from the first breath.
$10
Ashtanga 2.0
The philosophy — a postmodern deconstruction of yoga’s authority, and the grounded mysticism that survives it.
$10
Mechanism, Not Magic
The thinking underneath the practice — yoga as a system for clear, honest leadership on and off the mat.
$10
How to Build a Yoga Club
The playbook for the room itself — how to build a practice space that lasts, without burning out or selling out.
$10
Your Life Is Art
The systems primer — stocks, flows, and feedback loops, and the craft of composing a life.
$10
Press
Interviews, bylines, and the occasional controversy.
What is Ashtanga Yoga? The Benefits of This Challenging Practice
“Ashtanga demands fitness, flexibility, and focus — a calming, yet sweaty form of moving meditation.”
Read →Yoga Teacher Recovers, But Attack Highlights a Job’s Health Care Issue
The catalyst for my ongoing advocacy around economic precarity in the yoga teaching profession.
Read →Building Resilience in This Political Climate
A practice sequence for finding strength and clarity when the news is loud.
Read →Responding to Rand Paul on Free Yoga for Government Employees
“They are in less pain, physically and mentally. They go on and do a better job.”
Read →Does Yoga Really Foster Transformation?
On why I practice — to cultivate the conditions required for transformation.
Read →Mysore, the Place and the Practice
A long conversation with Chris Parkinson about my journey, cross-training, and the trajectory of yoga in D.C.
Listen →The Newsletter
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Recent Writing
Fresh off the press.
Get in Touch
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