Hi, I’m Michael.
I teach insight practices — yoga, meditation, and a few less obvious ones — to people building things in leadership and technology.
Handpicked. Curated. No ads. No spam. Cozy and real, made daily by Michael.
Read MichaelFilter
Get the hand-curated daily edition and follow the Journals. No feed, no algorithm, no slop.
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 →
Monday
July 20, 2026
georgetowner.comWaymo Is Rolling Into WashingtonWaymo, Alphabet's autonomous vehicle company, is testing self-driving cars in Washington D.C. with human safety drivers as it prepares to launch driverless ride-hailing services. The District presents unique challenges including unpredictable traffic, protests, motorcades, and complex intersections,✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
Kiss of the Spider Woman: Ashtanga, Authoritarianism and Art
Michael Joel Hall recounts his visit to the Gala Theater in Columbia Heights to watch a Spanish production of ‘Kiss...
Read the essay →Sunday
July 19, 2026
theguardian.comRise in overseas surrogates ‘increases risk of stateless babies’The Hague Conference suspended a 15-year effort to create a global surrogacy convention due to irreconcilable ethical divisions among member states. The lack of international coordination leaves babies born via cross-border surrogacy at risk of 'limping parentage' (different legal parents in differe✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
theguardian.comMajority of US voters link extreme weather to climate crisis, study findsA Data for Progress poll finds 61% of likely US voters believe extreme weather has increased over the past five years, including 46% of Republicans. Heatwaves show the strongest climate-change link (67% overall, 48% of Republicans), and 88% support employer heat protections for outdoor and indoor wo✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
scientificamerican.comAmerica is embarking on a risky experiment with GLP-1s and agingGLP-1 drugs like Wegovy are increasingly prescribed to older adults for weight loss, but clinical trials underrepresent people over 65, leaving major gaps in safety and efficacy data. Side effects such as muscle loss, dehydration, and drug interactions pose heightened risks for seniors, and function✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
tricycle.orgEquanimity in PracticeThe four immeasurables (loving-kindness, compassion, rejoicing, equanimity) are foundational Buddhist practices that counter the five poisons (pride, jealousy, desire-attachment, ignorance, aversion). Longchenpa recommends starting with equanimity to develop impartiality, noting that friend/foe dist✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
bbc.co.ukWhy the World Cup half-time show may be a taste of things to comeFIFA is introducing a 25-minute half-time show at the 2026 World Cup final featuring Madonna, Shakira, BTS, and Justin Bieber—the first in tournament history. The extended break exceeds the standard 15-minute limit and has sparked debate about whether adding entertainment spectacle to football match✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
wtop.comTaylor Farms recalls lettuce shipped to 27 states over cyclospora riskTaylor Farms recalled iceberg lettuce shipped to 27 states due to cyclospora contamination linked to a multistate outbreak. The parasite, transmitted through fecal-contaminated water used in irrigation or washing, has sickened over 1,645 people in 2025. The recall follows identification of Mexican-s✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
Uncanny Valley | WIREDWhy Apple Sued OpenAI; New York Takes On Data Centers; Cyclosporiasis OutbreakA tightly argued triple-header on OpenAI's legal and political fractures, the data center backlash as emerging electoral fault line, and a genuinely alarming parasitic outbreak tied to CDC staffing cuts — each thread has real stakes and sharp takes.✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50"Week Notes"
"Month Notes" → Whats out there? I found week notes with the old drawer wired up.
Feed List: Needs a "CLEAR" button for unread RSS thats not interesty.
In correspondance, the buttons inside the "reply in Inc" Modal need to be at the top of the Modal, to avoid Hiding them while writting
On Correspondance: After Replying card should indicate you have replied.
Lasso crashed Notes when selected for Modal. First it left a pen mark while lasso was selected.
Boards look great!! However individual cards won't pop up. It freezes a loading.
Equity in the Practice Room
A student in the front row can't hinge forward. She's seated, legs extended, trying to reach toward her feet. Her pelvis won't move. Her spine is rounding from the base. Her face is doing the thing faces do when the body refuses and the person…
Read the essay →
Yoga for Anxious Teens
A Georgetown University review found that mindfulness and yoga improved mental health in anxious teens, with researchers recommending these practices be tried before medication.
Read the essay →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
A daily email on consciousness, leadership, technology, and practice. No fluff. Unsubscribe anytime.
Recent Writing
Fresh off the press.
Get in Touch
Questions, collaborations, speaking, coaching inquiries — send a note.
