Hey {{first_name|beautiful human}},

Over the past few months, we’ve had the joy of gathering with so many of you in person. From retreats and teacher trainings to festivals and community gatherings, we’ve shared morning practices, long hikes, stargazing, ice baths, nourishing meals, songs around the fire, earth offerings, double rainbows, a solar and lunar eclipse, and quiet moments watching the sun disappear beneath the horizon.

And each time we leave one of these gatherings, we find ourselves returning to the same thought: Humans need more of this!

Somewhere along the way, we seem to have absorbed the idea that independence means needing less from other people. Modern conversations about self-sufficiency and codependency can leave us with the impression that relying on others is a weakness, or that strength means managing everything alone. But, interdependence is one of the most natural and fundamental aspects of being human.

We affect one another constantly through our presence, attention, care, and actions, often in ways we may never fully recognize. We are part of the same living ecosystem, connected to one another and to the natural world that sustains us. Our lives unfold within a vast web of mutual influence. Nothing exists entirely on its own. Our choices and behavior contribute to this delicate balance, reminding us that how we participate in life carries a responsibility extending far beyond ourselves.

And yet, despite our deep connection to nature, many aspects of modern life seem to be moving us further apart.

Technology has brought extraordinary convenience into our lives, and there is so much to appreciate about that. We can work, learn, communicate, and maintain relationships across enormous distances. But somewhere within that convenience, many of the small, spontaneous interactions that once formed the fabric of daily life have quietly begun to disappear.

We can have a meal delivered to our home without speaking to a single person. Attend meetings and trainings without leaving our homes. Send a message instead of hearing a friend's voice. Even dating, once filled with the unpredictability of meeting someone in person, often begins with a few carefully selected photographs and a set of profile answers. Entertainment increasingly comes through a screen, and we can spend hours watching other people explore, create, travel, and live. It is an interesting thing to reflect on: how much time do we spend observing life rather than fully participating in our own? 🤔

Of course, digital connection has its place, and it offers a valuable sense of community that might otherwise be difficult to find (and helps us stay in touch with friends around the globe!) But there are dimensions of being together that are impossible to recreate through a screen. Looking directly into someone's eyes, noticing the subtle changes in their expression, feeling the warmth of their presence, or simply sharing a comfortable silence. These are small, deeply human experiences that nourish something within us. 🤍

There’s something electric about entering a space where people have gathered simply to enjoy being together. You can feel the difference almost immediately. Conversations unfold without urgency, laughter comes more easily, shoulders soften, and strangers begin to feel familiar. For a little while, the usual boundaries between us seem less important. We recognize something of ourselves in the people around us, and remember how natural it feels to belong.

And sometimes, all it takes is a little more willingness to look up, slow down, step out of your comfort zone, and meet one another where we are.

Our work sometimes takes us around the globe, bringing us together with you to practice and connect. This year alone, we’ve brought together Wolfpack family in California, Spain and most recently, London. 🎉

In other seasons, our work is quieter and more solitary: hundreds of hours on a laptop, planning, creating, and filming. We love what we get to share through a screen, but we also feel how essential it is to step away from technology and into spaces where we can connect face-to-face.

For Flo, jiu-jitsu and offering structural integration at his clinic have become meaningful anchors. Teaching, treating, and training bring him into direct connection with others by working with his hands, moving his body, and being fully present with the person in front of him.

For Bre, as Saje gets a little older, more room is opening up for that kind of connection, too: attending fun movement trainings, returning to pole fitness and skating, and finding new places to co-work, and being alongside people exploring, learning, sweating, laughing, and growing together in real time.

Sharing a space invites something that’s hard to recreate through a screen: the lift of someone else’s enthusiasm, the encouragement of moving together, the laughter that unfolds between moments. We leave feeling more connected, more inspired, and often a little lighter. It’s one more way we’re learning to let joy in. 🪄

Perhaps this is why certain gatherings stay with us long after they have ended. We remember the conversations, the laughter, the music, but also the feeling of being fully immersed in an experience alongside other people; we become part of a collective effervescence. 💫

There is a particular beauty in watching adults rediscover their playfulness. People who arrive carrying the weight of responsibilities, expectations, and the countless demands of everyday life gradually begin to soften. Someone starts dancing without worrying how they look. Another joins in. A stranger becomes a friend over a shared meal. There is a willingness to be curious, spontaneous, perhaps even a little ridiculous, that everyday life does not always make room for.

In the Buddhist and Hindu tradition, the Sanskrit word muditā (मुदिता) describes the capacity to experience joy in the happiness of others. It is a beautiful recognition that another person's happiness can become a source of happiness within us, without needing to possess or recreate their experience.

We witness this so naturally in shared spaces. Someone else's laughter makes us smile. Their freedom encourages our own. Their willingness to be open reminds us that we can soften too. Joy moves between people, growing through the simple act of being shared. And perhaps this is part of what we carry home from these experiences. Beyond the memories of what happened, something in us remembers how it felt to be open, connected, and fully participating in life.

This sense of connectedness is also something we deeply value within our Wolfpack community. While gathering in person is irreplaceable, our community spaces let us share experiences, support one another, and feel part of something larger, wherever we are in the world. Our monthly live calls are particularly special, bringing us together across time zones and geographical distances to meditate, reflect, and share moments of silliness. Even while sitting in our own homes, we can experience the warmth of a shared practice, reminding us that meaningful connection can reach far beyond physical proximity. Join us this Friday; we’d love to finally meet you. ☺️🤙 We also have some exciting live events coming up next year as well.

There is some fascinating science behind why being together in person can feel so different from connecting through a screen.

Take eye contact, for example. Research into interpersonal brain synchrony has found that during certain forms of face-to-face interaction, patterns of brain activity between two people can become more synchronized, particularly when they are engaged in shared attention and communication. Eye contact plays an important role in how we recognize emotions, interpret intentions, and establish a sense of connection with another person.

Eye contact has also been studied in relation to oxytocin, often called the "bonding hormone," which is involved in social bonding, trust, and attachment. Although the relationship is complex, research suggests that eye contact and oxytocin can influence one another in certain social contexts. It is fascinating to consider how something as simple as looking into another person's eyes can be part of such an intricate process of human connection.

And while video calls allow us to see and speak to one another across great distances, they rarely recreate the experience of direct eye contact. We are usually looking at someone's image on a screen rather than directly into the camera, which means our gaze doesn't quite meet in the same way.

Our nervous systems are also constantly responding to subtle signals from the people around us: facial expressions, tone of voice, posture, breathing, movement, and the countless small gestures we may barely notice consciously. Through these interactions, we can influence one another's emotional and physiological states, a process often described as co-regulation.

This helps explain why spending time with someone who feels calm, grounded, and present can sometimes leave us feeling more settled ourselves, or why laughter can spread so effortlessly through a room. Shared experiences such as singing, dancing, breathing, moving, or eating together create opportunities for connection through multiple senses, often involving a natural synchronization of attention, movement, and rhythm.

Research on social connection also suggests that meaningful interactions and shared activities can help reduce stress, strengthen feelings of belonging, and support emotional well-being. Beneath the conversations and activities, our bodies and nervous systems are participating in a much richer exchange, responding to one another in ways that extend beyond words. There is something beautiful about recognizing that our capacity for connection is woven into our very physiology, and that simply being present with another human being can influence how we both experience the world.

Lately, we’ve been reflecting on how to bring some of what we experience at festivals, retreats, and shared gatherings into our everyday lives. Because while these bigger events are precious, sacred even, they are also not the everyday. Most of us cannot spend our lives moving from one extraordinary event to another (although we have certainly fantasized about it!)

Joy is abundant in our ordinary lives when we remember that all of life is a live event. This existence is one enormous gathering of people, each soul moving through their own unfolding experience, crossing paths with one another for a brief moment in time. Every conversation, every shared laugh, every unexpected encounter is part of it.

Sisters Nadia and Katia explore the power of looking for and enjoying small but magical, joyful moments in their book ‘Glimmers’. 

What’s a glimmer?

There’s a strange pressure in modern culture to keep chasing bigger experiences, higher highs, and more stimulation. Yet so much of what makes life fulfilling is found in the ordinary moments we so easily overlook. Perhaps we can learn to approach everyday life with some of the same openness we bring to a festival or retreat, arriving with a willingness to participate, to connect, and to be surprised by what unfolds.

Allowing these glimmers of joy to soak in is key to their lasting impact on your inner landscape. Neuropsychologist Dr. Rick Hanson speaks about this beautifully through his H.E.A.L. framework, which is designed to help positive experiences become lasting inner resources instead of fleeting moments.

He explains that the brain naturally clings to negative experiences while allowing positive ones to pass quickly through awareness. One of the simplest ways to change this is to consciously stay with joyful moments for a little longer. To actually feel them. To pause when something good happens instead of immediately rushing on to the next thing. Think of it like hitting the save button.

Maybe that means standing in the sunlight for ten extra seconds, savoring a conversation by putting your phone out of sight, getting on the ground to play with little humans, or really listening to a piece of music instead of letting it play unnoticed in the background. These small pauses give us the opportunity to fully receive an experience before it slips away. A quote we have above our altar is “JOY IS NOW” as it’s a daily reminder to not seek it; for it is always ever-so-present in the now.

Here are your top tips for inviting more joy into your life…