Stress, both as a concept and a phenomenon, is so commonplace these days we could be forgiven for thinking it has always been integral to our vernacular. But this is not the case. In fact, up until the mid 20th century, it was most often used to describe physical breakdown, both in humans and machinery…

The process was the same: receiving the medicine one by one in the circle, light coming from a singular candle and then settling down onto the mattress to the sound of chanting and the rain outside. Once again, after about 30 minutes the medicine kicked in. This was not like the first time…

Out of everything I did on my 10 month sojourn last year, nothing has garnered as much interest or received as many questions as my participation in an Ayahuasca retreat in Peru. This may be because it is a famous and intense hallucinogen, is administered by Shamans or sometimes induces diarrhoea and vomiting on an epic scale…

There are many things I learnt in my time away last year. One of the main benefits of spending an extended period traversing different cultures, countries and continents is not, as some may expect, noting the differences and variety our race has to offer, but in the similarities and consistencies…

It’s easy to think of January 1st as a big thing. As a collective, we have time off work, space to spend with loved ones (or maybe-they’ll-become loved ones), dinners and parties to attend and most of our regular life seems to come to a pause around it…

So often, time moves through and around us in such a subtle way we barely notice it. If you’re anything like me, you perhaps don’t think you age - constantly surprised to find the younger getting older, all the while creeping up in years you hardly feel yourself. Similarly, we put effort into creating something we want in our life…

I had many expectations of this year - something I ironically advise people to avoid. Expectations are not problematic in and of themselves, but it can be very hard to hold them without becoming inexorably attached to them…

Cherry blossoms, or sakura, are one of the most famous sights in a country spoilt for natural beauty. Not only is their opening emblematic of the close of winter – which in much of Japan is long, cold affair – but they are also woven through Japanese history and folklore. Long before Instagram and clever marketing…

Throughout central Japan, there are many signs of winter relinquishing its cold grip to spring. Snow melting to reveal dormant grasses, flowers emerging from bulbs under the earth and of course the famed sakura (cherry blossom) beginning to flower. But there…

There are many links between breath and existence in the teachings of Yoga and Zen. The simplest is this: Inhale = Birth, Exhale = Death

The main lesson I have learnt here – and in Japan in general – is the innate capacity of human beings to somehow make the world more beautiful…

To me, a lot of cities have a similar feel, even if their spirit is different. The following few lines are my (attempted) artistic summation of Tokyo…

There are certain conversations you anticipate when people discover you are going traveling for close to a year. “Where are you going?” “Where are you most excited for?” Others, perhaps naively, took me by surprise. One of the most fascinating to observe…