[The Ayahuasca Monologues] •  I cautiously re-opened an eye and watched as I continued to fall apart, piece by piece, until I emerged, finally, as an elaborate cathedral of bone. Think Tim Burton meets Gothic architecture meets the Flintstones.

During an ayahuasca ceremony in the Peruvian Amazon, I was taught a yoga asana lesson by a startlingly large praying mantis-like creature. Now it seems obvious that before there were designer studios and sticky mats, the first yogis took their teachings from plants, animals – and yes, insects. Much like yoga itself, ayahuasca and other plant medicines have the ability to reunite human consciousness with natural and supernatural rhythms. Taken with the correct intention, they can help catalyze a profound shift in our all-too-limited perspective.