Michael McColly | YogaScussion | Ep. 16
In this YogaScussion, author and former Northwestern professor Michael McColly shares how yoga became his anchor after an HIV diagnosis, transforming his practice into a path of care, embodiment, and connection. He discusses teaching yoga to people living with HIV across continents, weaving mindful movement with creative writing to help students feel their words in their bodies. Michael explores walking meditation as urban pilgrimage through his latest book, Walking Chicago’s Coast, a 63-mile journey from his doorstep to the Indiana Dunes that blends memoir, environmental witness, and place-based awareness. Discover how walking cultivates perception, sensing history in the land, and developing empathy for body and others. Learn about yoga as care, the power of intention in practice, and how simple acts of walking can become moving asana that connects us to place, community, and the sacredness of everyday life.
Key Topics
- Michael’s journey from HIV diagnosis to finding yoga as agency, community, and spiritual practice
- Teaching yoga to people living with HIV across Africa, Asia, and the U.S. as an act of care and empowerment
- Weaving yoga with creative writing to help students cultivate embodied, sensory-rich prose through body awareness
- Walking Chicago’s Coast: a 63-mile urban pilgrimage blending memoir, environmental witness, and walking meditation
- How walking cultivates perception, empathy, and connection to place as an extension of yoga practice