The short version: Yoga and psilocybin mushrooms have helped me change my life for the better.

The longer version: Depression and anxiety have been my lifelong companions. In my 20s, I started practicing yoga and found that it alleviated my depression and anxiety symptoms. When I was practicing yoga frequently, I felt more alive, was a kinder person and drank less alcohol.

In 2020, I went to my doctor with intense depression and anxiety. She recommended I increase the Zoloft I’d been on since age 15. While I was partly thankful for this antidepressant that helped me get out of bed and function under the demands of capitalism, I also thought: So do I keep increasing it every time I can’t deal?

Instead, I decided to try something I’d been reading new research about — a psilocybin mushroom journey. I paused the Zoloft (which blocks the psychedelic effects of mushrooms), set my intentions and prepared (sort of). I ended up having the most amazing, wholesome homecoming. I felt that I was waking up and remembering something I had forgotten — something we all know but keep forgetting. I felt completely connected with God. Putting it into words is hard and sounds sort of obnoxious, so I won’t try here.

But this earth medicine taught me so many powerful lessons that day, and I was humbled, honored and desperate not to fall back asleep in the story. I wanted to be fully awake in my life. 

The following December, I decided to work with a friend who had recently become a guide. To prepare for my guided journey with him, I began microdosing, which he helped me use properly. Afterward, I learned the importance of integration — applying my insights, lessons and experiences from the journey into my everyday life. Since that beautiful and sacred experience, I’ve continued to work with mushrooms and have explored other entheogenic medicines.

Wanting to share the gifts I’ve received, I started studying how to responsibly be present for others who decide to work with psychedelic medicine. I’ve trained with Sarah Hope and mentored with Root Fork Medicine. Now I’m holding space for those interested in remembering what they already know.

Everyone’s experience with the medicine is different, and this is just my story. But learning to work respectfully and mindfully with psilocybin mushrooms alongside my yoga practice has allowed me to be more present in my life.