Preface

"What is the meaning of life?" a yogi was once asked. He smiled and replied, "It is the sweet smell of jasmine blowing in the wind."

My dog, Mo, a whirlwind of fur and unbridled joy, hung his head out the car window, tongue flapping in the breeze like a jubilant flag. Eyes squinting against the rushing air, he wore an expression of pure canine ecstasy, a living testament to the simple pleasures of existence.

We strive to mold our dogs into obedient companions, teaching them to sit, stay, and fetch. But in the process, we often forget that they already embody a profound wisdom—a natural rhythm of threat, motion, and ease—that we humans have lost touch with. They know how to respond to threats without getting caught up in stories. They know how to move through emotions and return to a state of calm, maybe even with a good shake. Mo knows ease.

We, however, have become entangled in a different cycle: threat, distraction, dis-ease. Our relentless pursuit of comfort and control has led us down a path of chronic stress and disconnection. We've traded the simple wisdom of our bodies for the relentless chatter of our minds, the sweet smell of jasmine for the artificial glow of our screens.

This book is an invitation to reclaim our innate wisdom, and to rediscover the effortless joy that exists within each of us. It's a guide to unwinding the biology of threat, to embracing the natural rhythm of your being, and to dancing freely with the ever-changing flow of life.

This is not a journey to a distant destination, but a homecoming from the illusions that keep us bound to suffering. It's about returning to truth, to the innate wisdom that resides within your very cells. True ease is not something to be achieved, but something to be reclaimed.

As you turn these pages, may you find the same simple joy that the yogi found in becoming Mo, with his head out the car window, fur ruffled by the wind, basking in the sweet smell of jasmine.