Beyond the Mat: From Individual Practice to Heart-Centered Expression
The Art of Circle’s Origin Story
It began with a question inspired by the waves of Clairsentience exchanged during our Yoga Flows: “What is everyone else working through in their lives?” I wondered.
Anyone who practices Yoga is familiar with the energetic shift that unfolds between arriving to our mat and the final resting pose. We first enter the space a little scattered. Maybe still holding onto stress from the day, tension from driving through traffic, or we’re checking our cell phone notifications right up until we cross the threshold into the studio. Class begins, and we are presented with our first challenge: “Be Here Now,” as Ram Dass says. The most stubborn thought loops finally let go, as the guidance of our teachers cuts through the noise of inner chatter. As we move through the flow, the collective density dissolves, the mental tension eases, and the emotional dimension, while often choppy at the start of practice, settles like a still lake into peace and bliss by the end. We experience a collective and individual release, yet the only one speaking is the teacher.
The only other times I can think of in which I’ve experienced such profound group alchemy through sound and movement is during live concerts. We all journey together to places deep inside ourselves, exploring our inner connection to the vibe, while simultaneously connecting with those around us. This experience is often validated and affirmed during the after party, when we debrief the setlist, express our awe over face-melting jams, and share memories, nostalgia, revelations, and anything else persuaded by the soul’s ignition.
As my Yoga practice was becoming my new inner festival experience, a fully immersive dose in a 75-minute heated flow, my soul ached for the debrief. The after party. The community discussion that solidifies the shared experience, anchoring the roots of whatever mystical journey occurred, in and through the heart’s expression. So I figured, “Why not crystalize a social experience through Cacao Circles?”
The social dimension is just as important to our health and energetic presentation as our physical practice. A healthy social practice expands our ability to communicate and interact with others, enhances our attitude around collaboration, cultivates the presence of desired support networks and culture, exercises our comfort with accountability, and provides access to nurturing relationships. As someone who has taken nearly four decades to find my tribe who gives me the permission to be the human my soul came here to be, I’ve become passionate about social health. Which to me includes allowing our hearts to express directly to the hearts of others, without the limitations often imposed by the rational mind. And ever since March of 2018 when I enjoyed my first cup of KAKAO Drinking Chocolate, my third eye held a vision of how this might be possible.
Cacao Circle at Mati Yoga Studio began as an extension of that vision. We initiated the container as a weekly donation-based offering on Sunday mornings at 8:00 am before Yoga, and through my inner dialogue with Cacao, her Spirit and I decided this would be a one-year commitment. One guest showed up for the first circle. Two guests for the second one. And slowly yet steadily, the space grew. Some weeks, the circle grew so large and vibrant, it became increasingly challenging to close circle before it was time for the 9:30am Yoga class students to enter the room.
Each week as our Yogi family waited so graciously outside the studio doors for us to wrap up circle and collect our altar items, my gratitude for the community and the space grew exponentially. When the one-year commitment reached its conclusion, I decided that the space must continue, though in a way that gives back to the studio more regeneratively.
So the Mati Leadership team and I decided we would transform Cacao Circle into “The Art of Circle” Workshop it has evolved into today.
Extending the duration from one to two hours has carved out a container for deeper shares, as well as a bit more wiggle room for creative exploration. In recent months, the addition of Crystal Singing Bowls tuned to 432 Hz has elevated our meditation, enriching our ability to receive the language of the plants, as Monica Gagliano writes in Thus Spoke the Plant, “by bypassing the household of our mind and directly connecting one spirit to another.”
I consider the plants to be our ancient ancestors, extensions of the Wind, Sun, Water, and Earth. They’ve inhabited this planet much longer than we have, and their root systems though unseen, are felt in how they care for and nurture us. Mother Earth grows a seemingly infinite number of medicines for our healing, and I believe we are only at the beginning of remembering our connection to these plants. To work with them with intention and respect is our birthright.
It's an honor to anchor the roots of the Cacao Tree in and through the walls of Mati Yoga Studio.
Why Cacao as a Ceremonial Guide?:
Cacao is an intelligent plant sentient and ally of galactic proportions. An ancient, heart-opening Spirit who invites us gently into the wisdom of our own tenderness, Cacao softens the noise of the mind, stirs the creative wellspring, and activates our connection to emotion, sensation, intuition, and one another.
Unlike the heavily processed cocoa powders on grocery shelves, the Cacao we serve in ceremonial spaces (aka KAKAO Drinking Chocolate) is wild-crafted and stone-ground using the whole bean, including the potent cacao butter. This preserves its full nutritional essence and allows the plant’s unique alkaloids and bliss compounds to remain intact, supporting emotional exploration, mental clarity, inner peace, and elevated energy without the jitters or crash often caused by caffeine.
KAKAO sources rare and heirloom varieties of Cacao, cultivated through direct relationships with farmers who honor the land, the lineage, and the patient, reverent process of tending to this medicine. Each step of its journey, from seed to cup, is rooted in reciprocity, intention, and care.
In the space of a circle, this plant reminds us how to listen again.
To our hearts. To each other. To the Earth.
Guests have found that the Spirit of Cacao may meet us with a graceful lift in mood, a wave of creative inspiration, a longer thread of focus, a feeling of calm clarity, a sense of deepened connection, and sometimes a whisper from within we didn’t know was waiting to be heard.
To sit with a cup of Cacao is to remember.
To be held.
To be stirred.
To be led home, not by force, but by the warmth of presence.
And to be invited to participate. The prophecy is afoot. Together we join the Eagle & Condor in flight as the Heart of the South dances with the Mind of the North. May we as a community bring balance in and through our bodies, restoring the planet to harmony with each sip.
Scene from Soul Flight Ceremony on July 6, 2025 in Boston during which Tim Morrison led over 150 guests into the heartspace with KAKAO, breath, meditative guidance, and otherworldly Shamanic soundscapes.
Interested in beginning your own personal Cacao practice at home? We recommend our first love: Chuncho Signature Blend from KAKAO. Feel free to use our coupon code COMMUNITY108 for 10% off your first purchase.
And if you’re interested in facilitating Cacao Circles for your community, please know there is no right or wrong way to introduce your kindred spirits and loved ones to this medicine. Sometimes our fear of “doing it wrong” or “being bad at it” can prevent us from taking steps forward. How tragic would it be for such fears to block compassionate humans from co-creating loving nurturing spaces? I’ve been facilitating Cacao Circles for seven years now, and mistakes, slip-ups, embarrassments, and all flavors of cringey moments have been my greatest teachers. At the end of the day, they all point to the same lesson: the moment you hear the call is the moment you say yes to the mission. The path finds us. Everything else is just ego attempting to stay small and hidden. While we can leave the “how” up to the Universe, the “when” is only a matter of time.
If it feels like I’m speaking directly to you, trust that the path has found you. And I’m here to support you along the way. The healing arts is reaching all of humanity. No soul left behind. Your participation is valued beyond measure. Thank you for showing up in service.
With Love,
Rachel